I am back this week after a two week hiatus to talk about sinking ships. My apologies for the delay in posting. I had to keep up with other engagements that pay the bills.
Hmmnn sinking ships. A little depressing for this yuletide season you had say. You are perfectly justified if you think it is.
Well I don't mean to distress you. Just to share my thoughts on sinking ships and yes sinking lives.
First sinking ships.
Ships have sunk from time immemorial. I am sure we all know of the most famous example of a sinking ship-The Titanic. Other equally famous ones include the Britannic, Lusitania or Estonia. The ill-fated White Star liner RMS Titanic, struck an iceberg and sank on her maiden voyage across the Atlantic. Below is the Titanic resting 'at the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean, broken in half down the middle and surrounded by debris, slowly disintegrating in the ice-cold depths.'
Within the space of two weeks since my last blog post, a Chinese cargo ship sunk off Northern Philippines. The crew abandoned ship (ABS) as the cargo laden ship started sinking in shallow waters after being lashed by huge waves. One crew man is feared dead and another missing.
Though there are no clear cut statistics on the number of sea going vessels that sink on the average per annum globally, Wolfgang Rosenthal, of the GKSS Research Centre in Geesthacht, Germany opined in 2004 that two large ships sink every week.
The United Nations estimates that there are more than 3 million shipwrecks on the ocean floor. This has given rise to fortune hunts of buried sea vessels holding troves of treasures. One of such hunts and it's ongoing aftermath can be read here.The SS Gairsoppa recovery is a planned deep-sea operation in the North Atlantic Ocean, that is expected to retrieve the world's largest precious metals shipwreck salvage in history. Here is a you tube video heralding the find.
You can read about the treasure expedition of the SS Gairsoppa here.
When a ship sinks the stakes could be high, apart from possible loss of lives, economic and even environmental interests play a part. The environment is often the worse off when liquid contents carried by ships sip into the marine ecosystem. Valuables and even the rescue of the ship itself spurns an entire branch of Maritime Law called The Law of Salvage.
Ships sink for a variety of reasons. Wars (like the SS Gairsoppa), bad weather, fire, poor design, improperly stowed cargo, navigation and other human errors leading to collisions (with another ship, the shoreline, an iceberg, etc.), forming an artificial reef, piracy, mutiny or sabotage; as part of target practice; or to remove a menace to navigation.
'There's an old maritime tale that rats will abandon a sinking ship. There have been many reports of rats jumping from a ship by the dozen before the crew is even aware that there's a problem. So do rats have ESP? Probably not. The cause for this phenomenon is pretty simple. If there are rats on board a ship, they're most likely living in the bilge area -- just like they might be found in your basement. Since the bilge is the first place to take on water, the rats will know about it before anyone else. Water comes in and the rats climb up. Once up top, they probably simply get scared by the activity and jump overboard. A short time later, the crew is aware that the ship is sinking, and dimwitted sailors believe that rats can see the future.'
With the right steps and knowledge, anyone may survive a sinking ship. To learn how to survive a sinking ship click here.
Now to sinking lives.
Sink:
1. To descend to the bottom; submerge.
2.
a. To fall or drop to a lower level, especially to go down slowly or in stages.
b. To subside or settle gradually, as a massive or weighty structure.
3. To appear to move downward, as the sun or moon in setting.
4. To slope downward; incline.
5. To pass into a specified condition.
6.
a. To deteriorate in quality or condition.
b. To diminish, as in value.
7. To become weaker, quieter, or less forceful.
8.
a. To drop or fall slowly, as from weakness or fatigue.
b. To feel great disappointment or discouragement.
9. To seep or soak; penetrate.
10. To make an impression; become felt or understood:
These definitions are taken from the online free dictionary.
All of the variant's of the word 'sink' save for perhaps 4, 5,9 and 10 are mostly negative in connotation.
By sinking lives here, I mean it in the senses used in 1-3 and 6-8 particularly in the sense of 1 and 6.
Sometimes people find themselves in a descent to the bottom. Many external or internal stimulus may be responsible for this. A failed marriage. A costly mistake. An error in judgement. A hidden affliction. An emotional trauma. A psychological tumult. A determined enemy. A lack of self restraint. An uncontrollable addiction. Many other factors.
These people are all around us. They are that stranger at the bus stop, the colleague at the office, the friend at school, the relative we know. They are all around us.
Some have lost the will to live. Some have reached rock bottom.
It doesn't matter what the causes are. These lives are shipwrecked. Expectations dashed by the harsh reality of terrestrial existence. Like sunken ships, some of these lives have enormous treasures within their being.
These lives are looking for just a reason to live. To carry on. To rise. To be salvaged.
Be that reason.
Spread some love this yuletide. A smile. An endearing word. Encouragement. Care. Empathy. Affection. It doesn't matter your race, beliefs, religion, orientation, preferences.
We share a common humanity. A commonality of birth and death.
I leave you with Nat King Cole's smile.
Till next post. Big ups!
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