In The Wake of Tragedy

I grew up near the waters of Long Island Sound. My grandparents lived on a canal that lead out into the sound and had a motorboat. I always enjoyed going out in their boat, or going out in the rowboat with my dad. I remember school trips on the Thames River with Project ‘O’ and learning about the ocean and things of the sea. One of the things I always enjoyed about being on the water was watching the wake from the boat. That was one of the things that amazed me when I was stationed on a nuclear submarine. The wake the submarine left was less than that made by my grandparent’s motorboat or the research vessel with Project ‘O’. I learned that the wake a vessel leaves behind has little to do with vessel size, but much to do with the design of the vessel. That is the summation of my knowledge of naval architecture and aqua-dynamic engineering. It is also the beginning of my understanding of how to cope and work through the wake of tragedy in our lives.