Safe at sea
First published in the Swedish online Herald of Christian Science in October 2011.
We loaded a full cargo in Bremerhaven, Germany. It was 1,600 tons of ammonium nitrate, intended for mining in the north of Australia. We departed in mid-January, a time that is known for storms, and were confronted by increasingly strong southwesterly winds in the North Sea. We had an excavator lashed down as deck cargo, and this large and heavy piece began to move in the strong wind and heavy seas.
I was on duty before midnight as we were passing Greenwich, about 24 hours before we would round the Ushant lighthouse at the northwest corner of France and head out into the Bay of Biscay. The wind had increased to 60–65 knots (30–35 meters per second). I began to feel uneasy about the safety of the ship and its crew. I heard on the news that a large container ship had lost several containers that had been loaded on deck, and French fishing boats had capsized.
I prayed for direction as I had been learning to do since I began studying Christian Science 15 years earlier. Suddenly words came to me from a well-known Swedish church hymn by Lina Sandell Berg, who also wrote the original Swedish words to Hymn 204 in the Christian Science Hymnal. I have heard this hymn from early childhood, and I’m very fond of it. The words said (in free translation): “Everything is resting in my Father’s hands. Should I, as His child, be afraid?” I also like the melody very much, and it came to mind together with the words. I felt a strong awareness of and confidence in God’s presence. Immediately, constructive ideas came to me about what to do practically in this situation.
I felt a strong awareness of and confidence in God's presence.
When the captain came up to the bridge to relieve me just before midnight, I told him of the answers I had received from my prayer. I suggested that we should ask the Coast Guard for permission to enter the Gulf of Saint-Malo, where the Channel Islands Jersey and Guernsey are situated. There we would anchor and be able to weld the excavator to the hatch cover and investigate leakage that had been discovered in the forepeak. The captain was hesitant for two reasons. First, there are strong currents and shallow waters in this Gulf, and we had no detailed chart of that area to help us navigate safely. Second, he was doubtful that we would be allowed into this area because of the explosives that we had as cargo.
Throughout the following day, I continued praying and felt confident of the answers I had received from my prayers. The captain and I agreed to proceed in the shelter of the north coast of Breton, carefully watching the weather forecast. We had tightened the lashing on the excavator, and the ship was behaving well in the heavy adverse wind and sea.
At midnight, I was relieved by the captain and went down to my cabin to rest for a few hours. After an hour, the captain came down to me to discuss our situation because we were drifting closer to the shoreline and the ship seemed to be getting heavier in the forepart. Surprisingly and unexpectedly, he had discovered the only chart on the ship of the French coast, a special chart of the Bay of Douarnenez, the last place where we could find refuge. It seemed like a miracle. The French naval base, Brest, is situated in this bay and the captain suggested that we ask the naval base for permission to enter the area to drop anchor and carry out repairs.
We received permission and stayed at anchor there for two days. After making the necessary adjustments, we left our temporary refuge to continue the journey in the storm, but now with a safe ship and light hearts.
This experience created a brotherly atmosphere among the crew, giving us a sense of protection, joy, and gratitude during the remainder of the assignment, which we successfully completed.
