The deck log of a commissioned U.S. Navy ship is generally not the place to mess around. In that humble book, a ship’s officer of the deck (OOD) met

How Sailor Poets Take Over U.S. Navy Deck Logs On New Year’s Day

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2025-01-01 12:30:04

The deck log of a commissioned U.S. Navy ship is generally not the place to mess around. In that humble book, a ship’s officer of the deck (OOD) meticulously notes vital information on weather, sea state, status of the engineering plant, the ship’s course and speed, along with other mission-critical factors.

But in the earliest hours of New Year’s Day, during the mid-watch from midnight to 3 a.m. or 4 a.m., the OOD can let their respective poetic prowess shine through, and write their deck log entry in poem form.

The New Year’s deck log entry is a tradition that dates back nearly a century, to 1929, according to the Navy. Sometimes, the OOD will hand the deck log poem duties to another sailor who has a bit more writerly flair.

It arguably reached its height during the Vietnam War, when deck log poems became so popular that Navy Times held an annual contest to feature the best of the bunch, according to the National Archives. But as writing increasingly takes a back seat to the phone and other electronic mediums, this Naval tradition has been in decline, and fewer than 20 ships in the nearly 300-ship fleet penned a mid-watch verse as of 2017.

But it’s a cool tradition nonetheless, and we are glad to bring you a selection of deck log poems from Navy bridges over the years. Check out the U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command to read more New Year’s Naval poetry from throughout the years too.