The Sailor Who Never Went to Sea

A few of my experiences and exploits are not recounted. This is not through lack of interest but because some part of the incident has eluded me. For example, four of us sailed a whaler into St Brides Bay one very hot summer's day. What wind there had been died and we were becalmed. To our horror, we found there were only three oars in the whaler. Trying to row something as big as a whaler with three oars is like trying to dig a 10-acre field with three gardens spades. It took us 12 hours to return to camp whereupon we were all put on charges for being absent without leave, misappropriating a Royal Naval vessel and being sunburned. In the case of the latter, the Navy's argument is that unburn is a self-inflicted wound and is therefore an offence. We were all badly sunburned. When the first lieutenant saw us, he laughed - quite hurtfully, I considered - and dismissed the charges. The reason why the story isn't included is because, for the life of me, I can't remember where we obtained the whaler nor where we set off from or returned to. Apart from that, the voyage actually took place and should be recorded as the only time I ever went to sea. In other words, I have the distinction of being a sailor who never went to sea in a ship.