Twenty-seven years ago, Levy B. Aguilo, then a maritime deck cadet boarded his first voyage and discovered the grit behind the glamour of the uniformed maritime profession. Simulation scenarios turned to long days and sleepless nights of toil onboard a ship rolling on giant waves. He wondered if reality would have sparked his desire to become a seafarer as did the fascinating globe-trotting stories of his hometown neighbor.

Levy recalled that his neighbor had great stories of all the countries his ship had called port at. His seaman neighbor had bought a car and other nice things and his life improved a lot. Levy wanted the same things and told himself that someday, he would become a seafarer too.