Besides having heart-to-heart talks with those who need motivation and encouragement, Farhan, on his own accord, lends a helping hand to cadets who require help in their studies by coaching them face-to-face. His pep talks and personal tutoring are paying off.

“Thankfully, there are quite a few cadets whom I have helped who have managed to get their CoC 3. They are currently sailing right now. The best part is they in turn are motivating their juniors to not give up,” Farhan said. To him, seeing his peers and juniors succeed is true contentment.

His tried-and-tested formula of success is studying from 8am to 5pm, almost on a daily basis for two weeks, with a buddy or two, to prepare for the examinations. For Farhan and his study buddy, the discipline and mutual encouragement did the trick.

“The accountability pushes you to overcome the ‘no mood to study’ mentality,” he said.

Farhan’s influence as a ‘big brother’ includes getting short-term stints for those cadets who need employment while waiting for their license to sail. He shared that he just did not want anyone to leave the maritime industry prematurely.

So, how did he himself end up accepting the training programme offered by Wavelink Maritime Institute?  

 Farhan was driven by curiosity to understand what it takes to be a captain of a ship when he was working in his brother-in-law’s ship repair business after he left his job of four years in an online directory company.

“I thought I needed to be in a navy or have some doctorate in maritime studies,” Farhan recalled. He soon found the answer when his best friend, Azhar, enrolled into TNTA cohort 5 and encouraged him to do likewise.

Farhan joined TNTA cohort 6. He shared that his brother-in-law, Ikmal Hamzah, also followed suit in cohort 8. Interestingly, Farhan’s father-in-law was formerly a seafarer as well, a chief officer, now turned surveyor.

SeaVoices (SV) pursues Farhan’s story.

SV: Tell us more about your family.

Farhan: My dad was a tennis coach in the 1990s. Thus, keeping fit and being disciplined is ingrained in my 5 siblings and me. I was once a fitness instructor as well.

I took an 8 month break from the TNTA studies to take care of my late mother. She was unwell and I had to bring her back to Singapore from Malaysia for medical care. She passed on when I was taking my CoC 3 but I hope she is proud of me now. My mum used to say that I have a soft heart and she always encouraged me not to just live for myself. Hence, when I have the free time now, I will always find time to volunteer to give back to society.

SV: Tell us about your first sailing experience.

Farhan: I had my first training onboard a vessel at Tianjin, China, which was headed for Australia. When I was picked up at the airport in the freezing month of November in 2015, I thought to myself, “There goes my kidney”. I didn’t know where I was going and I don’t speak Chinese. But the whole voyage turned out well as the captain and crew were really nice.