Vega’s Chief Mate

The shipping industry is facing huge pressures, with rising fuel prices, greater focus on environmental impact and more conscious consumers. Chief Mate of Vega, Finn Keays reflects on his experiences working as a sailor, the issues facing the industry and what it is like to live on board a traditional tallship such as Vega.

So you've had quite a bit of experiencing being on boats – tell me about that?

I started sailing when I was about 13. When I was 17, I found my way on the Picton Castle and then the ship left for it's second world voyage and I was still on board for the two year voyage. I worked on a research vessel for a couple of years – based in Bermuda doing oceanographic research. I worked commercially on a supply ship for a couple of years on the coast, in the oil and gas industry and then I quit that job and joined the Barque Europa between 2011 and 2019. During the last two years of the pandemic I was working on a big cement carrier.

When you were working on the commercial oil ships what was that like and how does it compare to being on a sailing ship?

The big difference for me is the reason why people are there. No-one is on a tall-ship to make money, we are here because we love it, we love the ship, the work we are doing and the mission of the ship, whereas on the commercial fleet, it's really just a job. People are counting the days to get home. But there's still good seamanship to learn there, it's certainly interesting to see those sides of things, because at this point the vast majority of goods are still being moved by those big ships. It's frustrating to try and convince people that moving cargo under sail is a worthwhile venture, because at this point it's still more efficient per tonne to move things on those big ships.

Finn Keays is an Officer of the Watch on board Vega and is facilitating the transfer of knowledge between crews.

But what about the cost that you don't count – because there is always a cost, we just don't always count that cost?

It would be good to have a metric for measuring what the actual damage to the environment is when you are burning diesel or heavy fuel. But it's a big paradigm shift in the mind. At this point there are just so many of the goods being moved around the world by ships, these big, big ships. I think the thing to do is push countries to have better regulations, on sewerage, on moving towards different forms of propulsion. In the industry that I worked in, we were pretty darn good. The ship I was on had a scrubber, we were burning heavy fuel, but the stuff coming out of the exhaust was mostly steam. We were sending all of our sludge ashore to the proper facilities and we had a sewage treatment plant. But that being said, there's still an environmental cost.

How much of this change should be consumer

driven – and how much responsibility do big

companies need to take?

It has to come from the consumer in a way. There has to be a shift away from this on-demand attitude. But at the same time I think companies want to put the responsibility on the consumer, it's an easy way to have a scapegoat. But I still think there is some power, at least on an individual level, you can make those choices yourself. It's such a complicated issue. I'm not an expert by any means, but I am drawn to what SAILCARGO INC. is doing, because I also don't want to keep just sailing to take rich people on trips to fancy places, or move cement like I was doing before. It's a way to do the thing that I love to do, but also to feel like there is a deeper purpose.

How do these smaller sailing vessels fit in, when you have all of this existing infrastructure – different things pulling in different directions? Do you think these smaller vessels have a place, do they have a future?

Yeah absolutely. I think at this point it is massive, the scale of things being moved around the planet and it feels like a drop in a very vast ocean of what is happening with these ships. But I do think that they puncture through into the minds of people. It's more about being a beacon and showing another way. I want to believe that the big commercial industries are really trying to be innovative in terms of new propulsion systems and I definitely think that what Danielle is doing, especially with Ceiba with the auxiliary propulsion system she wants to put into the ship, it's all new technology and certainly can be an inspiring source of information and of proving ground for what's possible.

What life lessons do you think

sailing has taught you?

I definitely think that being a sailor makes you a better citizen ashore. You have a deeper sense of responsibility for your actions. On a ship every action has an immediate consequence. You might not be getting along with a person, but a few minutes later you might have to be working next to them and also depending on each other to keep each other safe. So it forces you to confront issues.

You've been on Vega for a few days now – how does she compare to some of the other vessels you have been on?

She's my first really big wooden sailing ship. There is something really special and kind of remarkable about that. First impressions is just how well kept she is, and you can just see all of the care and the love in the way that she's maintained. On every ship there is always work to do, but the foundations, the bones of the ship are really solid. I feel very confident in the way the ship's been built and maintained. I'm very curious to see her sailing more, because we've just been in the Baltic, but she's a tonne of fun to sail and fast and sturdy and all of the things you want.

I find that I love her, I want to scrub her decks, I want to take care of her. Is that just sailing ships, or is that every ship?

No I find that every ship has a spirit. She's moving you forward, she's carrying you, all the work you do to her, you are helping her to continue that work for you. There's this really symbiotic relationship that happens between you and the ship. You still kind of develop some kind of affinity, even to the big, gnarly ones – they all have a personality. But there is something particularly special about sailing ships and wooden sailing ships. There's a bond that happens and you definitely want to take care of her and keep her safe and make her as beautiful as possible and sailing as well as she can.

This interview was edited for length and clarity.

Interview conducted and edited by Hannah Southcott

Chief Mate Finn Keayes is currently based out of Nova Scotia when he is not sailing.