Oh Captain My Captain

When I first saw him I did not know what to think. I am entering into the unknown and this is my captain, the one I will turn to for advice and guidance. He was a skinny man of six feet with shaggy brown hair. This twenty- two year old captain of mine ultimately, and through no knowledge of his own, changed my life. He was a recent college graduate and now captain of a 50’ boat for Sail Caribbean. I thought this was the best job any one could ask for. Throughout my life I have always been fortunate enough to have met amazing people who have had tremendous influences on me- this is a brief portrait of Simon Day.

His mannerisms were peaceful and serene. He was generally calm yet radiated energy; the kind of person you could to talk to forever. He was in his element at sea having spent four years of his adolescence sailing the world with his family, and there was not a situation that rattled him. I remember, as the seventeen day program progressed, when a situation occurred which has always stayed with me as characteristic of his patience and character.

Simon was at a staff meeting and we were left alone, which occurred daily, to make dinner and see that other chores were done. Since this event took place during the second half of the program, my crew mates and I were feeling quite confident with the boat. We charging the fridges, by running the engine, and decided that it would be a good idea to temporarily cut off power to the engine to save energy. When we restored the electrical flow and went to turn off the engine, nothing happened. It was still running. Instinctively, we tried everything we knew of but could not get the engine off. When Simon returned we told him what happened, and to our surprise he was totally calm and collected about the situation. I remember him, and the mate- of- the- day, struggling in the cramped engine compartment to find a solution. In the end, it wasn’t that big of a deal to Simon, but to us it was. We knew we were young and inexperienced, but Simon never made us feel inferior. At the end of a long, hot day it would have been easy for Simon to have been tired and lost his patience, but he never did. I have always remember that situation and tried to emulate it.

Simon was not always the perfect captain and was often careless. We ran aground, one night he did not the dinghy up correctly and if drifted away, and he was horrible at paper work. Thus, from the director’s aspect, he was great with us but not so up to par with the other parts of his job. Yet none of that has mattered. He imparted on me his passion for the sea and sailing, which continues to motivate me. When I came home from Sail Caribbean I came home a changed person. I have always been an ocean enthusiast, but only in the recent years have I propelled myself into the world of sailing. If I had not had the fantastic experience that I did and did not have the perfect captain that I did, my life would be very different- both professionally and psychologically.