A few words just created for what might be a new novel:
That morning the sea was calm with just a bit of a roll. The water was bluer than Jim had seen the whole time he had been at sea. The sky too was blue and becoming clearer with each passing moment – like a guy who had just cleaned his glasses. Even the blue ring on the old Thomas Jay’s funnel seemed bluer.
How could anything bad happen on a day like this?
Old Chance was a different story. He was the oldest crewman on the Thomas Jay and good for nothing except to be a skilled deckhand or a drunk. Chance should have retired many years ago. He might die on the ocean, but he would have died much sooner, and in a worse condition, if he had been banished to the solid earth.
Chance had taken Jim under his wing and had taught him most of what the boy knew about the work of a deckhand and the nature of the sea.
How could anything bad happen on a day like this?
Old Chance was a different story. He stood at the rail and stared to the east as if a banshee was calling his name.
It remains to be seen if this will develop into a full blown novel. Will it join the pantheon of the reader acclaimed Angel and the Ivory Tower, The Pencil Man, The Art of Freezing Pickles, Satchel at the Second Chance, and Lawrence of Lawrence ?
One never knows.
www.angelivory.com
Sounds as if you have the beginnings of what could be a great novel; a shorter story; a poem; and/or a song. After that, it could be turned into a play, teleplay, or a movie. In short...this is a great launching spot for more. Both Jim and Chance come across as sympathetic characters to be truly cared about by your readers.