A LOVE PASSAGE by W.W. JACOBS

"A Love Passage" is a lighthearted maritime comedy from W.W. Jacobs' 1896 collection, Many Cargoes, that satirizes the bumbling romantic efforts of sailors. 
The Plot
The story follows the mate of a schooner who decides, with somewhat clinical detachment, that it is time for him to fall in love. When the skipper brings his daughter on board for a voyage, the mate sees an opportunity and begins an exaggerated performance of romance. 
Performing "Love": The mate's idea of courtship is highly theatrical; he begins to mope, loses his appetite, and spends an inordinate amount of time wa...