sympathy

i really feel for the crew of hms astute.
the astute (as i call it as i was never one for formality) is the newest nuclear submarine in the british navy, a brand new shiny killing toy.
even though there have been some great movies set on submarines, they remain one of the least, for me, attractive environments in the world. cooped up in a metal tube with a bunch of people you may not like sounds pretty much my idea of hell (camus would agree with me), add to that i suffer from claustrophobia and well a submariners life is not the life for me.
so i have sympathy for them. a skilled career carried out under extreme pressure.
not to mention being that close to nuclear weapons.
hey i would want hazard pay and then some.

so i have sympathy for them.

the astute has crashed, well run aground in shallow waters.
luckily it was just a bump and no danger of nuclear fuel leaks. (a big phew there!)
the crew has been transferred. meanwhile the sub's captain, commander andy coles, faces a possible court martial if he has been found to be negligent. it may also be that this state of the art sub had been using out of date charts.

as i say i have sympathy for them - as i can't read maps either.