All At Sea

In Jane Austen's day it was said that every family in Britain had a relative at sea. Today the Merchant and Royal navies have shrunk and we live in an age of "sea blindness". As the "Year of the Sea" begins, the nation has never been less realistically aware of her island status and of the curious, dislocated lives of her seafarers.

Libby Purves finds out how this challenging life has changed for those at sea today. And how young people who have grown up in an individualistic culture where they can constantly question authority, learn to accept the discipline of life on board ship.

1/2. Running Away To Sea

On a vast modern ship, life can be lonely and dull. But the sea still calls some young people, despite its risks and demands. Ashore and afloat, from the Solent to Sullom Voe, Merchant Navy cadets and officers accompany Libby Purves on her exploratory voyage down the years.

In Jane Austen's day it was said that every family in Britain had a relative at sea. Today the Merchant and Royal navies have shrunk and we live in an age of "sea blindness". As the "Year of the Sea" begins, the nation has never been less realistically aware of her island status and of the curious, dislocated lives of her seafarers.

Libby Purves finds out how this challenging life has changed for those at sea today. And how young people who have grown up in an individualistic culture where they can constantly question authority, learn to accept the discipline of life on board ship.

2/2. Wooden Walls

In the bicentenary year of the battle of Trafalgar, how does the Royal Navy reconcile its traditions with the demands of modern warfare? How do young officers and ratings see themselves fitting in to its hierarchies and rituals? Libby Purves goes to sea on a frigate and explores the cross-currents of tradition, technology and modern management concepts

1/2. Running Away to Sea

In Jane Austen's day it was said that every family in Britain had a relative at sea. Today, the Merchant and Royal navies have shrunk and we live in an age of 'sea blindness'. People look out to sea and fail to connect the smudge on the horizon with the bananas in their fruit bowls.

In this 'Year of the Sea' the nation has never been less aware of her island status and of the curious, dislocated lives of her seafarers. Libby Purves finds out how this challenging life has changed for those at sea today. And how young people who have grown up in an individualistic culture where they can constantly question authority, learn to accept the discipline of life on board ship.

On a vast modern ship, life can be lonely and dull. But the sea still calls some young people, despite its risks and demands. Ashore and afloat, from the Solent to Sullom Voe, Merchant Navy cadets and officers accompany Libby Purves on her exploratory voyage down the years.

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2/2. Wooden Walls: How does the Royal Navy reconcile its traditions with the demands of modern warfare? Libby Purves goes to sea on a frigate to explore tradition and technology.

In Jane Austen's day it was said that every family in Britain had a relative at sea.

Today the Merchant and Royal navies have shrunk and we live in an age of "sea blindness".

As the "Year of the Sea" begins, the nation has never been less realistically aware of her island status and of the curious, dislocated lives of her seafarers.

Libby Purves finds out how this challenging life has changed for those at sea today.

And how young people who have grown up in an individualistic culture where they can constantly question authority, learn to accept the discipline of life on board ship.On a vast modern ship, life can be lonely and dull.

But the sea still calls some young people, despite its risks and demands.

Ashore and afloat, from the Solent to Sullom Voe, Merchant Navy cadets and officers accompany Libby Purves on her exploratory voyage down the years.

In the bicentenary year of the battle of Trafalgar, how does the Royal Navy reconcile its traditions with the demands of modern warfare? How do young officers and ratings see themselves fitting in to its hierarchies and rituals? Libby Purves goes to sea on a frigate and explores the cross-currents of tradition, technology and modern management concepts.

Topical thriller by Colin MacDonald.

David Murdoch is on a post-redundancy cruise in the Indian Ocean.

Facing an uncertain future but with a healthy payoff, he is enjoying the holiday of a lifetime when the ship runs into trouble off the pirate-ridden coast of Somalia.

David Murdoch....Grant O'rourke