Original Poem: The Prudent Mariner

I wrote this poem on a small ship on the passage between Fort Lauderdale, Florida and Freeport on Grand Bahama Island. I was on a work assignment. The last few miles into the harbor were in shallow water and the channel was marked with buoys. Out of the channel it was very shallow. The perils of getting off-course were very apparent and the poem came to my mind. As I was writing the poem, I was also thinking about the 19 vessels that I had counted that had run aground as I was delivering a vessel from Florida to New York Harbor.

Original Composition: From Glassy To Ripple And Ripple To Wave

This is an original composition called,

 "From Glassy To Ripple And Ripple To Wave." 

The title of the piece comes from a line in my poem, 

"The Face Of The Sea."

Recently I finished reading MOBY DICK (for the second time), by Hermin Melville. 

I love it in the first paragraph where Ishmael says, 

"I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world." 

The composition is put to photos of my own travels 

to the "watery part of the world."

Original Poem: Stick To The Chart

This nautical poem came from a true life experience. I was captaining a 100 passenger high-speed ferry from Sitka, Alaska to Victoria, BC, where it would be loaded on a freighter for Miami, Florida. From Miami I would pilot it up the eastern seaboard to New York Harbor for a company called New York Waterway. In Queen Charlotte Sound we ran into heavy fog and the poem started to sprout when my crewman asked me, "can you see where you're going?".  I carefully made my way through the sound by keeping a close watch on the nautical chart and the radar. I would see where the channel buoy was on the chart and then find it on the radar screen. It was slow going and tedious but it got us safely through the fog. My trusty binoculars where vital in order to locate the next marker buoy and keep on the correct course. Remember that maps are called charts in the nautical world.

                                     

 Stick To The Chart

 By J. Brad Chapman

"Can you see where you're going?", he called to the bridge;

the fog was as thick as a curtain.

"Can't see a thing",  came the voice from the helm.

"I'll stick to the chart, that's for certain."

The chart gives directions to steer the ship true,

through dangerous shallows and gaps.

When sight is obscured, visibility gone,

we trust in the use of our maps.

Scriptures like maps , will show us the way,

through sheer rocky passes and storms.

They guide us safely through tempest and trial,

to where it is sheltered and warm.

Like the sure captain, do you stick to the chart,

when the course turns foggy and gray?

Or do you despair, when you cannot see,

and murmur and whine in dismay.

God grants us faith when we stick to the chart,

to weather the worst of the storms.

And He grants the spirit as we brace to the wind;

it comforts us, guides us, and warns.

So when sight's obstructed and you've drifting off-course,

and you can't see your way through the squall.

Look to the scriptures; the Charts of the Lord.

Be bold, show faith, and stand tall.

And if ever you ask, "which way do I go?",

when the course is obscured, dim and gray.

Grip tight to the chart, and sail out in the wind;

God's already charted the way!

Arrangement: But With Joy, Wend Your Way

This is my guitar arrangement of the hymn, "Come, Come, Ye Saints". 

As our daughter Sierra is returning from her mission in Norway this coming Thursday,(October 16, 2014) I dedicate this to her. Also to our son Bryan who returned from the Philippines on February 12, 2014.

It is performed on a Martin 000C (Nylon String) Guitar. 

I added photos of our family's missionary endeavors through the years in celebration of Sister Sierra's return!