A salute to the passing of a fine mariner and a better man

Some might recall my posting more than two months ago that my father was suffering from an inoperable form of cancer…well time and tide wait for no man and today, my captain cast off his last line to go to wherever our maker orders us when our time tied up alongside on Earth ends and we must depart on that last and final voyage…

To any of those here who may have sailed with Captain Mario on the tugs or fishing fleet out on the West Coast or up north in Alaska, you know what I mean when I say he was cut from a stronger sail cloth you cannot find anywhere anymore. With his passing, one of the old guard mariners who could endure far more hardship at sea than the likes of any of us can barely even begin to contemplate is now gone. He was, still is, and forever more will remain my great hero and if I can be even half the master he was in my seafaring life, I will consider that a great victory to have achieved.

He was a teacher and I was able to sail as his mate in the early days after earning my license and not too many years afterwards as his relief. He and I shared many of the same good and bad experiences and but for the Grace of God managed to not face the horrors of a tragedy at sea. We both commanded the crab processor GALAXY in the years before she burned and both of us realized afterwards the potential that what happened to the vessel in October 2002 could just as easily happened to either of us in far worse circumstances. After the GALAXY was lost with three persons, I know we each became far more aware of the good fortune that smiled on us and those who sailed under our care on that ship. We both became terribly aware that had that fire happened in worse weather in the dark hours of the morning, how the tragedy could very easily meant the loss of all souls aboard. There is the hand of fate in our profession and we always should make our ships as safe as they can possibly be and always be ready for the worst to occur…such is the duty of a master. Neither he nor I really prepared the GALAXY to be truly ready but it was not ordained that either he or I to be the ones tested…that test fell on another man to face and we read of the horrors of that fire realizing what a fine job he did and wondering how well either of us would have performed had it been our test to pass or fail? We each were truly fortunate to have dodged that bullet and suddenly in late 2002 we both discovered how lucky we were.

Take care of all those you love and make sure you tell them you love them every opportunity you can especially your parents should you still have them… you may not have the chance to say it tomorrow. Nothing will ever stop the sad reality that there will someday be the need for there to be a goodbye. If there are disappointments, you should try as hard as you can to look past them because one day they are just not there anymore to try to heal any old wounds.

I may be gone for a few days now, as I must attend to my mom in her grief…my parents’ marriage lasted 54 years, but the love between them will last for eternity…She is devastated and all her sons are gathering tomorrow for her. I am the oldest and now have become the patriarch to continue his legacy.

In the meantime, God bless my departed dad and all his unwashed brothers of the sea…we are all brothers together after all.

.

Sorry for your loss. May your pops have calms seas, plentiful feasts, and a bounty of brew in Vahalla.

Our commiserations.

[QUOTE=smoker;151782]Our commiserations.[/QUOTE]

isn’t commiserating people sharing misery together?

I think the departed captain would much rather everyone sharing a drink (or many) together and telling many ribald seastories about sailing with him…

even if you didn’t you could make one up…he’d enjoy it all the same.

I’m very sorry for your loss. It’s never easy to lose someone you love.

I offer my deepest condolences and prayers for you, your mom, and the rest of your family.

So very sorry for your loss. At times like this I remember what my Grand Father told me. The Irish say, “Cerebrate the Life and Not Morn the Death”.

[QUOTE=catherder;151786]I’m very sorry for your loss. It’s never easy to lose someone you love.[/QUOTE]

especially true for someone who you modeled your life after…it was the imagine of his 20’ tall figure for the 9 year old boy in his oversized oilskins on that old smelly salmon gillnetter that sealed my sorry assed fate.

now it is up to me to carry on the tradition and the legacy. with my generation, the seafaring lineage of my family comes to an end. It is up to me to complete it in a fitting and honorable manner. To accomplish something of note that will live on for generations to come, hence my desire to write works of maritime history. It had been a goal to write about my father and his two brothers’ experiences in the days of Alaskan fishing in the 50’s and 60’s before it all became about cowboys, big money and greed but in December my uncle Tommy died suddenly from heart failure and now with the passing of my dad all that is now past and gone. Before it was too late, I had hoped to get all three brothers together with a big jug of red wine, bakalar, hard cheese, salami and bread to swap the tales of the old days and to record it all for a audiohistory but now it is loo late and all that is lost to the ages. The only surviving brother was not the one to remain at sea. Tom and Mario were the men I dedicated my feet to walking in their footsteps. Hard to fill such large feet too! It has been a hard couple of months for me to see them go like they have.

Never ever drag feet and waste time! When I really realized all that they could share, I was not able to make it happen. Those who came before us are such a source we can learn from and to honor their sacrifices and struggles. They worked harder, longer, in conditions we would consider horrible, on vessels which were truly primative, for pay we would not think a migrant should earn but when you asked them about the bad old days, they’d still tell you how much they missed them. I can’t believe now I look back on the 80’s that same way! So much simpler even at a lousy $105 a day (my wage in Alaska as a mate in 1985) it all was and fun too because you could have a drink onboard way back then. Boy, did I enjoy that luxury! I really hate modern seafaring…all the fun is now lost.

.

Loved ones are not truly gone when they still live in your heart. The eulogy you posted above is a testament to the mutual love and devotion between father, son and family . I can not imagine a greater blessing.

I salute - to a life well lived.

//youtu.be/CtxmgBYlrTs

[QUOTE=Jetryder223;151791]Loved ones are not truly gone when they still live in your heart. The eulogy you posted above is a testament to the mutual love and devotion between father, son and family . I can not imagine a greater blessing.

I salute - to a life well lived.[/QUOTE]

thank you most kindly young friend, for the first time I am really crying in both sadness at the loss and my pride for being the son of such a good man

he’s somewhere on the ocean now
the place he outta be
one hand on the starboard rail
he’s waving back at me…

C.Captain
I’m sorry for your loss and in the words of a great American, I feel your pain. My Dad crossed the bar many years ago and passed on to me a respect for the sea and those that make a living doing what few understand. He was a Maritime Service sailor in WW II and after, he suffered the loss of a ship and shipmates but didn’t speak of that much he preferred to remember ports and not the months in between as we all do. When I went to sea he suggested getting a cot so I could sleep on deck transiting to South America. I told him we had air conditioning and he thought that was funny. He said I was lucky because if he had air conditioning on a ship he would have never given up the life and I would have probably never been born.
In honor of your Dad I will go open a 10 year old bottle of rum that has been sitting on the shelf for 5 years and toast your father and his son.
Bon voyage C. Captain’s Captain !!
Tengineer

[QUOTE=tengineer1;151799]In honor of your Dad I will go open a 10 year old bottle of rum that has been sitting on the shelf for 5 years and toast your father and his son.
Bon voyage C. Captain’s Captain !![/QUOTE]

now that is truly an honor amongst honors and I am humbled by your sentiment…

thank you sir!

[QUOTE=c.captain;151802]now that is truly an honor amongst honors and I am humbled by your sentiment…

thank you sir![/QUOTE]

You are welcome.

“The two most important days in your life are the day your are born and the day you find out why” Samuel Clemens.

[QUOTE=tengineer1;151804]You are welcome.[/QUOTE]

I hope it was smooth…

I myself am drinking Famous Grouse tonight!

Sorry for your loss capt. My parents are a big part of my life and I hope I have a long time before I have to go through the sadness of losing one.

C.Captain, I am sorry to hear about the passing of your Dad and moved by your eulogy of this true man of the sea. You were blessed to have such a man as your father, mentor and shipmate. I know that his memory will live forever in your heart and that his light will shine your way as you carry on his legacy. God bless.

[QUOTE=Heat Miser;151811]C.Captain, I am sorry to hear about the passing of your Dad and moved by your eulogy of this true man of the sea. You were blessed to have such a man as your father, mentor and shipmate. I know that his memory will live forever in your heart and that his light will shine your way as you carry on his legacy. God bless.[/QUOTE]

it turns out I have given too many thanks to posts for one day (why there is a limit escapes me?) so I have offer my thanks directly as I wish to do for all who have offered their condolences tonight…i am comforted and very grateful to know others (including those who one might think are my adversaries) are my shipmates at this heart wrenching moment

my sincere gratitude to everybody here…

It is with a heavy heart I type here. I cannot dock a ship to this day without Mario’s words of wisdom in my ears (trouble rides a fast horse, you should never need more that clutch). He was a great mariner and a wonderful teacher. We became friends for life and he taught me many things I wish my own father would have. Rest in peace my friend. You have foundered up on a beach and I hope it brings you eternal happiness.

[QUOTE=c.captain;151763]Some might recall my posting more than two months ago that my father was suffering from an inoperable form of cancer…well time and tide wait for no man and today, my captain cast off his last line to go to wherever our maker orders us when our time tied up alongside on Earth ends and we must depart on that last and final voyage…

To any of those here who may have sailed with Captain Mario on the tugs or fishing fleet out on the West Coast or up north in Alaska, you know what I mean when I say he was cut from a stronger sail cloth you cannot find anywhere anymore. With his passing, one of the old guard mariners who could endure far more hardship at sea than the likes of any of us could ever even contemplate is now gone. He was, still is, and forever more will remain my great hero and if I can be even half the master he was in my seafaring life, I will consider that a great victory to have achieved.

He was a teacher and I was able to sail as his mate in the early days after earning my license and not too many years afterwards as his relief. He and I shared many of the same good and bad experiences and but for the Grace of God managed to not face the horrors of a tragedy at sea. We both commanded the crab processor GALAXY in the years before she burned and both of us realized afterwards the potential that what happened to the vessel in October 2002 could just as easily happened to either of us in far worse circumstances. After GALAXY was lost with three persons, I know we each became far more aware of the good fortune that smiled on us and those who sailed under our care on that ship. There is the hand of fate in our profession and we always should make our ships as safe as they can possibly be and always be ready for the worst to occur…such is the duty of a master. Neither he nor I prepared the GALAXY to be truly ready but we were not the ones to be tested…that test fell on another man. We were truly fortunate…

Take care of all those you love and make sure you tell them you love them every opportunity you can especially your parents should you still have them… you may not have the chance to say it tomorrow. Nothing will ever stop the sad reality that there will someday be the need for there to be a goodbye. If there are disappointments, you should try as hard as you can to look past them because one day they are just not there anymore to try to heal any old wounds.

I may be gone for a few days now, as I must attend to my mom in her grief…my parents’ marriage lasted 54 years, but the love between them will last for eternity…She is devastated and all her sons are gathering tomorrow for her. I am the oldest and now have become the patriarch to continue his legacy.

In the meantime, God bless my departed dad and all his unwashed brothers of the sea…we are all brothers together afterall.

.[/QUOTE]

He was a great mariner and a true mentor and friend. I cannot dock a ship to this day without his words of encouragement in my head (trouble rides a fast horse, never use more than clutch). He loved good cigars, good coffee, and on special occasions a good glass of wine. I never had a cup of coffee in my life of any degree of quality-- he taught me what good coffee tastes like and I thank him dearly for this! I watched Hale Bop streak through our skies in the Bering Sea on watch with him and marveled at its awesomeness and listened to his theories on it. He was from an age were life was simple and direct and that is the way he was. I knew his sons and he doted on all of them. For what man is lucky enough to have 3 sons. I knew his wife of 50 plus years and witnessed a love so true that it lasted 50 plus years. It is hard to say goodbye, but I know the pain was overwhelming and I know his mind found that hidden harbor that no one knows about and he finally pulled in there and put the hook down for good. Rest in peace Captain, you deserve the good sleep.

Sorry for your loss. I can only pray that when the day comes I lose my father I’ll be as strong as you are being. Thank you for letting us into how fine of a mariner your father was. I’ll be sure to say a prayer for you and your family.