THE INSIDER.

THE INSIDER Landlubbers ahoy,shiver me timbers PROF Renfrew Christie, dean of research at the University of the Western Cape, had his audience of academics and senior mariners in stitches at the recent conference on maritime security in southern Africa, when he advised the chief of the navy about the dangers of keeping sailors on land. The more time they spend at sea, the better they get at their job. On land, they swing and they sway; their jaws jut; they jib at nothing; they jibber at everything, and are a menace to themselves and to others, he said.

Christie said that if he had his way, members of the Navy would never see land, as sailors were at their worst when …