Sailor’s sacrifice rings true for Easter

Sandwiched between the “puttin’ on the green” of St. Patrick’s Day last Monday, which honors the man who brought Christianity to Ireland, and the worldwide celebrations of Easter this weekend, is another day of festivity I think Jesus would have loved.

A new tradition has sprung up among sailors around the Chesapeake Bay to honor the first day of spring — a ceremony for burning their socks. Since I am quite sure Jesus never wore socks, I think he would have thought the event a lot of fun. The “new” tradition actually dates to the mid-1980s, when a boatyard worker in Annapolis took off his socks, put them in a paint tray, doused them with lighter fluid, and toasted the arrival of the spring sailing season. While the Gospels record that Jesus enjoyed many parties with his friends, he also knew that it would take more than slipping a pair of bare feet into some deck shoes to make a sailor. Most of Jesus' first disciples were sailors; and sailors, since time immemorial, have understood the law of the sea. The law of the sea says that whenever another mariner is in distress, you go help — period.

A few weeks ago, the Cruising Club of America awarded its highest honor to Mike Golding for his heroic rescue of Alex Thomson in the Southern Ocean during the 2006 Velux 5 Oceans Race. The race is one of the most arduous in all of sports. In single-handedly circling the globe, sailors compete in the longest race for individuals in any sport. The most difficult part of the race occurs in the Southern Ocean near Antarctica, where racers have to dodge icebergs as they battle continuous gale force winds and enormous seas.

Golding was 90 miles in front of Thomson with 35- to 40-knot winds and huge seas at his back when Thomson’s boat began to founder because of a broken keel. At considerable risk to his own life, Golding abandoned the race, turned his boat around, and sailed into the teeth of the gale all night long. The next morning, he was able to rescue Thomson from his life raft just as he abandoned his mortally wounded race boat.

Six hours later, in an icy squall, the mast on Golding’s own boat exploded from the stress of all the hard sailing, and the two sailors together braved snow and an icy deck to jury-rig a temporary mast. A week later, they arrived in Cape Town, South Africa to a hero's welcome. When Golding learned of his selection for one of the most prestigious awards in the world of sailing, he said: “The rescue was an incredible experience for both of us and something I would like to think anyone in the same position would have done.”

The sailors of the Southern Ocean know that if something goes wrong, their only hope is another sailor — one who is willing to lay down his own life to save a friend. One of Jesus’ sailing and fishing buddies, John, tells us that on the night before he was to be crucified, Jesus expressed that same sentiment: “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” Then the next day, the day his followers call Good Friday, he did that very thing — but then, Jesus was a sailor too.

Kevin McGhee is a senior pastor at Bethany Community Church in Laurel and a 1978 graduate of the United States Naval Academy. He can be reached at kmcghee@baltimoreexaminer.com.