Saltwater Messiahs
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……….Captain Craddock chose the wet dish on the menu, spaghetti bolognaise, adept at eating the challenging meal with the expertise expected of a senior officer and gentleman dining in company. Long strands of pasta dripping sauce slipped from his fork and splattered on the plate, showering the white starched tablecloth with finely minced meat, onions and tomato puree. Recently released from a lunatic asylum, a long-term inmate! Sitting opposite him in his saloon, a new-age seaman! His saloon! Eating with his mouth open, apple sauce and gravy streaming down his chin! Addressing him by his first name………. Elvis Fleck, IR, new-age seaman!
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About the Book
Seamen in the past were a breed of their own, nurtured by loving mothers who weaned them far too early for a life at sea. Suffering ships’ masters and officers who endured their presence collectively referred to them as conniving schemers and habitual belligerents with a divine penchant to avoid work. Boisterous anti-authoritarians who boldly strode the world stage only to fall victim to Shakespearian dogma, dragged kicking and screaming from life never to be heard of again. Saltwater Messiahs is a glimpse of an era long gone, a far too short a period where a united labour force ruled.
About the Author
Wayne Ward is the author of six novels all with a maritime theme, reflecting his long life at sea. Joining his first ship in 1955 he soon realised the bond that united seamen and made them warriors of the working class, the forefront of struggle against the establishment. It imbued in him a sense of belonging to a band of self-efficient men who at sea couldn’t call the fire brigade, emergency services, ambulance, confessor, or respite from the fiercest and most unforgiving element on earth, the sea. Saltwater Messiahs barely ripples the surface of an era when the working class with a united voice could and did dictate terms to government and employers. Sadly, no more are the seamen who briefly coloured this drab world with their presence, their unconquerable spirit and their grim determination to right wrongs. Many renowned writers have written about the sea, some even experiencing it, Wayne Ward the latter recording an era far removed from the sterile environment of modern shipping. His three sons are master mariners, a single partner in life living on the serene shores of Wangi Wangi, Lake Macquarie.