HUMANITIES SEA PROJECT HS 211

The Sea Wolf

M/N Taylor Kraft 1/C 30 July 2012 Prof. Trogan

M/N Taylor Kraft, 1/C Humanities S.P. Topic B: Leadership Preface In the early years here at Kings Point, I did not read much. I was so busy trying to be the best plebe/underclassman I could be, there was an insufficient amount of time to read for the sole purpose of pleasure. While out at sea for my second sailing period, I found that reading felt like an escape, it was a time where I didnt worry about what happened on the ship or sea projects. Even though I was reading about life on a ship, I felt completely removed from my current position and imagined myself in the characters position. In high school I enjoyed reading for that same reason I could feel the mysticism that surrounded the story and could feel the details that were written on the pages surround me. I could taste the salt in the air, I could hear the ship crashing through the waves, and I could feel my body ache and burn from the constant mucking about. Reading, The Sea Wolf by Jack London was a pleasurable experience that doubled as an escape from modern sailing times. Section 1 In my opinion, leadership on board a merchant sea-going vessel is much more difficult than in any other land based occupation, including the military. While serving on a ship as a leader, you often do not have anyone else to turn to. You must be strong and be able to make intelligent, decisive decisions that affect the lives of everyone on board. A leader onboard a ship can be anyone, but the Captain is usually the person everyone looks up to. For that reason a Captain must be distinctly more qualified than anyone else. Captain Wolf Larsen displays this by showing that he possess greater than average strength, has an 1

M/N Taylor Kraft, 1/C Humanities S.P. incredible and endless thirst for knowledge, and he is so determined that he fights to his very last breath. The story of The Sea Wolf follows a young man named Humphrey van Weyden. Hump (as he is later called by Capt. Larsen) is swept into the water while riding on a ferry in the San Francisco Bay. Due to the rough weather, Hump is washed out to sea and picked up by a seal hunting schooner called the Ghost. After Hump is clothed and cleaned up, he is brought up on deck and meets Captain Larsen for the first time: Pacing back and forth the length of the hatchways and savagely chewing the end of a cigar, was the man whose casual glance had rescued me from the seaIn fact, though this strength pervaded every action of his, it seemed but the advertisement of a greater strength that lurked within, that lay dormant and no more than stirred from time to time, but which might arouse, at any moment, terrible and compelling, like the rage of a lion or the wrath of a storm. (London, Chapter 2) While describing Captain Larsen, Hump describes not only the physical aspects but also how much of a primitive strength he possesses. I believe it is this strength that defines a good leader. A strength that isnt measured by how much a man can move, but a strength that resonates from within a mans soul that can be felt by everyone around him. This strength is felt by Hump within the first few minutes of meeting Captain Larsen. Another situation that shows Captain Larsens animalistic strength is when several of the sailors attempt a mutiny. Throughout the course of the story, various sailors become disgruntled and displeased because of the Captains behavior. Whether it is beatings or verbal arguments not going their way, the crew determines to get rid of Captain Larsen by any means necessary. Late one night while patrolling the decks, Captain Larsen is thrown over the side by one of the sailors. After making his way back on board the ship, Captain Larsen goes down into the crew quarters to 2

M/N Taylor Kraft, 1/C Humanities S.P. find who threw him over. While investigating, he is attacked by no less than 7 of the disgruntled crew members. In an amazing display of inhuman strength and endurance, Captain Larsen fights off the men and climbs up the ladder while a few crew members still cling to his legs. This demonstrates that Captain Larsen possesses the strength needed to endure the rough life of a sailor, including tasks not encountered by your run of the mill captain. Another key trait of Captain Larsen was his knowledge and his never ending thirst for it. Captain Larsen is self-educated and it presents a great foil to Humps background of privilege and high education. This is first brought to light when Hump declares he has been robbed. Captain Larsen then tells Hump, You haven't any lawyer or business agent now, so you'll have to depend on yourself. When you get a dollar, hang on to it. (London, Chapter 5) By showing Hump that he can only depend on himself, Captain Larsen reveals the distinct difference between the two main characters. While coming from privilege, Hump has never provided for his self and has always been taught or depended on others while Captain Larsen has been responsible for his own life based off of his own initiative. Throughout the many intellectual conversations that these two share, this becomes even more evident. Hump compares this relationship to that of a King and Jester, Captain Larsen (the King) holding his opinion on life and its worthlessness over the head of Hump (the Jester) as he tries to convince Captain Larsen that life is something to be celebrated and cherished instead of a daily competition against death. Captain Larsen holds this power over Hump due to his elementary simplicity of the matter which makes him able to dive directly to the core of the matter. Hump thinks inwardly, proving this in Chapter 6:

M/N Taylor Kraft, 1/C Humanities S.P. The value of life?...But when he challenged the truism I was speechless (London, Chapter 6) By not being able to put a certain value to life, Captain Larsen proves to outwit Hump and that even though he was self-educated, his ideology could challenge the intellect of a an educated man. Near the end of The Sea Wolf, Captain Larsen, Humphrey van Weyden, and Maud Brewster are all on an uninhabitable Alaskan Island. The Ghost is in very bad shape due to Captain Larsens brother. The sails had been destroyed, the crew had abandoned their Captain and he also began suffering intense migraines that would leave him immobile and extremely weak afterwards. After spending some time shipwrecked, Hump and Ms. Brewster decide to rebuild the

Ghost and set sail for Japan, Captain Larsen does not want this. His only wish is
to die on the island and bring his two friends with him. After Hump and Ms. Brewster complete a days work and set the first mast, Captain Larsen that night undoes all of their work, The shears were gone altogether. The guys had been slashed right and left. The throat-halyards which I had rigged were cut across through every part. And he knew I could not splice. A thought struck me. I ran to the windlass. It would not work. He had broken it. We looked at each other in consternation. Then I ran to the side. The masts, booms, and gaffs I had cleared were gone. He had found the lines which held them, and cast them adrift . (London, Chapter 35) This causes Ms. Brewster to become very upset and enrages Hump. This blatant wrong doing shows that even though he is sick and weary, Captain Larsen is so determined to do whatever he can at whatever cost. Even after this incident, Hump and Ms. Brewster repair the Ghost while Captain Larsen suffers heavily from his sickness and finally becomes paralyzed on his

M/N Taylor Kraft, 1/C Humanities S.P. right and blind. Even this close to deaths doorstep, Captain Larsen ceases to stop fighting. While finally underway, he sets fire to the bunkroom that he is confined to, attempting to bring down the ship with him as he goes. This attempt is unsuccessful and Captain Larsen dies shortly after. Section 2 Although sailors and captains now live in vastly different times, these qualities have been passed down from captain to captain and sailor to sailor. During this past sea year I sailed with three different captains: Captain Tim Anderson and Captain Time Adams aboard the M/V National Glory, and Captain Chris Fox aboard the M/T Maersk Rhode Island. The first captain, Captain Tim Anderson, did not possess the strength I believe is necessary to act as Captain. One of Captain Larsens defining qualities was his strength. Earlier I mentioned that it wasnt only his physical strength, but was a strength that was felt by all that seemed to resonate from within his soul. I believe that this strength is a combination of self-confidence, experience, and wisdom that one acquires through the many hardships of his life. This lack of inner strength caused a lack of faith in his actions. There were many times during maneuvering and docking operations that I did not feel comfortable, not because of my lack of experience, but due to the possible ineptness that the captain seemed to display. Another instance that made the crew think less of him was in the mess hall. It is common for sailors to express their crude humors to the crew but there is always a professionalism displayed by the officers, especially the senior officers (1st Engineer, Chief Mate, Chief Engineer, and Captain). One night, the 5

M/N Taylor Kraft, 1/C Humanities S.P. steward was serving beef stroganoff. As everyone waits in line to order, it is common courteously to let the captain move to the head of the line. While ordering, Captain Anderson said, I would like the masturbating cow please Stew. After this comment, various crewmembers looked at the captain with the combination of disgust and disbelief. I then found myself asking how comfortable was I following a man that made jokes appropriate for a 2nd grader while sailing on a commercial vessel. Whatever strength/faith the crew saw in this captain was completely lost after this moment. Only one thing is for certain, if Captain Larsen had been present for this comment, he would have surely beaten the immaturity out of Captain Anderson. The second captain, Captain Tim Adams, was quite knowledgeable on many subjects. While sailing on the M/V National Glory, we were on a constant, weekly schedule going from Hamburg and Bremerhaven, Germany to Muuga, Estonia. Every week, we would transit the Kiel Canal two times. On each trip, two pilots are required to maneuver the ship. Each pilot must undergo a certain amount of transits as well as 2 years of classroom instruction to obtain their pilots license, in addition to time served in the German Merchant Marine. Captain Adams had sailed onboard the M/V National Glory for so long that he had qualified for his part of his pilotage license for the area. In addition to this, he was very knowledgeable of the surrounding area and knew much of the geography. He would often have long winded conversations with the German pilots about the area and how the economic downturn that was affecting Europe was influencing the amount of ships and what kind of trade was going on through the Kiel Canal. I learned that there is never a limit to what a person can observe and learn, even in a foreign country and unable to speak the native language. 6

M/N Taylor Kraft, 1/C Humanities S.P. Captain Adams knowledge was also vast in the art of ship handling. While attending Kings Point, Ive noticed that the tendency is for cadets to go out on merchant ships, experience completely unknown things, then come back to school and learn what you had experienced at sea. Not only did Captain Adams fill in the holes of what I had learned, he taught and showed me various tricks that I could not learn at Kings Point. While anchoring outside of Muuga, Estonia, Captain Adams instructed me in the finer points of anchoring such as, how to calculate the number of shots of anchor chain to use, which ranges and bearings to use for anchor watch, and when to observe no forward motion without the use of electronic navigation equipment. This knowledge was not only beneficial, but the mindset I inherited from Captain Adams (keeping your mind open) is something Captain Larsen would have approved of. The last captain, Captain Chris Fox, surprised me with his hard work ethic. Captain Fox is from Boston which caused the crew to think that the captain favored unions and consequently, a union workers state of mind, drag a job out as long as you can so that you can make more money. On more than one occasion, Captain Fox would walk out on deck and berate the unlicensed deck workers about how poorly they were performing their duties. He heavily believed in the age old saying, If you arent going to do something right then there wasnt a reason for you to do anything at all. From everything to bridge procedures to cargo documents, Captain Fox had a set way of doing things. This caused the crew to live up to or exceed the captains expectations; there was no option to disregard his orders. This expectation caused the crew to work harder with much more intensity, all the way from the Chief Mate, to the wiper, people would work their hardest to keep the captain in a good mood. 7

M/N Taylor Kraft, 1/C Humanities S.P. To ensure that the job was completed on time, Captain Fox would call on the crew to preform above and beyond the average crew. Near the end of my time on the M/T Maersk Rhode Island, we were on our way to Novorossiysk, Russia. After a full days work, the crew was called at 10:00 PM to dock the ship. On any other occasion, Captain Fox would have waited till the morning to go into port. The necessary rush was because if we would have chosen to delay, it would have delayed us at least a week. By taking affirmative action, Captain Fox was able to save multimillion dollars for Maersk LLC. Although there were not the dire ramifications that Captain Larsen faced, Captain Fox showed that he wasnt afraid to go the extra mile to get the job done.