seamanship

Ships are to little purpose

By Dave English

“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) was an English writer known for promoting the English colonization of North America. He wrote (with Edmund Goldsmid) the 16 volume opus The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation (online Gutenberg). It was in here he wrote … Continue reading Ships are to little purpose

The sky, like the sea, is selective

By Dave English

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

By Dave English

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, he’s right. Gentle words reminding us that the sky is a calling. A higher pursuit of man. And the sky, like the wilderness or the sea, requires our constant application and respect.

Why would a ship sail into a hurricane?

By Dave English

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 deck officers voiced concern prior to sailing, emailing friends and family, “there is a hurricane out here and we are heading straight into it.” Yankee magazine has published a deep read that is worth the time for any pilot to … Continue reading Why would a ship sail into a hurricane?

Light bulbs, red lines, and rotten onions

By Dave English

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 excellent analysis of the accident report and what it means for Safety Management Systems and safety/production balance in the real world. It’s titled Light bulbs, red lines, and rotten onions, by Nippin Anand. It was originally published in The Seaways of the … Continue reading Light bulbs, red lines, and rotten onions