Work-horse balance
The boat crew worker juggling long shifts, a family and horses
Cheryl Howard is a mother of two who works as boat crew on the Dartmouth to Kingswear Passenger Ferry, crossing the beautiful River Dart in Devon.
My working hours…
My job involves working 12-hour shifts over four days one week, and three days the next, meaning that one week I get four days off and another week I have three days off. My hours are officially 7am to 7.15pm, but I am on the pontoon for 6.45am ready to get the car ferry over to the other side of the river, as the boat commences service from the Dartmouth side at 7.30am. We have lots of checks to do and overnight ropes to remove before we begin.
The daily juggle…
On a working day I get up at 4am, do the usual domestic duties and leave home at 4.30am to get to the yard. I live a fiveminute car journey away from my rented yard, of which I have sole use. Lights in the stables are essential; I do a quick skip out if necessary and head home for 5.30am to get changed, make a sandwich and head off on the half-hour drive to Kingswear.
About my job…
My day is spent looking after ferry passengers and keeping them safe, keeping the boat clean and tidy, taking payments and tying the boat up when we land on either side of the river and subsequently releasing the ropes. There are two of us working on the boat — the skipper and myself.
The weather is often dreadful and the river, which is tidal, gets very rough but the boat runs regardless, so I am on my feet all day and often sopping wet and freezing cold. However, I love the job and the company I work for.
We transport people to enable them to get to work, shoppers and holidaymakers, and school children going backwards and forwards to catch their buses. We have lunch at 1pm, which is time to sit down and recharge my batteries.
At 6.55pm we do our last run from Kingswear to Dartmouth, and then it’s time to put the boat to bed, lock up, secure the ropes, complete paperwork, cash up and catch the car ferry back to Kingswear, where my Land Rover is waiting to take me to the yard. I enjoy the drive back and look forward to seeing happy pony faces over the doors and hearing their calls as they greet me.
My horses…
I have three horses: Paddy, a semi-feral Dartmoor hill pony; Molly, my daughter’s retired pony; and my coloured, Penpont Zed, who I have owned since weaning and who is now almost eight.
When Zed and Paddy are in the field at night, it makes my day a lot easier as I only have to bring them in in the morning (having got the stables ready the night
“The river, which is tidal, gets very rough but the boat runs regardless, so I am often sopping wet and freezing cold”
before). They are all on shavings, as I do not have storage, and I have a large, wrapped round bale of haylage delivered every couple of weeks. Molly is turned out alone, as she doesn’t like the boys.
Late dinners…
I generally get back to the yard around 8pm when I feed, muck out, groom, change rugs, fill haynets for the next day, possibly turn the boys out for the night, depending on the weather, and let Molly wander around the yard and stretch her legs. If the boys do go out, I plod through the very deep, red, Devon clay mud in the dark, with armfuls of haylage to keep them going, and check the water trough.
I usually arrive home around 8.45pm, when my partner of 22 years, Rob, will have cooked dinner earlier for himself and my 16-year-old son, Edward. There is usually something lurking in the oven for me too. Then it’s a cup of tea or glass of wine, hot water bottle and bed in readiness to do it all again the next day. My daughter, Jess, is married and lives in Malvern with her own family and horses.
Bonding over horses…
During the summer I work in Torbay on the Torquay to Brixham ferry or operating day cruises from Torbay to Dartmouth. We have our own boat, a 25ft Classic Sunseeker Portofino, and although Rob is interested in the horses, he tends to leave me to get on with them and just does the maintenance stuff, but will help if I ask.
I actually met Rob through the horses. He used to have a coloured cob called Ivory at a local livery yard; I moved my daughter’s pony there and we met over a loaded wheelbarrow.
My days off…
The first day of my time off is spent at the yard. Lots of mucking out, tidying up and interaction with the horses, also thinking ahead to my next shift and whether I need to order more haylage, collect feed, bedding etc, and check the fences in daylight (what a treat!). In fact, seeing my horses and yard in daylight seems strange and is a little surreal.
My horsey goal…
Zed, who is a 15.3hh Cornish-bred sports horse type, has taken a long time to mature and I have had a lot of help from a natural horseman, Tin Carcamo. He is amazing and broke Zed from scratch. The hours I work and inclement weather mean that it is difficult to formulate a regular work schedule for Zed, although I have promised myself and Zed that, Covid allowing, we will take part in pleasure rides after Easter (with Tin’s help). I would love to try endurance.
Downtime…
I have owned equines throughout most of my adult life. I had the childhood dream but was never allowed to ride and as soon as I was earning my own money I learnt to ride and bought my first horse when I was 21. We have other pets, including George the mongrel, three cats and other furries, cockatiel and a corn snake. We have a large garden. I love reading, watercolour painting and we are all amateur radio enthusiasts — but that’s another story!
NEXT MONTH The psychologist who competes her veteran mare in dressage.