Calling All Hands
2200 30 DEC 2008
The Papa flag. A blue flag with a white square in the center. All personnel report back to ship. Liberty is withdrawn. Prepare to get underway.
We weren’t slated to head out until Sunday afternoon. Our recent crazy winter storms caused a buoy by Humboldt Bay to break free over the holidays. It wandered from its set spot into a nearby surf zone and needs to be put back in place. But it isn’t critical. It can wait for a few more days until the weather clears and the seas calm. So why are we going out? Who else broke free?
I was really looking forward to liberty. Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve. I had plans to get together with one of my Romeo shipmates and hit the town. How often does one get to spend the most fabulous of holidays in the big beautiful city with drinks and friends and dancing? I get one less opportunity now. But that’s alright. After the moment of disappointment I remind myself that I didn’t sign up for a life of parties. I signed up to live on the ocean. Tomorrow I will return to the sea. I am excited.
Let’s do this.
The Papa flag. A blue flag with a white square in the center. All personnel report back to ship. Liberty is withdrawn. Prepare to get underway.
We weren’t slated to head out until Sunday afternoon. Our recent crazy winter storms caused a buoy by Humboldt Bay to break free over the holidays. It wandered from its set spot into a nearby surf zone and needs to be put back in place. But it isn’t critical. It can wait for a few more days until the weather clears and the seas calm. So why are we going out? Who else broke free?
I was really looking forward to liberty. Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve. I had plans to get together with one of my Romeo shipmates and hit the town. How often does one get to spend the most fabulous of holidays in the big beautiful city with drinks and friends and dancing? I get one less opportunity now. But that’s alright. After the moment of disappointment I remind myself that I didn’t sign up for a life of parties. I signed up to live on the ocean. Tomorrow I will return to the sea. I am excited.
Let’s do this.