Where's our political tonnage?

Last weekend I was down south with family & friends and visited a National Trust property in the area.  We walked around the lake swollen by rapidly melting.  Part way round the lake we came across a small whirlpool in the lake.  By way of idle chit chat, I asked one of our friends (a former merchant seaman) if such things actually occurred at sea or were they nothing more than tales told by romantic old salts.

"No they're real.  Caused by different currents in the sea".  Still not knowing anything about them, I joked something about steering well clear of them. 

My friends response was "No, when you're in 35000 tonnes of ship, you tend not to worry too much about them"

I could help but wonder as this nation finds itself in a maelstrom of mixed currents, where our 35000 tonnes of political courage is to steer us through it.  All we seem to have are 600 odd pieces of balsa wood currently trying to navigate it.