Jeanot Boulet
Jeanot Boulet
📍 Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Captain, BigLift ShippingMike Davidson: Where did your journey begin?
Jeanot Boulet: As a kid I was into anything technical. I loved ships, airplanes, anything mechanical and dreamed of joining the Navy and exploring the world. Then, around the time I was finishing high school, I had an opportunity to work on a ship, get some training to become a nautical officer and go to nautical college. I chose to focus on becoming an engineering officer instead of a deck officer because I still had that love for anything mechanical like when I was a kid. I never let go of the idea that it could eventually lead to travel and adventures across the ocean. I finished school and got experience on different ships before BigLift Shipping offered me a position as Chief Officer. When I started with BigLift I really loved it; the big machines, big cranes, everything oversized, and I fell in love with it.
Mike Davidson: Did your past experience prepare you for BigLift or was it a challenge for you to perform in that kind of environment?
Jeanot Boulet: It was a challenge. Big machines and big challenges. But at that time, I was also doing some high-level mountaineering and that helped me a lot and gave me the mindset I needed. If I wasn’t on a ship working, I was in the mountains. We did a lot of technical routes and when I was new to climbing those types of routes, I was always very scared the weeks before doing a big trip. But I learned to focus and dismiss that feeling, it was so counterproductive being scared. I completed my first few challenging routes successfully, exceeded at them actually, and the confidence in my ability quickly took over any fears that remained. So, at BigLift I brought this to my work. If I could do that, I can do this. Believe in yourself. I had some nautical experience, but lots learn and just said, ‘I can do it. I will not fail’.
Mike Davidson: Tell me more about your mountaineering. What type of climbing were you doing? I also like the idea that you were living between extremes, the ocean and the mountain peaks.
Jeanot Boulet: Exactly, at that time I was going from one extreme to another, constantly seeking new challenges and adventures moving between the unpredictability of the open ocean to the thrill of mountain peaks, those environments gave me that, really tested me. I was part of a mountain rescue group, and we were a rebellious team doing some really huge rock wall climbs. I was always a fan of lightweight speed climbing and for that you need a high level of fitness, always training a lot. We did one rescue on Mount Maculot West Wall to recover a dead body from over 600 meters high.
Mike Davidson: Is there a mentor or someone who inspired you early on?
Jeanot Boulet: My stepfather was a seafarer and in Rotterdam he often took me on his boat to see these huge cargo ships going in and out of the port. I was really impressed by everything, the size and all the work happening around the ships. I started reading anything I could find on ships; technical books and especially anything that involved adventure on the high seas. I loved the old stories of explorers venturing off on their ships to strange lands, tales of Ernest Shackleton, and Eric Newby. There was a famous Dutch mountaineer, Ronald Naar, who I met on several occasions, and he inspired me to start climbing and doing hard, technical climbs.
Mike Davidson: What’s one of the biggest challenges you’ve faced in your career?
Jeanot Boulet: The voyage I was on with you aboard the BigLift Happy Star was actually very challenging, as you know! It really gave us some tough situations. The cargo was quite impressive, very large. But we also experienced a wide range of weather conditions, transiting through the tropics where it was very hot and humid and heading north to 40 below in northern Canada by the end of the voyage at offloading. And then it was also a maiden voyage, the first mission after the shipyard so many technical challenges including the power failure that had us adrift for nearly three days in the south Atlantic. So, it really had everything to test you on many levels, weather, technical, engineering, logistics. It’s rare that you face all of those challenges on a single voyage like that and I’m proud of what we accomplished. We took it one step at a time, one problem at a time and strategically solved them and got to the finish line. And that’s how you need to approach those big missions, one step at a time. You can’t look at the end when you’re only just starting because it’s too intimidating and gets you thinking about too many things. There’s a balance between looking ahead and anticipating what can happen down the road, but still staying focused on what’s directly in front of you.
Mike Davidson: What accomplishments are you the proudest of?
Jeanot Boulet: I love being a Captain and have great experiences in my career already. To be in command of some of the most powerful heavy lift ships in the world is a real privilege for me, and to have had the chance to work with great crews is also such a privilege. Being a Captain can also be like a teacher when you’re able to share what you’ve learned with Chief Officers for instance, to give them the tools they need to become Captain, I get a lot of satisfaction out of that. The mission that always comes up though is the one I was on with you, just so many challenges from that, people still have lots of questions from it; how did we improvise, how did we troubleshoot? I’m actually using that experience to write up contingency measures for operating aboard the vessels now, which I’m very pleased to share; hopefully there’s learning from that experience that will help crews in some future scenario of their own.
Mike Davidson: Is there a failure or setback that you've learned from and how important is it to learn from those mistakes?
Jeanot Boulet: It’s so critical to learn from mistakes. Especially in my younger years as a deck officer, I made a lot of mistakes. And then as a junior Captain I still made some mistakes. But you need to remember that you can’t know everything… you don’t know what you don’t know. So having trust in your superiors is key, that you have a Captain above you, and they can correct you. Generally, there’s a very good culture in shipping, at least in my experience and especially within BigLift, where you’re allowed to fail to learn. But it’s not always like that in some organizations, depending on the mistake you can be out, and that’s the end. But you can’t possibly get better in those environments. So early on I learned to trust the ship culture I was in, develop some humility and just get to the learning. Once I had that focus, I was on my way. The setbacks I had early on were turned into an openness for me, erasing a fear of failures, and that accelerated my learning. But I will say that now as a Captain, you need to know your ship and your mission to the core because if you screw up as a Captain, it all rests on you. If you accidentally discharge some oil or have a mistake on that level and you can be put in prison.
Michael Davidson: Do you have a life motto?
Jeanot Boulet: I never give up if I want something; that’s my fundamental approach to almost anything. For better or worse though, because sometimes you do need to give up and refocus your efforts. I also really like a saying which is, “If you can’t do the job the way it has to be done, then you have to do the job the way it can be done.” Which applies perfectly to life on the ocean where mother nature is always punishing your ship and your crew… you’re always improvising. Just get the job done and make sure everybody walks home safely at the end.
Mike Davidson: What does leadership mean to you?
Jeanot Boulet: Well, I’ll speak to that as a Captain. If you take care of your ship, the ship will take care of you and take care of the crew. It means that if you have a good foundation the rest can start to fall into a good place automatically and your ship and crew will not let you down when there’s a bad situation. I also strive to show respect to even the lowest ranks, everyone is part of the team and has an important role to play on a ship. I also want to put on the coveralls and get as dirty as everyone else. Get on the same level as everyone and keep things relatable for yourself as leader. Get out there and work on the rigging and lashings, get dirty and get some respect from your crew.
Michael Davidson: How do you approach things that in a moment can feel insurmountable; how do you Do The Impossible?
Jeanot Boulet: I love tackling this one, Do the impossible… yeah for me I work and live by just working the challenge… because at BigLift we never say problem we always say challenge. You start working it hard and eventually you get to a point where there’s something you know. You’ll get somewhere, and then get closer again, and again until you’ve met the challenge and are back on track. There are also so many times when you have to throw the manual overboard because on the page it might tell you it’s impossible, like you have to return to port because of a failure or something. Well, throw that manual overboard and do it another way. There’s always another way, another path to try out. Using your experiences as the foundation to decision makings, you have a million choices you can make and one of them will be the key to ‘doing the impossible’, you just need to start focusing those choices, applying some trial and error and get down to the real solutions. I find the big challenges often have some of the simplest solutions, hiding in plain sight!
Michael Davidson: What does a ‘Mission Mindset’ mean to you?
Jeanot Boulet: I like to think of this when applying it to my mountaineering or long-distance running. The road can be so long, that’s both literal and figurative! I can prepare to run 100km and definitely need to treat it as a mission, anticipating everything that could happen; what will I need, what might I encounter. But the road is also long in life, if we’re lucky. Life ‘s a journey and often big goals can take time; you might need lots of runway before taking off and hitting on success. You need to have patience on the journey and treat it like a mission; be prepared for the highs and lows. You say it often Mike, that the mission mindset is all about mental preparedness and the expectation that things won’t go by the book, but that’s to be expected. And that’s just the way we want them, that’s the ride worth seeking that makes life full and keeps things interesting. Exactly right in my books.
