Now I’m
not so sure. Yesterday I was reading
articles from the old Rudder magazine
when I came across this piece written by the editor, Tom Day. What made it remarkable
for me was the fact that Mr. Day claimed to have personal knowledge of the
subject. He was speaking from experience, not hearsay.
He
dismissed my belief as a “widespread fiction even held by many seamen: that
there is a tremendous suction when a vessel sinks. There is nothing of the
kind,” he asserted. “As a vessel goes under the surface there is an inrush to
close up the vacancy, but there is no suction after the sinking body is under
the surface.”
He
added: “If a vessel was drawn down by
force there would be a suction; but a sinking form cannot sink faster than the
water is displaced by its weight, and therefore, water being a dense medium,
the fluid must close in behind simultaneously with its displacement.
“I have
stood on the deck of a sinking craft and gone under with it, and instead of
suction there is just the opposite — an upward rush that makes it impossible to
sink with a vessel unless you cling to her. A lifeboat on the deck of a vessel
would float clear if the ship sank under her, so would a cask or a man or
anything floatable.”
Well, bang
goes another cherished delusion. While I find it hard to accept that I’ve been
wrong, dead wrong, all these years, I have to give full credence to a man who
has actually stood on the deck of a sinking vessel and observed the lack of
suction at first hand.
But then,
on the other hand . . . well, he didn’t say what kind of vessel it was. Perhaps a different kind of vessel would create suction. The little doubts
begin to creep back in. Tom Day was a
clever man, a skilled communicator, and very knowledgeable about all things to
do with sailboats, but perhaps . . . well, perhaps what I’m trying to say is
that if I ever find myself on the deck of a sinking vessel, I’m going to do my
best to get the hell out of there as fast as I can. It’s nothing to do with doubting the veracity
of Mr. Day. It’s just pure reflex,
honest.
Today’s Thought
Be wary, then; best safety lies in fear.— Shakespeare, Hamlet.
Tailpiece
“They
tell me your mother-in-law has taken up hiking.”“Yeah, three months ago she started walking 10 miles a day.”
“That’s great. Is it helping?”
“Sure is. She must be in North Dakota by now.”
(Drop by every
Monday, Wednesday, Friday for a new Mainly about Boats column.)
