One of the less glorious, but most important, jobs aboard the Spirit of Bermuda is the engineer.

Required to spend many hours in the sweaty engine room, to unclog toilets in the middle of the ocean and to change the oil, it also requires a lot of patience and the willingness to hop out of your bunk at odd hours throughout the night.

But with so many boat owners in Bermuda and a wide variety of jobs across the world marine engineering is a popular profession.

Nineteen-year-old Glenn Walker completed his internship for his Marine Technology Associates Degree from New England Technical Institute onboard.

"I needed to get an internship to finish my programme," he said. "Mark Goodwin, who is part owner of K&M Marina was the first engineer on the Spirit. He suggested that I come and do my last 100 hours on board so I get better boating experience. I did my first 100 hours at his marina fixing engines and then I came on the Spirit. I wasn't brought up on boats, so he thought this would be a great way to get more experience."

Glenn has spent his time onboard learning the engineering responsibilities and some of the work on deck.

"I have learned the osmosis system how we change salt water to fresh water, the electrical system on the boat and how to switch between the generator, inverter and engine and the air conditioning system," Glenn said.

"It has been easier than I thought it would be because the engineer David has been a huge help and broken it down for me."

Glenn recommended the ship for other marine engineers.

"I've had a good time," he said. "I have liked meeting new people and knowing what it feels like to sail across the entire Atlantic ocean."

The engineering internship has proved such a success that it will be continued throughout the voyage.

Annika Zayac will be the intern on the next leg.