The North Sea- One of The Most Treacherous Voyage for a Sailor

 The Voyage through the North Sea

Thick fog blanketed the port before we set sail to the North Sea. Eerie silence deafened our ears until a squawk from the lone seagull above broke the uncanny quietness. That atmosphere depicted the emotions of all that were present. Every sailor be it a captain, a first-mate and other such veterans to the average joes for instance the deckhands like me. I’m Jim. Loads of work to be done around here. We have to prepare for the most dangerous journey that befalls a sailor-The North Sea.

I wondered whether the voyage to collect rare plant species from the Svalbard Sea Vault was worth it. The shallow yet devastating waves that would soon rock our old rocker-our vessel. I knew every nook and cranny of it. Not many of hiding places from the destructing waves. We were all afraid. My emotions were even worse than the time when I tasted stale and frozen food for the first time out in the sea. There was not a smile on anyone’s face maybe except for the grocer downtown who would be glad to know I won’t be around soon. Don’t judge me, I have only shoplifted for food once or maybe thrice. But ehhh….

There was much more at stake here. Soon, we were all loaded up with enough equipment and food to last 6 months!! And there it came. The horn bellowed as it engulfed the entire ship scaring the seagull I told you about earlier. The horn meant we were all ready for our voyage through the North Sea.

We drifted further away from the pier as our engines started. Never before had I ever prayed so much for the engine to cough and splutter and ground our voyage. But it continued producing a deafening noise that could be heard all the way up to our mast. Our rusty old ship’s still afloat and that’s what surprises me. It seems like its from the Victorian times!

With rusted metal coverings and paints that peels off by just the snap of your fingers. It was surely a fuel guzzler as I often heard the captain grumble about the low budget that could only cover the fuel. We were onward and I swear I could hear the waves smashing the deck of a ship that might have been hundreds of miles ahead of us. I must have been hallucinating. I went to captain’s cabin awaiting our list of duties. I thought the captain would go easy on us but no. A long list of hard tasks to complete something I predicted would take three hours. And Jimmy’s never wrong.

I just finished my share of work and I was blown by the swiftness of my colleagues. I was last to complete and I expected them to be moping around the deck but they were standing at the bow. I was perplexed and soon I realized why they were engrossed by the water surrounding them. It was it! The North Sea.

As we inched closer I wished I could somehow reverse the engines but I knew better as the engine room is off-limits to us deckhands. Soon we all ran helter skelter is search of shelter. Hey that rhymed! But this was not the time to enjoy my first rhyme. Smash! Waves started to batter the vessel. I ducked for cover below the deck. Suddenly the ship lurched sideways knocking me down cold.

I have no idea how long I have been it the smelly storeroom of the ship and I have no idea how long I would be there if my fellow deckhand had not come downstairs searching for cables to repair the ship which had faced collateral damage. I could barely recognize it. But happiness crept through me. I have survived my first journey through the North Sea. This is not end of our voyage to Svalbard which is a good week far away. But, I DID IT!

I conquered through the North Sea though it kind of helps that I was knocked cold on the wet floor of our store room. I heard tales all around of waves slam onto the side of the boat. Many of the sailors were wet head to toe. Maybe its was not a bad idea heading for cover considering we only have one pair of clothes. But we know that we really needed to repair our vessel before the captain came around.

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Credits:

Cover Image: https://www.craiyon.com/image/xVW379LvT3GJV1Xp6C1YqA

Inside image: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/04/07/death-of-north-sea-oil-disaster-for-britain/

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To learn more about the North Sea, visit: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/north-sea-waves-dangerous-vikings

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