Hold Fast and you will not only survive the storm, you will be stronger because of how you made it through.

The #holdfasttattoo has a rich history with sailors. Traditionally, deck hands would get these words across their knuckles to symbolize their dedication to the trade and as a superstition to grant favorable luck when on passage.

Thanks to Norman Collins, better known as Sailor Jerry, I was able to get #inked in carbazole violet, a color he brought to #tattooculture from his travels. Legend has it the color comes from a flower somewhere in Asia and a “friendly” competition with another artist to find pigments that would stay in the skin.

When I decided to embrace life as a sailor, I said I would get HOLD FAST across my knuckles only after riding out a storm. I did not anticipate that storm to be the first weekend we were onboard nor did I anticipate it to be as severe as it was.

It took two anchors, but we held fast through a tornado and 70 knot winds. Perhaps now that these words grace my knuckles, the next storms will be less severe.