Every few years, commercial ships are lifted out of the water for maintenance and inspection. It’s one of those “say it quickly” jobs: if you say it quickly, it sounds entirely straightforward. It isn’t. In addition to the usual problems with international crew dynamics (or, realistically, any crew dynamics), you…

“Hey, Nic: don’t lean on that safety line!” I flinched back — I’d been about to lean on the safety line. “Why not?” The answer was short: “We cut the lashings.” I stared at my shipmates through the driving rain and spray. With the howling wind, maybe I’d misheard them…

I’m a latecomer to this challenge, but better late than never! In the late 1800s, the French writer Marcel Proust popularised a set of questions that became known as “The Proust Questionnaire.” Since then, writers, interviewers, and others use the Questionnaire to get to know a bit about people. Some…

COVID-19 has complicated travel, but travel is necessary at times. This post covers everything I wish I’d known before entering hotel quarantine in Seoul, South Korea, in October 2021. Pre-departure It’s pretty easy to enter South Korea on a UK passport, even during COVID. …

“Don’t assume — it makes an ass of you and me.” We’ve all heard people say it, but is it really true? In reality, we all rely on assumptions to function in the real world — it’s not the assumption that’s the problem, it’s the refusal to reassess our assumptions…

Even if it could be worse… — Trigger warning: I mention suicide. If that will bother you, read this instead. It could be worse. I’m in a country that’s doing a fantastic job of COVID vaccination. While several close friends have been severely ill, no one close to me has died of COVID. My friend with cancer…

My friends ask why I don’t write about my experiences. I’ve seen what happens when people do that, and it’s terrifying. Some writers fear the blank page, the pressure to find words; I’m afraid of the consequences. It’s not the social stigma, it’s the threat of being sued for defamation…

I came up to the bridge at midnight, as always, to relieve the third mate on watch. We were in a pirate zone, and were surrounded by fishing boats, both lit and unlit, at close range. …

“I don’t know how to tell you this… [your brother] passed away this morning.” I had to read the message several times before I processed it. Then my legs stopped holding me up. I sat down hard. I wasn’t close to my brother, but he trusted me. I’d always assumed…