Doctor on deck: Unwinding on the water

An emergency physician from Washington state harbors a love for being on boats.

By Damon Adams, AMNews staff. June 3, 2002.

The Doctor is Out
A look at physician lives outside the exam room. In the office, time is a precious commodity for today's busy physicians. Away from work, many doctors find unique activities and hobbies to help them unwind and to enrich their lives.

In the stillness of a lazy summer evening, Stephen Dudley, MD, sits quietly in the pilot house of his boat.

At the darkest time of the night, the vessel's gauges glow in front of him, and the radio crackles softly.

It's soothing. Calm. There's a serenity he finds when floating on the water in and around Seattle.

"I like a little bit of the isolation. I don't take a cell phone," he said.

This is where Dr. Dudley likes to be when he's not practicing medicine in the emergency department of Valley Medical Center in Renton, Wash. During the summer, he tries to work as a captain for Argosy Cruises' tour boats, piloting sightseers through the scenic sections.

He's been captaining boats in these parts since 1979.

Time on the water lets him unwind from the fast pace of doctoring.

"A night on the water is very calming and relaxing," said Dr. Dudley, 45, who lives in Shoreline, Wash. "You feel like you're almost part of this dance between the boats and the water and the skyline."

With his dual roles as skipper and doctor, do you call him Captain Dudley or Dr. Dudley? Here's another twist: He was a veterinarian before he became an MD.

"We never know whether to call him captain-doctor or doctor-doctor-captain," joked Don Wicklund, port captain for Argosy Cruises.

Dr. Dudley jokes that he's the "doc on the dock." He knows how to handle the skipper's wheel.

"He's a great captain. I can't think of anytime Steve's had a problem with the boats," Wicklund said.

Maybe that's because Dr. Dudley knows the water so well. [...]