May Day

Today is 1st of May, also known as May Day or Labour Day, a holiday in this country and in many parts of the world. A day to celebrate the working class.

For us mariners, mayday is also an emergency code word used internationally as a distress signal in voice procedure radio communications, an anglicized version of the French word m'aider, meaning "help me". A mayday situation is one in which a vessel is in grave and imminent danger and requires immediate assistance , e.g. sinking and the possible loss of lives on board. It is a word we do not take lightly, not even in jest.

But here's a hilarious dramatisation of a mayday scenario from You Tube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHx7xYNdha0