My grandfather was from Newfoundland; an outport where job opportunities were, for all intents and purposes, non-existent. It was a subsistence existence which was almost totally reliant on favours of the North Atlantic. I believe the Titantic represents how favourable the North Atlantic is to humanity.

At 12 years old, an opportunity to serve as a cabin boy on a whaling ship came my grandfather’s way; he accepted and off he went. It never occurred to him to ask why this job had so suddenly become available.

The ship set sail and after they had been at sea for about 2 weeks; Papa went top side for some much needed fresh air. This was circa 1908 and there were no on-board shower facilities; men, sweat and poor diet took its toll on the atmosphere.

The night was calm, he remembered and the moon was bright; he started to walk toward the ship’s bow when he saw a small figure – it was another boy. Papa waved to him and hailed when it dawned on him that this had to be a stowaway as no other boys were aboard and he knew his crew mates by sight. He turned around and a hailed the midshipman; the man came running and Papa pointed to the boy, or where the boy had been. He was gone. When Papa explained what he had seen, the midshipman became agitated and frightened. He told my grandfather to get below deck and stay there. The midshipman followed and went toward the captain’s quarters. Papa heard them talking in excited and raised voices.

The next morning, the First Mate came to see Papa, a no-nonsense Englishman with a bad temper and quick hand. He told Papa he was never to go on deck, at night, again, unless he told another crew member. To make his point, he cuffed Papa on the side of his head. Message was received. A storm hit and it was a bad one. Papa remembers being terrified. The pitching of the ship and the water breaking on the deck, rushing down the stairs and making walking next to impossible. Helping to prepare the meals was out of the question and Papa was instructed to stay in the galley with the cook. Safer than his small cabin in the hull.

Later on in the voyage, Papa wanted to go topside again and as instructed, advised one of the other crewmen; they went up together. Papa remembers they were talking amiably and the sailor was telling him about other voyages when the sailor abruptly stopped and was looking toward the bow. Papa saw what made the seaman stop – standing on the very bow of the ship was a small figure. He was pointing toward the horizon and then, disappeared. Just like that – simply disappeared as if he were never there. The sailor who accompanied Papa turned and fled down the stairs, leaving Papa alone. Something the first mate had forbidden and even the sailors were wary of the First Mate. Papa followed; he was terrified by the spectre he had seen but even more terrified of the First Mate finding out he was topside, alone.

Again, he heard raised voices; the sailor returned and instructed Papa to never speak of what they had seen to anyone else.

The next day, another storm hit. Papa was too busy to give the previous night’s events much thought. In fact, he was too busy for several days, helping to repair storm damage.

The rest of the voyage was without further incident. Upon returning home, the sailor with whom he had shared the vision of the boy, accompanied Papa back home. Following the greetings from his family and sitting down to a hearty downhome meal of fish and brewis, Papa went to bed. He lay there listening to the adults talk; his sailor friend was telling Papa’s father about the ship and advising that Papa should not go back out for the next trip. He told my great-grandfather about the spectre; he said that he believed it to be the ghost of Papa’s predecessor; a young boy of 13 who had been swept overboard during a storm and lost at sea. When the boy was seen by a crew member, a storm always followed.

Papa remained landlocked and the ship sailed without him. The sailor returned for a visit a couple of years later and he told Papa that another boy, older that Papa had been consigned to his position; that boy had also seen the spectre and shortly thereafter, disappeared without a trace. The crew assumed he fell overboard and drowned.