Born and raised in Mathews, Robby West confides, “I have always since the age of six wanted to work on the water.”
And on the water has really been Robby’s career in one form or another. Since 1995 he has been on the high seas on a tugboat beginning as a deckhand, then working his way up from mate to captain. He comes from a family of boat captains. But Robby is a little different: he’s a captain who does most of the cooking for his crew. “My son Wesley (named after two grandfathers, William West and Wesley Jordan) is my engineer. He can cook and does so sometimes. (Robby West also once served as his son’s mate.)
Today Robby’s schedule is three weeks on the tug Jackson pushing petroleum barges from New York City to Port Jefferson on Long Island and he does not require a pilot boat’s assistance. He has the necessary qualification to do his own piloting.
Then there are three weeks off. Much of this time he is still on the water crab potting and still cooking, and says, “My mother Betty i...