The night I was attacked by a flying fish

a quick story...

Ever see a flying fish? They’re pretty cool to watch. Usually something will spook them and part of their defense is to swim hard enough to where they can break free of the water and glide for a little while. They glide through the air on their wing/fins and use their tails to propel themselves. Really interesting critter to watch.

Well back around 2010, I was working on a vessel that was equipped with remote operated vehicle (ROV), a remote controlled submersible used to inspections and whatnot, and we were on stand by at this drill ship. This means that we were just hanging out near a drill ship waiting for them to tell us what they needed us to do.

The crew on this vessel was fairly new with regards to working together and some of us had “strong personalities” and hadn’t yet learned how to play well with one another. I don’t remember what transpired between the chief engineer and I but it was something that made me a mad, which is (usually) pretty hard to do. I was mad enough to where I had to get away from the situation before I either started running my mouth in a way that wouldn’t have been conducive to further employment or mad enough to where I started throwing hands in an attempt to tune up the other engineer with a proper way of thinking…

So I left the control room and when out on deck to cool off and to rethink everything that was going on. There was a spot on deck that would’ve been perfect for a hammock. It was open, fairly close to the water, and allowed a nice breeze to flow through area. We had some busted up office chair sitting there instead of a hammock and that’s where I planted myself in order to cool off.

So there I was, minding my own bidness when something hit my left shoulder and I jumped up, ready to go to war with whoever hit me with whatever it was that they hit me with. So there I am, all bowed up, looking around and there is no one there. I looked at a camera to see if was trained on me. I thought maybe I was part of some practical joke. But the camera is pointed elsewhere. I hear a noise on the deck and looked down to see this foot long flying fish flopping around on the deck. I just kind of stared at it for a minute and then picked up the fish and threw it back overboard.

The attitude and anger was gone. I realized that it’s pretty hard to be mad about anything after getting hit by a flying fish. It’s not uncommon to find them on the deck of a vessel. They will jump out of the water, get picked up by the wind and thrown on the deck but I still find it interesting that I got hit by one. The way I figure it, God hit me with the fish as a way of getting me to laugh and as a way of telling me to get over myself… I went back to the engine room and got on with my work. Eventually, I learn to see the other engineer in a more compassionate way. Turned out that he was a man that carried some significant personal pain and once I saw that, I was able to be more patient with him and see what it was that he needed in terms of a coworker.

That’s it for this one. Just a quick sea story that I thought someone might find entertaining. As always, thank you for your time. If you like what I write about, please feel free to subscribe. You can leave at anytime. Comments are always welcome. Have a blessed day.

Fair Winds and Following Seas,

Nate