Dear Friends,

 

This is not just an idle question.

 

Yesterday and today, I have been thinking about the very thing that made me feel most alive in my life.

 

Hands down, and All Hands!, it was sailing on the brine.

 

Most of you landlubbers will NOT know what it is like to be out to sea, like me.

 

I have worked on the longest of ships, in my day, scraping paint and painting red lead.

 

When I was just a Midshipman, I had the world by the tail.

 

You just do not know what it's like to walk on a rolling deck, or climb a ladder up to see the captain of the vessel.

 

I dare say that not one of you have even been on a Flying Bridge, and down deep to clean out the bunker fuel.

 

I can smell the bunker now, as I write.

 

What I am saying is that I am quickly tiring of my life as I now know it.

 

Portugal is really not for me.

 

What I need is to sign on a vessel, a slow boat, one that will remain at sea.

 

If you have ever been on a vessel such as this, then you will recall the porpoises riding the bow wave, like snakes, leaving bright trails of evanescence.  Like Sea Serpents, they were, indeed.

 

 I am just saying that the longer I am here, the more I yearn for the sea, and the smell of the sea.

 

I so much pity the poor souls who have no memory of being on the rolling waves.

 

This is something that just cannot be described in any words known to English.

 

Melville tried.

He failed.

 

He got bogged down describing the on-board fire pits which rendered the whale blubber.

 

I have read many a sea tale, and there is not one that adequately describes what it means to be before the mast, pitching and rolling.

 

Now, as is the case with all men, I have reached the point of no return.  I can choose to have my last adventure, if hired into the right crew by the right captain.

 

Gone are the days of the Shanghai. 

Now are the days when one must talk oneself onboard.

 

Our blessed oceans are our last frontier.

 

I so much yearn to again feel salty spray, and the THRUM,THRUM...THRUM of the propeller, as it inevitably churns the miles behind her.

 

MAN OVERBOARD! 

Is a call you will never hear on most ships.

 

And, I have never been afraid of hurling over the side.

 

You can meet lots of friends while shipping out.

 

I want to experience this life again.

 

Surely there must be a Tramp Steamer going nowhere, carrying nothing.

 

During and After the three-year floo, then what would you expect?

 

Just think to yourselves what it is like to breathe in that salty air.

 

You will never know.

 

I love the sea in so many uncountable ways.

 

It sometimes pains me to be so far removed from it.

 

Yet, I must return, like the salmon, and the trout.

 

Regards,

Gamma

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If I was you ,I would just get down to the docks ,and stowaway on a vessel of your

choice , come out when well at sea , and don't look back , good luck

 

P.S. you may not have access to internet while out at sea , OK , 

 

regards Worgeordie

There are container ships that do 4 month and more voyages that you can book a cabin on.

 

Try one of those and see if you still have your sea legs or it's just a happy memory. Probably at your age that's the closest you'll ever get.

 

And they have wi-fi so you can keep us all updated.

You called the primer red lead which dates you to over 30 yrs not sailing. Good luck.

18 minutes ago, GammaGlobulin said:

This is not just an idle question.

Oh yes it is

11 minutes ago, EVENKEEL said:

You called the primer red lead which dates you to over 30 yrs not sailing. Good luck.

Our friend is about 50 years too late.

The world has changed so much that if he was found on board he wouId most likely be locked up and do jail time.Security is important post 9-11. I looked into booking a cabin on a container ship and it was around 100$/day.

Times have changed mate, that's not going to happen. But there is a solution. From your style it seems to me you like to see your name up in print. Perhaps a can of spray paint, and you can tag Gamma Gobulin to your hearts content. ????

 

 

Container ship cruises cost the same as regular cruises. I did one over to England from NYC with all of my then-stuff.

you seem bored out of your mind.

why not take up a long leisurely hobby like golf?

and hang out in your local pub to meet people in the real world?

maybe scrape up 2000 baht and rent a girlfriend in pattaya?

 

So glad we have a true, seafaring poet amongst us. Good luck with your quest. 

On 5/20/2023 at 3:21 PM, GammaGlobulin said:

What I am saying is that I am quickly tiring of my life as I now know it.

That’s statin’ the bleedin’ obvious!