Mark Cheramie was born in 1963 in New Orleans, and was a licensed deckhand by the time he finished high school in 1981.  In 1985 he joined Doucet Adams as a Mate, in 1992 he moved to Guidry Brothers, where he moved from Mate to Captain in two years.  By 1994, he was First Captain.  In December, 2000 he was fired for Union activities.  He is currently working as an organizer at the Offshore Mariners United union in Houma.