men, and ships... a bit of poetic prose

[Dom R]

I'm reading a book in the fantasy series, "The wheel of time".

There is a group of sea-faring folk described in it, that are mostly captained by FEMALEs. and interstingly, they call their ships "he", instead of "she".
When asked why, one of the female characters replied this way:

"A ship is alive, and he is like a man, with a true man's heart.
Treat him well, and care for him properly, and he will fight for you against the worst sea. He will fight to keep you alive even after the sea has long since given him his own deathstroke.
Neglect him, though, ignore the small warnings he gives of danger, and he will drown you in a flat sea beneath a cloudless sky".


Interesting and fresh view of boats. and men, i thought.