“The attainment of proficiency, the pushing of your skill with attention to the most delicate shades of excellence, is a matter of vital concern. Efficiency of a practically flawless kind may be reached naturally in the struggle for bread. But there is something beyond — a higher point, a subtle and unmistakable touch of love and pride beyond mere skill; …
Tag: seamanship
Seneca on Sailing
2,000 years ago, Seneca was writing about seamanship. Remember, “never stop flying it . . . ” ANother translation has it so: A great pilot can sail even when his canvas is rent; if his ship be dismantled, he can yet put in trim what remains of her hull and hold her to her course. Seneca, circa 65.
Just Row
The siren birds look cool, flying around free in the sky. Odysseus is the hero we hear about tied to the mast, getting to listen to their siren song. But better to be the oarsmen. Heads down, doing the work, no distractions. Sometimes we have to ignore the sights and sounds out the window, or in our head, and just …
The Sea is Always Ready
“We must remember that the sea is no respector of ships or persons. The sea is always ready, at the first sign of failure, to rush in and destroy the very craft it so readily supports upon the surface of the water. The sea is only safe and harmless so long as the ship is safe and seaworthy and ably …
Officer’s Aide Memoire
During WWII, the Royal Navy expanded at a great clip, which required staffing hundreds of ships with new officers. The shore training camp that turned civilians into Royal Navy officers was HMS King Alfred, in Hove, Sussex. It was commanded by one Captain John Noel Pelly, who was recalled from retirement at the start of the war. A few years …
Ships are to Little Purpose
“Ships are to little purpose without skillful Sea Men.” Richard Hakluyt, 1589. As a piloting quote, these words ring true across five centuries. And as a quick social media meme they seem true for many activities we humans want to feel important about. And that’s good. But there’s a lot more here than just a two-second meme. Richard Hakluyt (1553 – 1616) …
The Sky, Like the Sea, is Selective
The sea is selective… slow at recognition of effort and aptitude, but fast at sinking the unfit. Felix Riesenberg The sky and the sea share uncaring ways. Beautiful, but deadly. Rewarding the worthy only with temporary treasures. Original photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash. SaveSave
Richard Bach on Spirit of Flight
In the book Gift of Wings, Richard Bach writes about the people who look up to the sky to watch airplanes, people who slow down when driving past airports. He says, “If you act this way, it’s possible that in flight you’ll find much to learn of yourself and of the path of your life on this planet.” Of course, …
Why Would a Ship Sail into a Hurricane?
This time last year the American ship SS El Faro went down in a hurricane with the loss of all thirty-three crew (Wikipedia page). It seems impossible ‘in this day and age’ that such a thing could happen. It wasn’t a mechanical issue, or a rogue crew, or pirates, or a freak storm. The Washington Post reported one of the …
Light Bulbs, Red Lines, and Rotten Onions
I’ve talked about the MV Hoegh Osaka incident before. A huge ship that left port out of balance and soon was grounded on the Bramble Bank sandbar off the Isle of Wight. The official British Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) report determined that a “fundamental principle of seamanship appears to have been allowed to drift, giving rise to potential unsafe practices.” Today I read an …