Sea Eyes

Just a few days ago, I was informed that a good fisherman friend of mine has a disability. I was certain that this was nonsense and replied with slight amusement at how rumors can be blown out of proportion in the small village that we call home. When a town is practically dormant for 7 months out of the year, people get creative at generating gossip. I'm used to "local news" being bogus or, at best, partial truth.

I ran into the aforementioned fisherman a few days later and inquired about this rumor, practically chuckling while doing so, because it seemed so preposterous. You see this man is one of the most graceful boat handlers I know and to think that he has a vision impairment is unthinkable. Sure enough, he confirmed it. I was dumbstruck and embarrassed for my insensitivity at bringing up the subject. I said as much.

Sight is indeed a valuable sense on the water. I'll never forget the first summer that I sterned in 2004. The boat was brand new and Cap was just adjusting to her; learning the feel for driving her, the new curves and corners and, generally, adapting his entire work routine to her. Most challenging of all, he was learning the ropes of the electronics. He had a novel new computer and navigational/plotting program that was nothing but trouble that entire season. In fact, the plotter didn't work for a good portion of the season, and we relied on Cap's memory and our combined eyesight to locate buoys the old fashioned way. It was also one of the foggiest summers that I can remember. Cap relied on me to watch the port side of the boat for buoys, since the wheelhouse blocks his line of vision from his station at the wheel. Unfortunately, I was wearing glasses at the time and the salty fog made it almost impossible for me to spot buoys. I've worn contacts when working on the water ever since.

But "sea eyes" are more than just being able to see clearly. Cap recently commented "When you've worked on the water for some time, you start to see things that others don't." This isn't to say that fishermen become delusional from working on the water. Rather, he meant that one develops a 6th sense: an awareness of your surroundings on the water and a new dimension in which one visually perceives danger. You catch a fleeting glimpse of day-glow pink off the stern and, knowing the direction in which the boat's drifting, you know whether there's a chance of the wheel (the boat's propellor) catching the buoy or not. While watching the line escape over the rail as you set a pair of traps, you can tell when it is going to catch the rest of the coil and create a hopeless snarl.

It's true that sight is the primary sense with which we experience the world as humans. But there is more than just sight to vision. There is a deeper perception of one's environment when a person is really in tune with their surroundings. This is what has enabled my fisherman friend to be such a good lobsterman over the years. He has his "sea eyes" about him.