A mortician, lawyer, doctor and 747 pilot are all captains of the little green and white boats offering harbour and gorge tours in Victoria.
But there’s only one former Oak Bay mayor.
Piloting a Victoria Harbour Ferry is Christopher Causton’s new “fun job.” He takes tourists four days on, four days off. “Just like a firefighter,” he said with a chuckle.
Causton started the job in March following a series of maritime courses, including the Small Vessel Operator Proficiency Training Course, medical marine first aid, emergency radio and hours spent on the water training with veteran skippers.
“I think I went out about 70 hours with other skippers just listening to their other tours and refining my own techniques,” Causton said.
The seasonal ferries run through October.
“It’s one of those jobs that a lot of people I think look at and say, ‘Gosh when I get to a certain stage of my life, I’d love to do that in the summer,” he said.
“It involves hospitality, the outdoors, it’s got a great group of guys you work with. It’s run as a team and you have a schedule and you have to keep to that schedule. It’s almost like it’s precision, you have to be at a certain place at a certain time. I love efficiency.”
Then you add the water, and Causton’s passion for the Victoria harbour, and the job is ideal.
“I’m trying to enjoy life but at the same time, try to make improvements … in the vibrancy of the city, in the experience of the visitors,” he said. “If you can make things a little better every day, that’s good.”
