Young and old alike are anticipating the arrival of St. Nicholas this Thursday, Christmas Day.
To 21st-century America, St. Nicholas is just another name for Santa Claus.
To much of Europe, he is a slim figure dressed in bishop’s robes who visits most communities on his namesake day (Dec. 6) aboard a white horse.
And he has ties to the sea.
The story of Santa Claus begins with Nicholas, who was born during the third century in the village of Patara. At the time, the area was Greek but now is on the southern coast of Turkey.
His wealthy parents, who raised him to be a devout Christian, died in an epidemic while Nicholas was still young.
Obeying Jesus’ words to “sell what you own and give the money to the poor,” Nicholas used his whole inheritance to assist the needy, the sick and the suffering.
He was made Bishop of Myra while still a young man. Bishop Nicholas became known throughout the land for his generosity to those in need and his concern for students and vagabonds, sailors and ships.
During the Middle Ages, St. Nicholas made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem by ship without letting anyone aboard the vessel know who he was.
One night while underway, he dreamed that the devil was cutting the lines of the main mast, which he interpreted to mean that a bad storm was brewing.
He warned the ship’s crew but also told them that God would protect them, so they needn’t fear for their safety.
The storm came upon them quickly and soon, the ship was out of control.
St. Nicholas prayed for their deliverance. One of the sailors climbed up the main mast to tighten the rigging. When he finished, he lost his footing and fell to his death upon the deck below.
The storm in response to St. Nicholas’ intercessory prayers abated in its fury, and all onboard were grateful for their deliverance but upset over the death of their shipmate.
His visit to the Holy Land was cut short when an angel appeared to tell him to return home immediately.
He went to the port seeking a ship to charter for the voyage.
And found one that had just been loaded, and for a fee was available to take him to his birthplace of Patara.
But the captain and crew believed that he wouldn’t know enough to object when they went first to their home port, which was out of the way.
So they set off in the wrong direction. It was not long before a violent storm formed up, and in the heavy seas that followed, the rudder was damaged beyond repair.
The storm dissipated as quickly as it formed, and the rudderless craft was drifting in a very specific direction.
The crew members aboard were hopeful that they would drift until they chanced upon land, which they did when they arrived in Patara.
St. Nicholas forgave them their deception but cautioned them to be more honest in their future dealings.
Thus St. Nicholas not only protected sailors but taught them their responsibilities as well — earning the appellative patron saint of sailors.
Westport haul-outs
Westport Shipyard last week hauled two of its vessels out of the Port Angeles Harbor waters.
On Monday, workers hauled out the 12th 50-meter yacht the company built at its Port Angeles plant at the client’s behest.
The yacht’s deck will be extended to accommodate a helicopter.
Then on Wednesday, Westport hauled out the company’s global response cutter, a 142-foot craft made of composite space-age material that the shipyard built on speculation to U.S. Coast Guard guidelines, incorporating modifications to make her adaptable to military and defense applications, port security and navies domestically and internationally.
GRC-43 took two years to design and build, and it heralded Westport’s plunge into the specialized field of defense and security vessels specifically constructed to patrol the world’s troubled waters and keep homelands safe and secure.
My understanding is GRC-43 was briefly out of the water for an inspection of her bottom.
Tesoro terminal
Tesoro Petroleum has not been bunkering ships in Port Angeles Harbor of late because its terminal is down for maintenance.
Tesoro’s refueling barge HMS 2000 is currently in Seattle, and last week, she was quite busy in the bigger harbor.
On Tuesday, she refueled Liberty Ace, a 656-foot Panamanian-flagged car carrier that had made its way to Seattle from Hiroshima, Japan.
On Wednesday, she provided bunkers to Greenwich Bridge, a 934-foot container ship, and also refueled Oriental Frontier, a 738-foot, South Korean-flagged bulk cargo ship.
The folks at the Port Angeles Tesoro terminal expect the facility to be up and running by Christmas, and the refueling barge will return a few days before that to fuel ships in the harbor Monday or Tuesday.
Any fuel they need will come from Paramount Storage at Point Wells in Snohomish County or from the Tesoro refinery at Anacortes.
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David G. Sellars is a Port Angeles resident and former Navy boatswain’s mate who enjoys boats and strolling the area’s waterfronts.
Items and questions involving boating, port activities and the North Olympic Peninsula waterfronts are always welcome. Email dgsellars@hotmail.com or phone him at 360-808-3202.
His column, On the Waterfront, appears Sundays.