Capt. Eugene Ebanks seafaring days began in 1969 when he joined the U.S. Merchant Marines, where he would be enrolled for approximately five years. His journey started in Tampa, Florida and he headed to Wilmington, North Carolina where he boarded the Santa Clara Victory cargo ship. This ship would take him to Da Nang Harbour in Vietnam via the Panama Canal, Japan, the Philippines and finally to Vietnam. The purpose of the trips to Vietnam (three in total) were to supply ammunition for the United States troops during the Vietnam War. He held the position of Oiler and Fireman in the Engine Room and was responsible for manning the boilers for steam. Dangerous conditions beheld him, as the ship would have to go out of the Da Nang Harbour at night to patrol and come back in the daytime to discharge ammunition, as Vietnam patrol boats dispensed concussion grenades in an effort to kill the Frog Men who were planting mines on the rudders and propellers of the cargo ships. After his stint with the Merchant Marines, Capt. Eugene returned to the US, where he worked on tankers such as the Gulf Tiger (a T2 tanker, 600+ feet in length), with the Gulf Oil Company, hauling petroleum products throughout the Gulf States, including Louisiana and Mississippi to the East coast States such as New York, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Boston, Philadelphia and Maine. He held the position of Pump Man and was responsible for loading and discharging petroleum products. During his time with the Gulf Oil Company, he got a job with the Commonwealth Oil Refinery in Puerto Rico pumping oil and from this job came the opportunity to travel to Tunisia, Africa for one of his trans-Atlantic trips. In 1974, Capt. Eugene decided to return home to Cayman to reunite with his wife and children. Although he no longer traveled across the world for sea missions, his love for the sea would be evident, as he started his own watersports company, thereby reinforcing the fact that the sea was in his blood.

Capt. Eugene Ebanks seafaring days began in 1969 when he joined the U.S. Merchant Marines, where he would be enrolled for approximately five years. His journey started in Tampa, Florida and he headed to Wilmington, North Carolina where he boarded the Santa Clara Victory cargo ship. This ship would take him to Da Nang Harbour in Vietnam via the Panama Canal, Japan, the Philippines and finally to Vietnam. The purpose of the trips to Vietnam (three in total) were to supply ammunition for the United States troops during the Vietnam War. He held the position of Oiler and Fireman in the Engine Room and was responsible for manning the boilers for steam. Dangerous conditions beheld him, as the ship would have to go out of the Da Nang Harbour at night to patrol and come back in the daytime to discharge ammunition, as Vietnam patrol boats dispensed concussion grenades in an effort to kill the Frog Men who were planting mines on the rudders and propellers of the cargo ships. After his stint with the Merchant Marines, Capt. Eugene returned to the US, where he worked on tankers such as the Gulf Tiger (a T2 tanker, 600+ feet in length), with the Gulf Oil Company, hauling petroleum products throughout the Gulf States, including Louisiana and Mississippi to the East coast States such as New York, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Boston, Philadelphia and Maine. He held the position of Pump Man and was responsible for loading and discharging petroleum products. During his time with the Gulf Oil Company, he got a job with the Commonwealth Oil Refinery in Puerto Rico pumping oil and from this job came the opportunity to travel to Tunisia, Africa for one of his trans-Atlantic trips. In 1974, Capt. Eugene decided to return home to Cayman to reunite with his wife and children. Although he no longer traveled across the world for sea missions, his love for the sea would be evident, as he started his own watersports company, thereby reinforcing the fact that the sea was in his blood.