Ghost Ships

I had the opportunity to get to the beach for a few hours today. While it was bright and sunny on the shore, the horizon was curtained by a hazy mist.

Cargo ships regularly ply the waters off the Delaware coast. Today they were mysteriously appearing and disappearing through the gray shroud.

I got to wondering what it would be like to be at sea with no visibility. What would it be like to be standing on a ship knowing there is nothing but water all around but not being able to see anything except the moisture hanging in the air?

I imagine it would be chilling to hear the warning bellow of a fog horn from another vessel travelling through the same blinding soup. The way sound echoes on water, it seems to me it would be nearly impossible to tell from which direction the horn blast had originated.

I pictured myself standing on the deck of a ship, fruitlessly straining to see something other than gray haze, my ears waiting to catch the next warning blast, and wondering if the hulking profile of another ship would suddenly emerge mere inches from my nose.

Earlier in my life I had considered the possibilty of a career at sea. Today I was relieved to have chosen a different path.