"Sea-Fever" was a poem by 20th century Earth poet John Masefield. The poem includes the line "all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by" which appeared on the dedication plaques of the USS Enterprise-A and the USS Defiant.
In 2268, James T. Kirk quoted from "Sea-Fever" to Leonard McCoy, identifying it only as a poem from 20th century Earth. (TOS: "The Ultimate Computer")
In 2287, Kirk quoted from the poem while aboard the shuttlecraft Galileo as it was approaching the Enterprise-A. McCoy misidentified the poem's provenance as Herman Melville, but was quickly corrected by Spock. (Star Trek V: The Final Frontier)
In 2372, Quark paraphrased the poem while aboard his ship Quark's Treasure, saying "all I ask is a tall ship… and a load of contraband to fill her with." (DS9: "Little Green Men")
External links[]
- "Sea-Fever" at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
- "Sea-Fever" at Wikipedia
- Text of "Sea-Fever"
- "Sea-Fever" by John Masefield at Poetry Foundation