"They that Go Down to the Sea in Ships"

In May 1943, the submarine USS Jack (SS-259) was in transit from the Panama Canal to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, when she encountered some bad weather.  For several days the sub slowed her pace as she rode out the storm.  Jack was a new boat, on her way to war in the Pacific, and many of her crew had not experienced weather like this at sea, thus many became seasick.

Ensign James F. Calvert, fresh out of the Naval Academy at Annopolis, and submarine school at New London, Connecticut, was not troubled too badly by the storm, at least not initially.  On the first night of the big storm, Calvert was determined to not miss a meal, but when he reached the wardroom, where the officers ate, he was suprised to find only one other officer in the cramped compartment.

Lieutenant Miles Refo* was an experienced sailor, having served in the fleet for two years before going to sub school, and his surprise at seeing Calvert was "more than mild."  Calvert stuck it out long enough to get through the main dish of pork roast, but he skipped the apple pie desert.  Even so, he won respect from Refo.

"Day after day the storm went on," wrote Calvert many years later.  "Our speed of advance was well below plan; we were going to be at least a day late getting to Pearl.  Slowly but surely, however, our seasick casualties were getting their sea legs and returning to their watches, despite the continuing storm."

Clavert went on to say, "I have always been blessed with a strong stomach, and seasickness has not been one of my problems.  But there is such a thing as sea-weariness.  You're not sick, but you are so tired of hanging on, so tired of being unable to sleep without being tossed out, or nearly out, of your bunk that you wonder if the storm will ever abate -- and if you will ever feel normal and energetic again."

Calvert pulled out his Bible and read from Psalms 107:

"They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; these see the works of the Lord and his wonders in the deep.  For he commandeth and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.  They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.  They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits end."

According to Calvert, the psalmist could have written that passage after a walk through Jack during the storm.  "It was strangely comforting for me," he would write, "to read those words, for they reminded me that men of the sea have been going through such storms for centuries -- and most of them survived in ships not nearly as sturdy as ours."

As with the storms of the sea, so with the storms of life.  Men and women have been experiencing adversity for centuries, and most of them survived as well.

"Finally, as will all storms," wrote Calvert, "this one began to subside.  The gray skies, which seemed to have been there forever, began to break and show patches of blue; the wind swung around to the east (a good sign in that part of the Pacific) and eased to a pleasant ten or twelve knots."

Again, so it is with life.  The moments of adversity we experience end.  Sometimes we are called upon to experience an intense challenge of a relatively short duration, while at others the challenge may be less intense it may last much longer.  Whatever their nature, the storms of life will subside sooner or later, though they may be succeeded by other storms.

"Life at sea," wrote Calvert, "is not filled with diversions comparable to those ashore.  Any break in the daily routine is welcome -- even a storm.  But there is nothing, absolutely nothing, so wonderful as the feeling of having weathered a truly bad storm and come out the other side with the ship in good condition, all hands surviving without injury, and normal routine reestablished.  Things are made shipshape once again below.  Wet clothes are dried out and restowed.  Best of all, the platform under your feet once again is nearly stable.  If that experience does not lift your spirits, then they are not liftable -- at least not at sea."

Source:

Calvert, J. F. (1995). Silent Running: My Years on a World War II Attack Submarine. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

*Calvert does not give Refo's rank, only states that he was Annapolis class of 1938.  I presume that Refo was at least a Lieutenant (junior grade), particluarly as he did not like the idea of ensigns without prior sea duty serving in submarines.