It was a chilly grey day today,
a brisk salty wind from the North Sea.
My grandfather lived in New York and was there when the survivors from Titanic came in.
He emigrated in 1906 from Ireland.
His older brother was killed, and he came home to inherit his father's farm, eventually getting married in 1923 aged 40.
He had six children, my mother was one.
He used to tell us stories about Titanic, he said he was booked on the return passage but I don't know if that is true.
I grew up with a fascination for the great ocean liners. Mauretania, Queen Mary, Normandie, France...
And that led me to go away to sea as soon as I could.
I'm on dry land for good now, but I still get nostalgic about ships and the sea.