Tales From the Sea is a semi-autobiographical novel based on my life serving in the British Merchant Navy between 1957 and 1969 as an officer. I served on tankers with Eagle Oil and Shell and then on small cargo ships with United Baltic Corporation serving ports in Finland, Russia and Poland.
Inn its pages, the reader will meet the characters with whom I sailed, the good, the bad, the comedians and the tough guys. Readers will experience the nights ashore and visit through my eyes exotic places to which I voyaged. Read about the different ships, old and new, as they ploughed their way across the oceans carrying the products of the world.
Weaving a spell over everything is the sea and its dangers. To most seamen the sea itself calls. No seaman will ever know with what moods the sea will greet him when he sails out of port to meet the sea or how the mood can change very quickly. This is the excitement of the sea.
The Sailors Mistress
When the cargo is loaded and all falls quiet
The sea itself is calling.
Beckoning the sailor out there beyond the dock.
His mistress is waiting
Where the river meets the sea.
He has no real knowledge of what her reaction will be
When he sails out to meet her.
She may greet him in a calm, balmy mood
Like a gentle lover entwining him in her arms
Leaving him refreshed and happy when they part.
It might be she is angry
And will meet him with unmatched violence
A violence that beats upon the senses
And leaves the lovers drained and exhausted,
Ready to rush apart,
Ready to find a place of peace and quiet
Not the feeling of complete satisfaction.
Like lovers the sea and the sailor
Will never quite know what moods
Will greet them when they meet
Or how the mood can change very quickly.
This is the excitement of the sea.
Every time a ship leaves port
The sailor approaches that love
With a mixture of exhilaration and apprehension.
Will they together make beautiful love
Under a clear blue sky
Or will they fight?
It is not for the sailor to subdue the sea
But live with her moods
In the hope he can survive.
The sea is calling, always calling
As a lover calls.
Buy as a paperback from Amazon or createspace and as an ebook for downloading from Kindle
Or Smashwords..
Weaving a spell over everything is the sea and its dangers. To most seamen the sea itself calls. No seaman will ever know with what moods the sea will greet him when he sails out of port to meet the sea or how the mood can change very quickly. This is the excitement of the sea.
The Sailors Mistress
When the cargo is loaded and all falls quiet
The sea itself is calling.
Beckoning the sailor out there beyond the dock.
His mistress is waiting
Where the river meets the sea.
He has no real knowledge of what her reaction will be
When he sails out to meet her.
She may greet him in a calm, balmy mood
Like a gentle lover entwining him in her arms
Leaving him refreshed and happy when they part.
It might be she is angry
And will meet him with unmatched violence
A violence that beats upon the senses
And leaves the lovers drained and exhausted,
Ready to rush apart,
Ready to find a place of peace and quiet
Not the feeling of complete satisfaction.
Like lovers the sea and the sailor
Will never quite know what moods
Will greet them when they meet
Or how the mood can change very quickly.
This is the excitement of the sea.
Every time a ship leaves port
The sailor approaches that love
With a mixture of exhilaration and apprehension.
Will they together make beautiful love
Under a clear blue sky
Or will they fight?
It is not for the sailor to subdue the sea
But live with her moods
In the hope he can survive.
The sea is calling, always calling
As a lover calls.
Buy as a paperback from Amazon or createspace and as an ebook for downloading from Kindle
Or Smashwords..
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