The Tugboater Family

Ship and tugboat operations are some of the most dangerous professions. Most days, there is potential danger lurking nearby, and the lives of the men and women working under these potentially dangerous conditions, must not only cooperate, but they must also watch out for each other, and care for their fellow workers. Knowing the family members of the people whose lives may depend on your actions, creates a special bond.

The crews and their wives, their children, and their significant others become one large family, and racial and romantic relationships are accepted at face value. Discrimination is not only unacceptable, but it also is not safe, and those who do not take that responsibility seriously, are not part of the family.

The Tugboater Family will impress you, and make you wish the rest of the world could be as responsible and caring as these people show us we can be.

Bob Ojala has written several non-fiction books about Marine Surveying, including Sweetwater Sailors, a picture book describing the lives of the different kinds of Great Lakes sailors. He has worked with many men and women in the maritime business, whom he respected for their serious lifestyle. Writing about them in fiction, changing names where appropriate, was his way of honoring them. With his background, Bob feels that he can describe the life of these merchant mariners and show the reader their exciting, even dangerous career, and also how important these people are for the country. He hopes readers enjoy the stories, many based upon actual events. Bob and his wife of 35-years have six children, raising them in Oak Park, Illinois. Bob is a Wisconsin native with Finnish roots.

Bob Ojala earned a BSE in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering from the University of Michigan. He spent four years in the U.S. Coast Guard, seventeen years with the American Bureau of Shipping, and eight and a half years with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He also worked in his own business (including the time while with the USACE) for over thirty years, and he is still active in marine surveying. Bob’s father was a merchant mariner for thirty-two years, which is where Bob gained his interest in the maritime industry. Although Bob always found life in the maritime industry exciting, he never wanted to become a sailor. Instead, he worked as a Naval Architect, designing small passenger vessels, tugs, and barges after graduation from college. With time, he found that he enjoyed working in the shipyard with the workers better than sitting in the design office, so when the opportunity came to join the American Bureau of Shipping, working as a field surveyor, inspecting ships and equipment going into shipbuilding, Bob jumped at the opportunity. Eventually, Bob started his own marine surveying and consulting business. Because Great Lakes clients were slow in changing loyalties, he traveled the world, surveying cruise ships, tankers, dry docks, and even some warships. He also investigated accidents, pollution incidents, and several accidental deaths. Eventually, Great Lakes clients learned to depend on Bob’s vast level of experience. Bob has written several non-fiction books about Marine Surveying, including Sweetwater Sailors, a picture book describing the lives of the different kinds of Great Lakes sailors. Bob has worked with many men and women in the maritime business, who he respected for their serious lifestyle. Writing about them in fiction, changing names where appropriate, was his way of honoring them. With his background, Bob feels that he can describe the life of these merchant mariners and show the reader how exciting, dangerous, and important these people are for the country. He hopes readers enjoy the stories, many based upon actual events. More stories are on the way, including a third book in this Tugboater series (Crew's Ship Affairs) with more Bob Evers stories about the crew members on those ocean cruise ships, where the author worked during 165 cruises (Really! It was tough and eye opening!).

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