Boating – May 2018

EDITORIAL By Kevin Falvey

10 | BOATINGMAG.COM | MAY 2018

J

ohn Mills was the gunner’s mate aboard HMS Bounty, a ship that, after two

novels, five movies, and not to mention the actual historical account, needs little

if any introduction. According to the ship’s log, Capt. Bligh’s personal journal,

and records of the British Navy, Mills was one of the older, more-experienced

crew aboard Bounty, having served on Mediator under Admiral Collinwood (himself a

partner with Lord Nelson in many campaigns). Mills apparently lacked a sweet

disposition, but as the record shows, he’d spent a lifetime at sea under the command of

great mariners. It’s safe to say he knew what he was talking about.

I present this curriculum vitae for no trivial purpose. In the

1962 film version of Mutiny on the Bounty, the one starring

Marlon Brando, the role of John Mills is played by the

enduring, acerbic Richard Harris. Harris, as Mills, utters a line

in the film — it’s just an aside really — but one that caught this

lifetime boater’s attention.

The words are expressed as sea and wind rise and in

response to grumbling crewmen distraught at having to climb

into the rigging as Bounty slogs through the Tierra del Fuego

archipelago at the southern tip of South America.

“Portsmouth or Cape Horn, it’s all the same to a seaman.”

The understated brilliance of the line, of course, was that

whether in a calm harbor or on the wildest ocean imaginable,

experienced mariners act in the habitual, businesslike manner

that ensures personal safety and the safety of the vessel.

There is no distinction made for present circumstance. The

best standard operating procedure is the best standard operating procedure, and the

distractions of debate, discussion and deciding what alternatives might exist are best

reserved for shoreside diversion. Mills’ quip reminded me that aboard boats, good habits

deliver great rewards, because on the water, we are out of our element. Things can happen

quickly. And when they do, there’s often tragically little time, and overthinking may lead to

analysis paralysis.

I was reminded of the line from the film recently during discussions regarding this

publication’s participation in boating-safety programs.

“What looks like a perfect day for boating can quickly become hazardous if you end up

in the water,” said Peg Phillips, executive director of the National Safe Boating Council, the

lead organization for the Safe Boating Campaign. “Always wear a life jacket — it is the best

decision you can make for your safety while enjoying a day out on the water.”

And I thought: Portsmouth or Cape Horn, it’s all the same to a seaman.

Kevin Falvey, Editor-in-Chief

[email protected]

WORDS TO

LIVE BY

Boating lessons from history, Hollywood and herself

What Mills meant, of

course, was that whether

in a calm harbor or on the

wildest ocean imaginable,

experienced mariners act

in the habitual, business-

like manner that ensures

their safety and the

safety of the vessel.

SAFE BOATING
CAMPAIGN
The annual Safe Boating
Campaign kicks off the
weekend before Memo-
rial Day with National
Safe Boating Week and
continues throughout the
year. Learn more at safe
boatingcampaign.com.