In due course we got to Spithead, where I left the ship, and so practically ended my sea career. I landed with a very decided opinion that there was a deal of truth in the old adage that “standing rigging makes bad running gear.” I had been in command so long that a subordinate position irked me, although I trust that fact was never apparent. Still I feel confident that for a man to become a satisfactory Reserve officer it is necessary he should get his experience as early as possible, and it is matter for satisfaction that this has now been recognised.
I quitted the sea with deep regret, and were my time coming over again, I should, even with my present knowledge, unhesitatingly adopt it as a calling. But if Britons value their heritage “the sea” they will see that British ships are manned by British men, and take some pains to bring this about by encouraging the youth of the country to adopt the sea as a calling. It is a _man’s_ life in a properly found and officered ship; it is also necessary that, as I have pointed out on many occasions, our long-sea-route steamships should be given the means to protect themselves against the guns of a hostile merchant vessel that has been armed for the special purpose of preying upon our commerce.
_Richard Clay & Sons, Limited, London and Bungay._
Punctuation, hyphenation, and spelling were made consistent when a predominant preference was found in this book; otherwise they were not changed.
Simple typographical errors were corrected; occasional unbalanced quotation marks retained.
Ambiguous hyphens at the ends of lines were retained.
Illustrations have been repositioned to be within the pages referenced by the List of Illustrations, and the phrase “To face page” has been removed from their captions.
Redundant “CHAPTER” headings have been removed from this eBook.
The List of Illustrations listed the last two illustrations in reverse order (but with correct page numbers). They have been switched to the proper sequence in this eBook.
Page 141: “hear it if killed” probably is a misprint for “hear if it killed”.
Page 174: semi-colon added after “as it then was”.
Page 197: “If I could have have laid” was printed that way.
End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of My Life at Sea, by W. Caius Crutchley