The voyage had been fraught with difficulties. During the recent days and nights, the passage had been a little short of a tempest. During such storms, it was impossible to sleep whether on or off duty.

The lack of sleep affected the near-retired skipper much. Captain Hatfield was exhausted by the time the storm eased and began to abate.

Finally, the struggle for survival was over and Captain Hatfield after telling the ship’s officers of his plans retired to his cabin and promptly fell into a deep sleep.

Not long afterwards he was roughly awoken by a man he didn’t recognize.

‘You must change course,’ the intruder ordered. ‘Here is the course you must follow.’

Half asleep and bemused by the stranger’s intrusion and command, the captain climbed the ladder to the afterdeck. There, he met the ship’s first mate and told him the new course to steer.

‘Why,’ the officer enquired. ‘We agreed on our course.’

‘But a member of the crew just entered my cabin and told me to alter course; I never questioned it. I thought it was your decision.’

Assuring the irritable skipper that there was no need to change the course it was presumed that the sleeping captain had experienced a dream.

Returning to his cabin, Captain Hatfield again fell asleep. Again, his shoulder was shaken until he was sufficiently awake to see a man standing beside his bunk.

‘Sir! You must change course! Lives depend on it. Please do not question me. Here is the course you must steer.’

On reaching the on-duty officer he was again told that no one had left the deck; no one had visited his cabin.

By this time, officers and crew thought their skipper was delusional. After the captain again descended to his cabin, the crew members shook their heads from side to side. They tried to make sense of what was happening but it was futile.

On a third occasion, the captain was awoken by the same man. On this occasion he was adamant.

‘Sir, you have to change course to the one I have given you. I insist that you do so.’

Again, the intruder provided the captain with the course that he must take. On this occasion, the bewildered captain agreed. Once on deck, he offered no explanation. He simply issued a change in course that complied with the stranger’s request.

By this time the crew really thought that Captain Hatfield was crazy. However, orders were orders. They changed their course.

The next morning, as soon as it became daylight, the crew sighted a sinking ship in the distance. The crew of Captain Hatfield’s vessel launched their lifeboats and were able to rescue everyone from the sinking ship. All were taken aboard and their sinking ship was abandoned to its fate; to rest forever on the seabed.

After recovering and during their voyage to the nearest port the rescued captain and his wife asked Captain Hatfield what happened to make him change his course.

When the captain told them the story of the events leading up to the rescue, they asked the captain to describe the strange intruder to them.

When Captain Hatfield described the man to them the rescued captain’s wife covered her mouth with her hand.

‘’Sir, you have just described my father; you have described him perfectly; It is as if you knew him but there is no possibility of you knowing him.’

Captain Hatfield sighed and asked the officer’s wife how she could be so sure he had never before met the man.

‘My father,’ she replied quietly, ‘has been dead for over ten years.’

NOTE: This is a true story. There are similar mysteries recounted in ALL I ASK IS A TALL SHIP and THE LEAVING OF LIVERPOOL by Michael Walls.  PLEASE SHARE OUR STORIES).

https://michaelwalshbooks.wordpress.com/https://michaelwalshbooks.wordpress.com/ALL I ASK IS A TALL SHIP Michael Walsh the Mariner’s Poet. Hauntingly illustrated a captivating chronicle of life penned by a son of the seven seas evoked from worldwide voyages during the 1950s and 1960s. The Bard of the Sea has spun a captivating treasure chest of delightful verse that captures hearts and souls worldwide. CLICK PIC OR LINKS TO BOOKSTORE https://michaelwalshbooks.wordpress.com/

https://michaelwalshbooks.wordpress.com/THE LEAVING OF LIVERPOOL  ex-Liverpool seaman Michael Walsh. Bestseller: 70 stories and over 100 pictures. A first-hand account of the British ships, seafarers, adventures and misadventures (1955 – 1975). A tribute to the ships and seamen of the then-largest merchant marine in history. LINKS TO BOOKSTORE CLICK PICTURE OR LINK https://michaelwalshbooks.wordpress.com/