Seafarers, this one's for you
Jacques Cousteau said once her spell is cast, the sea forever holds you in her net of wonder. Saturday, June 25, is International Seafarers Day — “At Sea for All” their motto.
For some the sea evokes romance and awe, with its vast power, its unpredictable adventures — the stuff of “Master and Commander.” Nothing else in nature rivals her contrasts of absolute stillness and raging torrents over two-thirds of the Earth’s surface. Even those who give it little thought still find themselves renewed by the soothing sounds of waves as they reach the shores.
Beyond the sea’s terrifying beauty is the tough, fascinating, rarely considered lives of seafarers, who impact landlubbers worldwide as they toil in mobile workplaces. Did you know:
There are about 10,000 shipping companies operating 50,000 ships, generating $500 billion in annual revenue and 90 percent of world trade, according to the International Shipping Federation.
Shipping is the transportation mode lowest in greenhouse gases.
English is the international language of seafarers, used to communicate with multilingual crews, coastal stations, and other ships.
Sailors have many old superstitions, including no bananas on board (lest the ship disappear), no whistling (or you’ll whistle up a storm), and sayings such as, “red sky at night, sailor’s delight; red sky in the morning, sailors take warning.” They seem to — mostly — have let go of at least one: No women on board (or risk an angry sea).
Ship’s crewmen are either licensed “ship’s officers,” responsible for safe operation of machinery and manpower; or un-licensed “ratings,” who handle cargo, painting, cooking, clean, and repairs. Crews have two departments: Deck (navigation, cargo/mission, exterior upkeep — led by the captain); and engineering (machinery for propulsion and cargo — anything with bolts or electricity, led by a chief engineer, who reports to the master, a.k.a. captain). About 17 comprise a typical cargo ship’s crew.
The word ship derives from the Old English “scip.” English ships are always female, perhaps explained by the British Naval tradition of preceding ship names with “Her Majesty’s Ship” — HMS (name). True to old enmities, the French take the opposite approach; ships are masculine (le), instead of feminine (la), i.e., “le bateau.”
Ships have evolved over millennia from hollowed out tree trunks to massive 550,000-ton supertankers. On the open ocean sail all sorts: ocean miners, cable layers, rocket platforms, research ships, condominium ships. The oil industry has standby-anchor handlers, floating production platforms, jack-up rigs, drill ships, and supply boats. Military fleets include destroyers, frigates, minesweepers, submarines, and aircraft carriers. To name a few.
• Beyond speedboats, tugboats, passenger ferries, and yachts, common to Northwest ports are container ships — with their long, standard-size shipping containers still transported between ports by train — the backbone of global trade and much of the stock in stores and homes.
So caps off to all ye seafarers. And finally “an old answer to an old question”:
How long have you been a sailor?
All my bloomin’ life.
Me mother was a mermaid.
Me father was King Neptune.
I was born on the crest of a wave
And rock the cradle of the deep.
Seaweed and barnacles are me clothes,
The hair on me head is hemp,
Every bone in me body’s a spar,
And when I spit, I spit tar.
I’se hard, I is, I am, I are.
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Sholeh Patrick is a columnist for the Hagadone News Network both awed by and afeared of the sea. Contact her at [email protected].