It can be very dangerous to row a small boat on the high seas, especially as a storm approaches. The air becomes thick and sultry. Dense, dark thunderclouds press overhead, fierce gusts rip the sail, and high waves threaten to sink the boat. Only an experienced pilot could maneuver a small boat through a big storm.
And who said it better than Emily Dickinson in “Adrift! A little boat adrift!”:
ADRIFT! A little boat adrift!
And night is coming down!
Will no one guide a little boat
Unto the nearest town?
So sailors say, on yesterday,
Just as the dusk was brown,
One little boat gave up its strife,
And gurgled down and down….