LIFE-RAFT SERVICE

• After 30 years of earning paychecks on the water, I’ve realized that Murphy’s law is, well, overly optimistic: If something can go wrong, it will. And when it does, it’s usually at the worst possible moment.

Consider life rafts. By the time we need one, at least two things have gone horribly wrong: the initial calamity and the inadequate tools to resolve it. What Murphy’s law misses, at least on the ocean, is the added likelihood of leaving no survivors to share the cautionary tale, and neglecting life-raft service is like raising your middle finger to Murphy, Neptune, Fate and Mother Nature all at once.

The good news is