Sound Advice from a Sea Captain

The following was posted on Facebook, on the United States Merchant Marine page. Its author's name was not given, but its wisdom is indisputable.

Ship Masters and Deck Officers, today, have never appreciated the two most important pieces of advice that I ever received from my training ship captain, Richard Rounds, aboard the USTS Bay State, back in 1963, at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy.

1. “Never put your ship in a position you that can’t get out of with a STOP bell.”

2. “You have two eyes, two ears, and two anchors. Don’t be afraid to use any of them."

The last lesson Captain Rounds thought me that I have never forgotten was this:

“Ships have to be very close to each other to have a collision.”

All my classmates laughed at him for his “simplicity” and implied “stupidity.”

I didn’t laugh. I remembered. It kept me out of trouble in a fifty-five year career, commanding some pretty big ones.