Master and Commander: Opening Scene

A description of the opening scene in Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World.

Somewhere off the north coast of Brazil, a single vessel rocked in the predawn darkness. At the head of the mast, a banner floated in the cool, salty morning air. If you had been there, standing on the deck, you would have probably been shocked at how loud the roaring ocean was. Maybe you would have thought it was the beginning of a storm. But in the sailors’ minds, the morning was unusually calm.

Although miniscule in comparison to the vast, tumbling dance of life beneath it, the HMS Surprise was large enough to house the 197 souls that called it home. But it didn’t feel that way. In the hull of the ship, it was smelly and dark and cramped. Hordes of once white hammocks were slung from the ceiling anywhere they could possibly be crammed. The snoring of the men, the music of the sea, and the random bleating of a goat all blended together to create the homely sound so familiar to all on board. While outside and to the east, the sun announced its coming rise by painting the soft cotton candy clouds pink, the hull remained as dark and dank and loud as ever. Unaware of the day that was beginning without, the hull snored on. Whatever was going on above, it was still night down here.

Only one sailor arose. He held a lamp that illuminated a ring around him with a yellowish tint. He was on his way to his morning tasks, ignoring the HMS's incessant creaking and popping joints. She obviously revolted at being tossed around like a child's toy. The sailor made his way to the hatch and climbed a small ladder up to the outside world. As the sun began to rise in earnest, he rang a bell. That was when the ship came alive. 

Before the last clang of the bell had died away, sailors were scurrying up and down the ropes like so many rats and the deck buzzed with sound. Here  a man mopped, there a man  whistled and polished one of the 28 guns. Above and beneath and all around the HMS Surprise and her busy crew danced the deepest and most beautiful blue known to man.