the fisher

Finally employment was secured as long as I completed the STCW course and made my flight with enough money to pay for a taxi to flisvos marina. With no money how was I going to survive for the week. I couldn’t bear the though of returning to a campground especially seeing as though no one would share my pain and the random street stained mattress had been given up on leaving only a thin layer of nylon between me the ground and a nights sleep.
Adrian had got me the job so I returned to his office to tell him about my financial difficulties. “What are you doing here? I got you a job” The wirery old guy was a difficult one as this was his game and he played it better than the rest. As I explained my potential for starving and sleeping on a beach, the Fisher decided he would continue his nurturing of my entry into the world of super yachting. “Daywork! Right I got some of that for you, Rent! I have a self contained apartment, come here tomorrow lunchtime”.
Ok, I got trounced in that round but the outcome seems to be successful.
Adrian Fisher had a reputation as a really good agent who would get you a job if he liked you. My form had been better in the first encounter loaded with the low down from another yacthie wannabe, I arrived at his office expected a different approach to reviewing candidates.
As I entered his territory I saw a couple waiting for the man, they had a appointment and had called him, apparently he wouldn’t be long. I joined them and as we did the idol chitchat more entered the fisher’s lair.
What are you doing here? They were not ready for the attack and responded meekly requesting to register with a form, What do you do, have you worked on boats before? The negative response was crushed with I don’t take people who have not experience. Next the couple who had to fight for their appointment to be honored and then And you?
“Well I heard you were an excellent agent with interesting techniques” Oh did you well you two wait I will be back, and you leave I told you I don’t take people with no experience. We were left bemused and stunned, Is he for real? With a few shakes of the head the room returned to waiting for the return. I was nervously thumbing through a yachting magazine when I came across an article written by this weird man on crew placement. What are you still doing here I told you to go! They couldn’t believe he wasn’t even willing to take a resume, then he asked for them, by the time I had got mine out of my bag he was already shooing the two inexperienced lads out the door and was onto harassing the couple. He snatched mine resume, queried my experience and was back to his office. We all remained, silenced but for a murmur between the couple. At least he was looking at our resumes.
The lads were returned their resume’s with some mild abuse and were aggressively shown the door, then he went at the couple, was this their appointment? As he tore apart their prospects for having similar resumes. What did you copy this from each other? No we have been working in the same places. Well what kind of job are you looking for? Will you work separate? I was still holding the magazine when my continued presence occurred to him. Anything good in that? Well yes as a matter of fact a interesting article on crew placement by you. That line or my cv earned me the time of day, well at least the instructing to stay because he wanted to talk to me.
The talk that followed another period of enjoying his waiting room was like no other I will every experience. It left me exhausted, emotionless yet overwhelmed. He went through a process of demeaning me for my appearance, attacking my abilities and generally integrating me about my family and love life. When it got down to my cooking and the menu examples I had attached to my resume, my restrained ego and confidence in my abilities served me well. Have you cooked all of these dishes? How many times? Where did you learn, where is the training?!! What kind of chef are you, rate yourself, are you Michelin star, well your not, but are you 5 or 4 or 3. He pressed me relentlessly on this issue while outside on the terrace smoking all over me. Finally when my deflective answers were unable to move us past the star ranking I stuttered out “Some of my dishes are near Michelin star level and in the right environment with the right team I would strive hard to achieve that level”. Done now wasn’t that easy come back tomorrow I have some jobs I want to talk to you about.
So lunchtime I show up with my bags and am driven to his house shown my room and day work duties. I was expecting to be sanding a capping rail, not his shutters and now he was asking what kind of food I would normally buy.
Eventually I was cooking for him, stuck a hours walk from the train feeling trapped, unable to hang out with friends and encountering increasingly uncomfortable situations. A shirtless old strange man inspecting the place where you sleep with a nonchalant ease in proximity where too many details are communicated. I had to get out but delicately with out ruining the advantage of having the fisher like you. His promise of returning after a year or two in the job he had gotten me and being able to have any job I want needed to be secured.
I could see his hurt, but stood firm and was very appreciative when he drove me back to a few day of relative increase comfort before my flight.

He liked to surround himself with attractive young people of both sexes, the puzzle of a man came out for all the yachting world to gossip about when he died 8 months later at home alone with the tv on.