Becoming a captain at Terral River Service isn’t something that happens overnight; Hours, days and months of training are required to earn the title. 18 months as a deckhand, working under a master captain for 240 days onboard a vessel, evaluations from designated examiners – the list goes on.

Jim Wood joined the Terral team about 6 years ago and currently sits as captain of the Marguerite L. Terral. For the last 30 years, he has been working on and around boats, training many aspiring captains along the way.

“I cant go anywhere without meeting a captain I once trained it seems like,” Wood said.

Wood is now heading off on a month-long cruise with his new bride and, to his point, the relief captain taking over for him in his absence is a man he once trained.

As a seasoned captain, what initially impressed Wood about Terral River Service was the condition of the equipment.

“Terral was able to use bigger boats with more horsepower to do more work,” he said.

Since being at Terral, Wood’s coworkers have and crew have become like family.

“They’re the best people I’ve ever worked with,” he said.

Wood works alongside 10 additional designated captains at Terral: