I’ve Been Where You Are.

After 20 years working onboard cruise ships in guest facing, sales, marketing and leadership roles, I didn't just change jobs - I changed my entire life. Leaving ships wasn't just a career move. It was a personal transition that touched every part of who I was.

But before I became a career change coach, I was crew, just like you.

I had the same doubts, the same fears about leaving, and the same uncertainty about whether I was making the right choice. I spent many nights in my cabin thinking about how I would leave ships, and days going through the motions while dreaming about a different life. I had the same mixed feelings - loving parts of ship life but feeling ready for something new, yet terrified to take the leap.

I know what it's like to ask yourself:

"How do I explain my ship work to employers on land?"

"What if I leave and realize I made a huge mistake?"

"How do I even start when I have no idea what I want to do on land?"

If you're asking yourself some of those same questions now, I know how unsettling it can feel. You can be incredibly capable at sea and still have absolutely no idea how that experience fits into a life on land. You can know you're ready for something different and still have no idea what “different” is supposed to look like. I know, because I've been there too.
Here's how my own ship-to-shore journey began…

How Did I Get Here?

I didn’t have it all figured out when I left ships. I just had a deep knowing that ship life no longer fit the person I was becoming. I went from structured routines, constant movement, comfort, familiarity, and a built-in social circle…to quiet, still land life, where I was alone, confused, and wondering:

"Is this really it?"

I tried to piece it together. I questioned everything; my identity, my direction, my confidence a nd even my decision-making. I learned how to rebuild. I found the right support, the right tools, and I started shaping a new chapter that actually fit me.

After years of working onboard, I started asking myself a different question.
Not just, “What do I want to do next?” but “What do I actually want to create?”

I could have looked for the land-based equivalent of what I'd done onboard. But leaving ships gave me an opportunity to think bigger than my next job. What did I want my work to look like? What did I want my life to look like? And who did I want to become next?

I am a Chef turned Ship Crew turned Career & LIfe Transition Coach and I have always wanted to get out of life as much as possible.

My interest in coaching actually began while I was still working at sea. After years of living and working alongside people from all over the world, I became fascinated by human behaviour - what drives people to change, what keeps them stuck, and what helps someone create more from their life.

That curiosity eventually became something I wanted to study properly, and led me into career and life-transition coaching.

And I'm still creating my own next chapters. I have goals I haven't reached yet, places I haven't been, things I want to create and plenty more life I want to experience.

I don't believe we're ever really “finished.” And I quite like it that way.

The idea for Your Land Life came from a gap I experienced myself.

When I needed support, I could find people who understood career change. I could find people who understood life change. What I couldn't find was someone who understood what it was like to make both after spending years living and working at sea.

Ship life isn't just a job you resign from. It's your work, routine, friendships, community, home and lifestyle all wrapped together. Leaving it can mean rebuilding several parts of your life at once.

And I came to believe that a transition this big deserved support designed specifically for the people making it.

I couldn't find the kind of support I was looking for.

Eventually, I realised I could create it.

And that's how Your Land Life began.

What I Believe

I believe leaving ships isn’t just about getting a new job, it’s about building a new life.

I believe your experience at sea is more valuable than you think.

I believe you already have what it takes you just need the tools to translate it.

I believe that once you move from uncertainty to certainty, the resistance fades and all you need next is the how.

I believe fear is normal but it doesn’t need to make your decisions for you.

I believe land life can feel just as fulfilling as ship life; maybe even more.

And its possible for you

If you've ever wondered whether you can create a genuinely good life after ships - you can.

You don't need to have every part of it figured out before you begin. You just need to know what you're ready to figure out next.

Whether that's what you want to do on land, how to get hired, or how to finally make land feel like home, that's what Your Land Life is here to help you do.

SHOW ME WHERE TO START

When I am...

not working in my business you can find me enjoying a few of my favourite things.

After working at sea for close to 20 years and travelling the globe, my culinary palette is pretty diverse, is yours too? It’s common to find me in the kitchen creating, cooking, and experimenting with flavours.

Thanks to growing up in beautiful New Zealand (and doing many ship contracts in Alaska), I’m still a big lover of the outdoors. Walks, hikes, bike rides, lakes, rivers, mountains, beaches, if it’s outside, I’m in.

Two of my newest passions are Ancient History and Healing Modalities, and I’ve also got two big creative projects on the go. Trying my hand at stand-up comedy (yep, really). Writing books that blend transformation with storytelling, part insight, part soul.

The dream? Take it all on stage and travel the world sharing stories that make people both laugh and grow.

Most days, you’ll find me in a great café with an espresso or enjoying a glass of vino, I swear I must’ve been Italian in a past life. Ciao bella! 😉

And when all else fails, I’m under a palm tree, on a quiet beach, sipping a coconut and dreaming up what’s next.

Real crew stories. Real talk. From ship to shore.

There’s no handbook for leaving ships but this comes close.
Hear from crew who’ve made the jump: the wins, the shocks, and the “no one tells you this” moments of going from ship to shore.
It’s honest, relatable, and full of the truths about what it really takes to settle on land.

Subscribe now and be part of the only podcast made for crew, by crew.

I RESPECT YOUR PRIVACY. NO. SPAM. EVER

Hi, I'm Alex,

After 20 years working at sea, I know leaving ships is about much more than finding your next job. I help ship crew figure out what comes next and build a land life they actually want to live.