Those Who Tame the Seas Pin - 1"

This special request pin from DVLP bro @xianpopeye recreates the crest at the center of the processional cross used in the United States Naval Academy Chapel (see photo). A gold medieval ship rides blue waves on a blue shield, flying three pennants marked with the red cross of Saint George.

The processional cross that carries this crest is a gold Celtic cross covered in interlaced knotwork, with an anchor at its base. The anchor is one of the oldest Christian symbols, drawn from Hebrews 6:19, which calls our hope in Christ “a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul.” Around the crest, the cross bears the words of Psalm 107:23–24: “They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; These see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep.”

The vessel on this crest is a medieval warship, with fighting castles raised at the bow and stern. The forward castle gave its name to the forecastle, still part of every sailor’s vocabulary. Similarly, the central space of a church is still called the nave, from the Latin navis, “ship.”

Psalm 107 holds a special place in naval tradition inspiring William Whiting’s 1860 hymn “Eternal Father, Strong to Save,” written after a violent storm nearly sank the ship he was traveling on. 

"Eternal Father, strong to save,
Whose arm does bind the restless wave,
Who bids the mighty ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep;
O hear us when we cry to Thee
For those in peril on the sea."

Charles Jackson Train, a navigation instructor and choirmaster at the Naval Academy, brought the hymn to Annapolis, where it became the Navy Hymn, sung at the close of chapel services and at naval funerals ever since."

This is 1" hard enamel lapel pin.