Nothing ventured, nothing gained, as the paddles dipped and the canoe bows encountered the breakers, the canoes were hurled into the air and then afterwards slapped down into each trough whilst threatening to send us all to a watery grave with each roller encountered. Imagine taking a ride on a bucking bronco or steer.
Today, there is a growing fascination for what is now recognised as the zenith of Britain’s 400-year-old merchant marine, the vessels and great shipping companies of the past, and especially of the seafarers and their then way of life.
The radio operator reported the following: ‘SOS from Ourang Medan. A team of nine people, please help. The captain is dead, probably dead, and the other crew members, and after a minute, another signal came: ‘I’m dying.’
His remarkable feat caught worldwide attention. National Geographic chronicled his adventures, millions followed his progress, and his story was later told in the book and film ‘Dove’ – named after his beloved sailboat.
The absence of a crew in innovative vessels reduces costs, improves performance and increases reliability. The design perfectly withstands long-term wear and tear, allowing the ships to remain stealthy and resilient to threats.
It is not a task for men weak of arm and spirit. The ocean’s pull on the line could jerk one’s arms from the armpits as the line is fed out over the ship’s taffrail into the sea below.
All I Ask is a Tall Ship is a unique and soul-yearning evocation of this great romantic era. As you dreamily turn the pages of this almost spiritual pilgrimage you will breathe the aromas and taste the briny of a vast place on earth that remains enigmatically indifferent from its terrestrial counterpart.
Never forgotten was the drama as the Enugu Palm skimmed a row of moored freighters at the quays of the Ivory Coast port of Abidjan. The mariner on the wheel of that fateful day in June 1965 tells the story as it unfolded. MIKE WALSH: Had it not […]
MICHAEL WALSH FORMER MARINER: The vast oceans and seas that touch all of our lives abound with mystery. The fathomless and mysterious oceans consist of ever-changing horizons hardly touched by human hands. Mysterious because we know more about the distant moon than we do of the enigmatic waters […]
MICHAEL WALSH – EX-MARINER Samuel Plimsoll (1824 – 1898) was an English politician and social reformer. He is best remembered for having devised the Plimsoll line. This is a painted watermark on a ship’s hull indicating the ship’s maximum safe draught. If the weight of a loaded cargo pressed the vessel’s […]
Michael Walsh Stories and Books 
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