Awaiting my final 2 sailings with the Navy before I retire from active reservist and go back as a landlubber watching the white horses from shore and start telling crazy stories of huge waves covering the entire ship, and monsters longer than an LST.

 

Aye, ain't no old sea dog, just a weary sailor doing his time for his nation.  Learnt my spricing, knots and ropes, and blows a brilliant bosun call routine.  Except the Navy no longer needs her own seaman to do these seamanly tasks.  Sadly, good traditions are lost.

 

Breakfast, Dinner, Supper.  Aye, there ain't no lunch for the old sea dogs.  Aye, tradition as it is, hundreds of years ago, early ships are frail and small compared to today's steel hulls.  Sailing out to the unfamiliar seas, it is every seaman's wish to live one more day on the unpredictable sea.  Hence, dinner was brought forward, as one more day would have past once dinner is consumed.  This is why in naval language, there is no lunch.  The simple wish and joy to live and survive one more day.

 

And we have heads, no toilets.  Heads for 2 simple explainations.  Stalls for releasing one's waste used to have swinging doors, and when one is squatting behind these doors, only the heads can be seen.  Hence, "Heads" instead of "toilet".  Also earlier ships have few stalls, in fact few ships carry such luxury.  Crew and passengers go onto the ship's side to release their waste.  Before they start their action, the crew and passengers shout "Heads" to ensure those sticking their heads out of the portholes to catch some sea breeze stick them back in so as not to catch any nightsoil or free body fluid on their heads.  Aye, we remember our humble beginnings, and the hardships the forebears overcame to better love the seas.

 

Aye, landlubbers will never understand. Landlubbers, first started as "land lovers", and now, our very own insulting lingo for the unwary landlubber, who knows nothing about the white horses bring horrible waves, and how we hated port beans and starboard beans for supper.  We laugh at landlubbers' attempts to sound the bosun call, while we awaken the ship's soul in the bell with our daily colours at 8.00am.

 

Aye, Port is the left side and Starboard is the right.  While Port is indicated with a red light, and Starboard with green, Zone A and B does it opposite.  A red-white-red says I am pulling some weight behind, a black ball for an anchored ship, two red lights for do not approach me on port, and 7 coats of paint to get the ship ship-shape.

 

Aye, there are much ado on the seas, there are colours and flags, with many messages without a single spoken word.  And these, I will keep with me, though my sea legs will soon be lost with my impending farewell to the many sailings, thankfully.