Hurricane force twelve

I spent many years at sea, 35 or so. One time we were caught in a force twelve hurricane in the bay of biscay. Our ship was 53.000 tons, but the seas dwarfed us. You can only point into the wind, go through the calm of the eye then fight it again until it's passed over you. This particular time the radio operator and some of us officers were on the bridge, looking up at mountains of water. being tossed around like a cork. The radio officer was tuned into the emergency channel, and we could hear yachts going down, but one... was a French sailing ship, full of kids. Crying out for help mayday. If we turned to get them we would go side (beam) onto the hurricane and there was every chance it would roll us over such is the might of an angry sea. So the captain said we couldn't do it, his responsibility was to his crew. We argued we would take that chance. He refused, there was even talk of taking over the ship to try to get the kids which could well kill us. But as we argued the cries for help suddenly went dead, we knew she'd gone and so had the kids. I still hear now the broken English cries.

My ship was sailing from the docks
A shooting star set the haze ablaze.
The third engineer threw up on my boots.
There was to much time on the booze.

A big ship sitting in the docks
but at sea just a tiny dot.
I looked out into gloom
detecting there a coming doom.

Mountainous seas 
winds to knock down trees.
Hurricanes are so much fun
if like me you do not run.

Ships around you 
on the radio you hear die.
That was always the real horror.
People pleading for help.

You can’t turn to give that up
or your the next one to drown.
I silently wept as their cries went dead.
It will always be in my head.

We never knew them
but as brothers and sisters
Of the endless sea.
Always bound forever to me.

Never forgotten voices.
Lost now and few to say
That awful day
on the bay of biscay.