Sea Fever
by John Masefield [1878-1967]
I must down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel’s kick, and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking,
And a gray mist on the sea’s face, and a grey dawn breaking.
I must down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call which may not be denied.
And all I ask is a windy day with white clouds flying,
And flung spray and blown spume, and the seagulls crying.
I must down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull’s way, and the whale’s way, where the wind’s like a whetted knife.
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow rover,
And a quite sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over.
My father, Carl Frederick Swanson, passed away peacefully on the morning of November 11, 2008, after a long battle with cancer. May he rest in peace with his wife Patricia Swanson, who passed away on December 1, 2007, from cancer also. I miss them both, still.
Click here to see photos of a trip Dad & I took, to the west coast of Florida in the spring of 2008.
Two poems were read at the gathering, Sunday November 16th in my fathers home, by longtime family friend Ben Scotch.
There was a a gathering on Sunday, November 16 at 3pm, at his home on Log Cabin Road (look for the Big Red Barn around the corner from the Seashore Trolley Museum) - anyone that knew him is invited.
He is survived by his three children – two sons: Tobias of Kennebunkport, ME, and Ashley of Miami Beach, FL; daughter Heather of Kennebunkport, ME; two stepdaughters, Irene & Maureen; and his sister Barbara (and all the Ives family) of Cape Porpoise, ME.
For more information, contact Ashley Swanson: uncleash@gmail.com
Born on May, 30, 1932 in New Bedford. He attended Dartmouth High School, MA and graduated from Massachusetts Maritime Academy – Class of ‘53; He served with the US Naval Reserve; 2nd Mate and Chief Navigator aboard the S.S. United States; taught at S.M.V.T.I./Maine-GULF Program; Celestial Navigation instructor; Captain for Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (1966 to 1997 – served as Master on the R/V Lulu, R/V Atlantis II, R/V Knorr and R/V Oceanus); and United States Lines / Merchant Marines.
He also owned The Viking, a Scottish imports store started in Ogunquit, but later moved to Kennebunkport, ME (also in Bar Harbor, ME & briefly in NH). He also was know as one of the first surfers in (Ogunquit) ME, during the early 60′s.
The traditional eight bells were sounded on the R/V Atlantis ships bell on November 16, in his memory. (Thank You to all at W.H.O.I)
UPDATE 11/21: There’s now an Online Obituary, with a Guestbook - click here
Miami Beach
81°
Kennebun...
48°
Dunfermline
52°
Kyoto
72°
Fremantle
65°
