The Surge

[Ankit]

The Surge.

The Captain stood on the top deck, nursing his 4th glass of bourbon
that evening. That was the only thing to do on these cruise liners.
Modern systems didn’t leave much room for human intervention, and
supervising all the screens and gadgets can be fun for only so long.
It wasn’t just the Captain, but most of his crew as well, all
experienced seamen with great credentials and tales of bravery to
their name. All were now simply bored, the monotonous routine was
getting to them. Every time they locked eyes with the Captain, he
could almost see the tedium lurking behind those dark shells, along
with the alcohol from the nights passed.

It was the second week of this transatlantic cruise when the weather
department sent a satellite warning of a low pressure system looming
ahead with high winds and possible thunder activity. The Captain
surprised himself when instead of fear, panic or alarm he felt happy.
Perhaps it was the monotony or the alcohol clouding his judgment. He
wanted to welcome the brewing storm like an old friend, and that’s
what he did. He commanded his men to charge ahead. Within a few hours
he could see the dark clouds ahead with the occasional flash of
lightening.

His next in command, asked him as the system drew close, “Sir, shall
we circumvent the cloud? It doesn’t look too big in diameter so it
would just put us off course by an hour we can make it up in no time.”

“No, we move ahead and meet him head on.”

“But Sir, with the circular movements of the winds reported there is a
possibility of a water sprout* happening,” cautioned his subordinate.

“Oh hush, he is a mere toddler. He has just started riding the winds.
Look at his smile and hear his gurgling laugh. He just needs a little
spanking and he will be fine. No, we charge ahead.”

The subordinate couldn’t believe his ears. The man, who they all
looked up to, had heard many a tale of him surviving wars and winning
battles. Finally the same hero had gone cuckoo. But he couldn’t over
rule his orders. He did what he was told, and so the white ship rode
the salty foams to meet her dark assailant.

The Captain admired the beauty of the black mass. It sure was a new
born, within the next few hours he was bound to grow in height and
diameter. Oh fun! By early evening the sky was black as coal,
punctuated with the occasional flash of lightening and the rumble of
thunder.

After 16 days at sea, finally some excitement. The crewmen were
rushing around, securing passengers for any possible calamity. All
leisure activities were suspended as the ship crossed the diameter of
the stormy cloud. The control room was bubbling with energy and
euphoria. Amidst it all, the Captain was a serene statue of stone.
Ignored by his men, he was lost in his own thoughts with a smile on
his face. They thought he had gone mad, like Jack Sparrow did back in
the day. They didn’t know their captain had done his math. With the
speed of the ship, the direction of wind and the rate of development
of the low pressure system, all combined, they were sure to make it
out of the area safe. Yet he didn’t share that knowledge with his men,
let them enjoy the adrenalin rush. Get rid of the monotony. This
temporary high should last them for a while. They still had 2 weeks of
the cruise left.


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* Water sprout = a tornado on water, the spiraling winds lift the
water creating a vortex which is hazardous to ships.

** the lines for the story from the poem were:
I saw a raging sea brimful of ale.
I saw their eyes all in flame of tire