GP Academy Letter 250810: Big Ships And Cultural Momentum

I hope you enjoyed yesterday’s ‘blast from the past.’ Today I thought I’d share a critical learning experience from my youth that happened in the least expected place.

It was early September in 1964 and I was onboard the ocean liner, HMS Queen Mary, cruising the Atlantic from Southampton, England back to New York City.

We were traveling tourist class which means that we weren’t allowed to visit the fancier decks where first class passengers lolled in the sun, sipping cocktails and taking the occasional dip in the first class swimming pool.

A ship’s steward dressed in a crisp, white officer’s outfit stopped by our table and asked if we needed anything. I asked him if there were any other swimming pools we could use since the pool on the tourist deck was packed.

He smiled and told us to go use the first class pool instead. I was shocked. “But we’re not in first class!” He replied, “Yes, but no one knows that, do they?”

What a great guy. We struck up a conversation and I remember asking him whether it was possible to get a tour of the ship’s bridge.

I was actively involved in seamanship myself in those days, sailing Knockabouts and piloting power boats off the coast of East Falmouth on Massachusetts’ Cape Cod, and was dying to see the ship’s bridge.

He said something like, “Sure, follow me.” Unbelievably, a few minutes later I was standing on the bridge of the Queen Mary. You could have pinched me.

What amazed me at first was how sparse everything looked. Just a compass, some radio equipment mounted in the wall, the wooden-spoked “steering wheel” and the control column where “Full Ahead” or “Full Stop” instructions could be sent to the engine room.

I remember asking how you turned the ship. I was told that if you wanted to steer to starboard (to the right), you would turn the wheel to the right while reducing revolutions on the starboard screw (propeller) so that the port screw assisted in pushing her around.

Then he spoke these immortal words: “A little while later and you can see the bow start to move.”

And that’s when it hit me. I felt like Newton discovering inertia. This ship weighed a massive 77,400 tons and wanted very much to keep going in a straight line. To get her to change direction took planning, power and patience.

And that’s how tectonic shifts in a culture occur—like the gradual, multi-decadal destruction of the traditional nuclear family, or creeping public compliance with soft tyranny.

Slowly and imperceptibly at first, then with great momentum.

Whoops, sorry if I got a little ‘heavy’ there. I said I’d keep things light over the weekend!
I hope you enjoyed this. It was a life lesson that I’ll certainly never forget.

I’ll wrap this up here and we’ll get back to the real world tomorrow.

Bon Voyage,

Gordon