MY DAD, BETHEL EWEN ERNIE BODDEN WENT TO SEA AT ABOUT AGE 15 AND SPEND 57 YEARS AT SEA. HE RETIRED AT AGE 72. HE WENT TO SEA TO SUPPORT HIS FAMILY. THE SEA WAS HIS LIFE. HE WORKED AND STUDY HARD TO MOVE FROM RADIO OPERATOR TO IST MATE THEN TO CAPTAIN. AS CAPTAIN HE EXPERIENCE THE SEAS IN MANY COUNTRIES,SUCH AS JAPAN, RUSSIA, CANADA. MY DAD WORKED ON SHIPS SUCH AS J S WEBSTER,(M/S COLLISTER & M/S ARMINDA AS RADIO OPERATOR) CIMBOCO, CAYMANIA,SLATER, SUWANNEE FRUIT & STEAMSHIP(M/V BABERIA, S/S MICHAEL PALMER, M/V CASA BLANCA, M/V ROSARIO AS RADIO OPERATOR AND M/V ARTIC REEFER AS CHIEF CAPTAIN). MY DAD WORKED ON WEST INDIA LINE(M/V INAGUA SHIPPER AND M/V INAGUA GULL. HE ALSO WORKED AS SHIP CAPTAIN ON TROPIC GALE, TROPIC ISLE AND TROPIC JADE OF TROPICL SHIPPING. HE RETIRED IN 1991 AT 72 YEARS AND DIED IN 1997

Capt Ernie Bodden exemplified the life of a career seaman, starting out from humble beginnings and becoming a master mariner at an early age. He sailed the seven seas in his long tenure and captained many ships during this period, working for the Webster Shipping Company out of Jamaica and moving on to Swanie, West Indian Shipping and Tropical Shipping Companies. He started out as a wireless operator on a Webster ship during World War 2 and worked his way up to Captain of some of the largest ships of the time with Swanie and West Indian Shipping. His final years at sea was with Tropical Shipping. Captain Bodden, like many Caymanian seamen exhibited the qualities which made them the best seamen in the world. He didn't just watch things happen but made them happen by his tenacity in always striving to better himself at what he did. He knew where he was going and navigated himself to the top of his profession. Many of his shipmates over the years always spoke highly of his skills and the fairness he showed to his crew as he sailed the seven seas. He was never a man to shirk responsibility and the companies he worked for all held him in high esteem. He was truly a legend in his time. His career spanned over half a century which showed his love of the sea. And the words of that famous poem echoes down through the ages as it speaks of seamen like him: "I must go down to the sea again, to the lonely sea and the sky and all I ask is for a tall ship and a star to steer her by."

MY DAD, BETHEL EWEN ERNIE BODDEN WENT TO SEA AT ABOUT AGE 15 AND SPEND 57 YEARS AT SEA. HE RETIRED AT AGE 72. HE WENT TO SEA TO SUPPORT HIS FAMILY. THE SEA WAS HIS LIFE. HE WORKED AND STUDY HARD TO MOVE FROM RADIO OPERATOR TO IST MATE THEN TO CAPTAIN. AS CAPTAIN HE EXPERIENCE THE SEAS IN MANY COUNTRIES,SUCH AS JAPAN, RUSSIA, CANADA. MY DAD WORKED ON SHIPS SUCH AS J S WEBSTER,(M/S COLLISTER & M/S ARMINDA AS RADIO OPERATOR) CIMBOCO, CAYMANIA,SLATER, SUWANNEE FRUIT & STEAMSHIP(M/V BABERIA, S/S MICHAEL PALMER, M/V CASA BLANCA, M/V ROSARIO AS RADIO OPERATOR AND M/V ARTIC REEFER AS CHIEF CAPTAIN). MY DAD WORKED ON WEST INDIA LINE(M/V INAGUA SHIPPER AND M/V INAGUA GULL. HE ALSO WORKED AS SHIP CAPTAIN ON TROPIC GALE, TROPIC ISLE AND TROPIC JADE OF TROPICL SHIPPING. HE RETIRED IN 1991 AT 72 YEARS AND DIED IN 1997

Capt Ernie Bodden exemplified the life of a career seaman, starting out from humble beginnings and becoming a master mariner at an early age. He sailed the seven seas in his long tenure and captained many ships during this period, working for the Webster Shipping Company out of Jamaica and moving on to Swanie, West Indian Shipping and Tropical Shipping Companies. He started out as a wireless operator on a Webster ship during World War 2 and worked his way up to Captain of some of the largest ships of the time with Swanie and West Indian Shipping. His final years at sea was with Tropical Shipping. Captain Bodden, like many Caymanian seamen exhibited the qualities which made them the best seamen in the world. He didn't just watch things happen but made them happen by his tenacity in always striving to better himself at what he did. He knew where he was going and navigated himself to the top of his profession. Many of his shipmates over the years always spoke highly of his skills and the fairness he showed to his crew as he sailed the seven seas. He was never a man to shirk responsibility and the companies he worked for all held him in high esteem. He was truly a legend in his time. His career spanned over half a century which showed his love of the sea. And the words of that famous poem echoes down through the ages as it speaks of seamen like him: "I must go down to the sea again, to the lonely sea and the sky and all I ask is for a tall ship and a star to steer her by."