– The Rapscallion and the Sea

Now my cabin was below deck level so I had to climb one flight of stairs to get to the level of the main deck. When I get there, the first thing that come to me was to go outside and check things. So I start open the door to the outside and the ship slam down again as the door open a crack and water begin spray through the door. Is then I realize that things was really rough. So I climb two more flights and go to the third level of the superstructure and open the door to the outside. Now I was two levels above the maim deck and in the shelter of the superstructure. But that did not stop water from spraying me. As soon as I poke my head out, I soaked. The water never had much force at that level though, just spray, spray from wave or rain I could not tell, but spray any way; spray and wind every where and the sea stand up like man before me. When me say stan' up like man me not joking. It stand up like a ugly sensible being; vex, vex, vex.

Alright now, you see when I try to go out on the deck, I couldn't go out fully, I had to stay half-in, half- out; because I was alone and I didn't want the door to slam and lock me outside, plus the way the ship was rocking and rolling one false step and I would probably fall overboard. So I just barely push half-way through the door. When I push miself out, the ship was staggering on top of a wave. It was at an angle, for it just finished climbing it, so the bow pointing in the air and all I could see was sky in front and the sea stand up ugly and rolling to the sides. Then as the wave roll under the ship and the ship move forward, is like everything disappear from under us and the forward half of the vessel have nothing under it, and is like the ship just shoot off the top of the wave. It shoot off, like them man who ski, and then it drop, plodow, and slam onto the back of the wave as it start to disappear.

That is when everything in you belly feel like it drop out, and every part of the ship tremble and groan. And when it drop and start to plough down into the trough, all I see in front of me is water, just water. Then half way down, the next wave come and slam the bow, and the bow shudder, and rock, and shy away little and disappear into the water for a while, and then the ship start shudder some more, like she have fever and then she start climb the wave and the water start foam over her and the whole main deck disappear for a while and all around is just the ugly sea, stand up like man a rail and a flex itself, vex, vex, vex.