full ahead into the wind and spray
salt in the air, I don’t care -
into the knots
half ahead and not looking behind
who knows what might be catching up
I hear four bells
slow ahead hazards aplenty
storm on the horizon
winds and waters freshening
don’t want to end up on the rocks like Guillard
dead slow ahead like going through a minefield
torpedoes at the ready
ghost of the Bismarck poised to strike
FIRE! FIRE! FIRE!
standby for further instructions
stop immediately what you’re doing
finished with main engines, no further progress
dead in the water so to speak
dead slow astern moving barely above a drift
on the lookout for icebergs and growlers
slow astern starting to backtrack
checking the charts in the map room
half astern backing away from it all
ahoy captain, these are waters we’d be rash to enter
full astern back and changing course
