“My dream in the practice of my marine profession is to be ten (10) times richer than Capt. Ynion.” This was a statement given by one of the students under the class of Mrs. Verna Tan, in the subject of Marine Vocabulary and Terms when asked about their visions and dreams in life. Amazing response of a second year marine deck student who truly believes that I am indeed RICH.

This response gave me moments of reflection on the perception of my students as being “rich”. In the practice of my profession, I have experienced almost all aspects of a seafarer’s life: from an apprentice deck cadet I climbed the ladder towards shipmastership. I was no exception to the rigid compliance of the rules on board ship or accept the reprimands of my senior officers. I did practically everything that I was expected to do under the scrutinizing eyes of my superiors. What made me not just the ordinary marine officer was my determination to learn everything and anything that will make me the marine officer I have envisioned myself to be.

Seventeen (17) years of life at sea plus ten (10) years of land-based assignments serving as superintendent of a maritime school of training director of maritime training center to port captain of a shipping company to a member of the board of marine examiners of the Professional Regular Commission has indeed made me “rich”.
I am no different from any ordinary ship captain but I make it a point to make me extraordinarily distinct from the others. I have always dreamt of leaving a legacy of “richness” in the mind and spirit of my colleagues in the industry. Am I indeed rich? I say YES!. My wealth are my vast experiences in commanding ships, the knowledge, skills and competence I have passed on to my crew and students, my contributions to the maritime industry particularly in the field of education, the books I have painstakingly published serve as my greatest heritage to aspiring seafarers…

To all who believe in my worth as a ship captain, a friend and mentor, I would like to quote these words from H.L. Neri: True wealth is measured not by how much you have, but by how much you have of what you desire. You can be the richest man in the world and still be accounted poor if what you have is so little compared to what you desire; but you be truly rich if the little that you have is more than what you desire.