IN THE SUMMER OF 2008 I had the great pleasure of meeting James Wharram and Hanneke Boon in Mystic, Connecticut, where, during the course of a free-ranging discussion on boat design, neurotheology, and bluewater sailing (among other things), they recommended I read a book entitled The Aquatic Ape, by Elaine Morgan. I couldn't help but be intrigued, for I have long marveled at the human affinity for seafaring and have always felt there must be some deep connection between our species and the ocean. In spite of being terrestrial creatures, it seems we do have a very primal desire to get down to the shore and, if possible, to travel over the distant horizon we find there.

Herman Melville, in the opening paragraphs of Moby Dick, summed it up very nicely:

Apparently, yesterday was the international "Day Of The Seafarer." To appropriately honor the salty profession, the creative types over at GCaptain assembled their top 5 #ThankYouSeafarer videos.

It's a pretty good collection that almost makes me wish I wasn't a fake Mariner. The most intriguing is this fascinating account of how the container ship came to be, and drove globalization.

Then there is this account of a merchant ship rescuing four sailors from an overturned catamaran.