Skimming the brilliant blue water of the South Pacific with a MD-500 in search for Tuna seems like a fairly fantastic gig. This pilot seems to be taking full advantage and having a great time in the process.
Flying a whirly bird off the pitching deck of a tuna boat is not without its risks. Wind, waves, unstable objects and low level flying all create a hazard to the helicopter pilot. On top of that the inherent risk, combined with the extensive travel and grueling schedule associated with the job generally attracts low time pilot's looking for an entry level position to build time and pad their resume.
As with any profession, though, a risk/reward analysis has be to sufficiently analyzed, but I think I can safely say that in the minds of most helicopter pilots (aka crazies), the rewards offered by this job greatly outweigh the risks.
Chris is a pilot who loves airplanes and cars and his writing has been seen on Jalopnik. Contact him with questions or comments via twitter or email.