Sailing through the storm

Captain John was ready to set sail on board his ship, Santa Maria, named after the famous ship of Christopher Columbus. The captain and his crew decided to set sail in the later half of evening and sail through the night to reach their destination the next evening. The route they were to sail was new to them but that did not really bother them as captain John was highly experienced, having been a sailor for over twenty five years.

The route was known to be treacherous with mid-ocean ridges and small rocky islands. The captain trusted his instincts and decided they had to sail through the night to keep up to the schedule. Captain John was so experienced he would use the stars at night, to guide his ship on the right course and hardly needed a compass. So the crew gathered, loaded the cargo, made the ship ready to sail and waited for captain's orders. "Raise the anchor, it's time to set sail," announced the captain. The anchor was raised up and the sails adjusted. They were on their way.

The voyage was going exactly as they planned and they were on course to reach their destination at the designated time. Captain John walked out on the deck at about midnight. There was a cool breeze blowing and the sea was a little rough. He walked up to the helmsman "Seems the weather might deteriorate," said John to his helmsman Adam. "We may run into rough weather sir, there is a steady wind blowing, the clouds seem dark and  heavy and the sea is rough. I hope we don't sail right into a storm," said Adam. Captain John just looked around and took a walk along the periphery of his ship returning to the quarter deck to tell Adam," Do not worry, we'll be alright. We have no option but to keep going" The captain retired to his cabin.

About two hours later Captain John, who had sensed bad weather, rushed out on deck. "A storm is probably on its way", he thought to himself. It was already drizzling with gusty winds when he reached the deck. Being captain he had to ensure the safety of his men, his ship and his cargo. Soon his worst fears came true, there was thunder and lighting, it was raining heavily and the ship was rocking on the huge waves of the rough sea.  Captain John called for all men to take their positions. All the men, alarmed, rushed to deck upon commands of the captain. "All sailors in position," he shouted out loud, "this is a tough time but if we all work together we will make it through, all to your duties immediately". All the men took their positions and braced for the storm. The ship rocked violently, the force of the wind on the sails was tremendous, the rain was pouring down and dampening the spirits of the sailors. "Adam", shouted Captain John, "Don't let her drift, hold her on course, I will not let the storm take us off course, sailors hold the shrouds and ropes, do not let the wind affect the sails and their orientation".

The sailors all knew this was an egoistic call from the captain to hold course. Adam walked up to the captain and said, "It's a severe storm sir, it's futile trying to hold course. We might break the rudder or the mast or the hull or the sails might tear apart, we can't hold course sir". "Back to your station helmsman", yelled the captain and walked to the front of the ship. He then walked back a little, stood there and held tightly onto the rails, as Santa Maria continued to rock violently. The waves were bigger that before and the ship would rise up on the crest and fall the height of the waves into the trough, with the nose going down under before rising up again throwing huge amounts of water on to the deck. Wet with sea water and rain, captain John turned around to see his men. He saw them fighting hard, body and spirits damp, bodies were tired but yet, fighting nonetheless, fighting for the ship, fighting for the captain and fighting for their survival. That's when he realised that his ego might take down the ship and all the men with it, this could be the worst thing to happen. He walked back on deck and shouted, "aye", the sailors all stood still, stopped all that they were doing, looked at him and waited anxiously to hear his instructions. "Let her drift", he shouted, "but keep her in control, don't let the storm control her completely, I want her to have a controlled drift". "Aye aye captain", came the response of the sailors. The helmsman let the wheel loose little by little and the sailors adjusted the sails according to the wind, little by little. Sure she drifted off course but headed for calm waters, moving away from the storm as well.

Dawn was about to break and the storm had began to settle. The water was now calm and the rain had stopped. The sky was clearer now. The men all rejoiced in having made it successfully through the storm. "Bring out the rum", yelled captain John, with a big smile on his face, exhausted, but relieved. It was break of dawn and they all drank and sang. That was when something caught the eye of captain John as he surveyed the surroundings with his telescope. He just stood staring at something in shock and disbelief. Adam came and stood alongside. "You see that Adam, in the 5 o'clock direction", captain John said, while handing over the telescope, pointing out to some huge rocks protruding out of the sea, a sort of rocky island formation. "Yes", replied Adam. "Had we not drifted off course, we would have rammed directly into those rocks in the darkness of the night. There would be no salvaging us then. That would have been the end of our ship and the crew. Thank you my friend", said captain to Adam, who just smiled back as they shook hands. "I have learnt a great lesson here Adam", said captain John, "not all storms are bad! Some storms are sent to save you. It may put you off course, but it saves you from a greater disaster"! "Well, sometimes God puts you through little troubles to save you from bigger problems", said Adam. They two then walked back to the deck and joined the men in their celebrations. All is well that ends well!!