Our Deepest Sympathy

We are often fascinated by ships but sometimes we forget that those ships are manned by people.  Without those people, the ships would not get the good they need to move from place to place.  For that matter, without those people, the ships would not move at all.  Some people will say that a ship has a soul.  I say that the people who man that ship are her soul.

Yesterday, I read the news that a man had gone overboard from the Stewart J. Cort while she was passing Ludington on Lake Michigan.  The Cort immediately tossed a life ring in the expected area and began a search for her missing man.  The Cort was joined by a handful of other freighters (including the Roger Blough and Badger) and the Coast Guard.  Their search was ended due to nasty weather over Lake Michigan and the missing crew member was not found.

I am not going to speculate what happened.  Nor am I going to disparage either the crew or the company that owns the ship.  I will say that the sea is an unforgiving Mistress and sometimes we are given that reminder.

However, I do offer my deepest sympathy to the lost crewman, the crew of his ship, the crews of other ships, Interlake Steamship and the family of the lost crewman.  I wish this had come to a different conclusion but sometimes life doesn't have happy endings.