Book excerpt: Gleaned from more than thirty years of sailing and working as a sailing chief engineer, author A.K. Girisam shares the stories of his life and on the seas—the joy, the fun, parties, and laughter as well as the tensions, anxiety, and worries. In Merry Mariner, Girisam narrates a host of real-life adventures, near-miss incidents, and heart-stopping experiences. He tells about the time a ship was cruising in the Suez Canal and the steering failed, when the engine room flooded with sea water on a ship loaded with 250,000 tons of iron ore, and when a fully loaded ship ran aground and jagged rocks ripped open the ship’s plate. In addition, Girisam relates memorable, and hilarious events from his college days, his fun filled days as a junior engineer on his first ship, and many rib ticking stories (The Reluctant Cupid, My daughter’s musical adventures etc) about his family and friends. Merry Mariner also offers a collection of his thoughts and opinions on a variety of topics in a lighter vein (Hammer Master’s club, Amnesia, boon or bane? Etc)