Quote:
Originally Posted by Morthoron
The crews are Teleri, Cirdan's folk. They go both ways (and I am not referring to sexual orientation).
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Without getting into dangerously funny double entendres, I wonder...
I've always been of the understanding that the voyage to Eressëa was a one-way trip. Círdan and the Falathrim may be there to build and service the ships that depart for the Undying Lands, but if they get onboard, they're not coming back.
I mean, after all, it's pretty clear that the Straight Road is a one-way path. The arrival of the Istari in the 3rd Age is very, very clearly an extraordinary occurrence. When debating over whether Glorfindel of Rivendell was the same as Glorfindel of Gondolin, Tolkien concluded he was, but then had to come up with a decision as to when and how he returned to Middle-earth. He considered that he might have come with the Istari, but seems to have disliked this solution--for the obvious reason that Elves coming back in the 3rd Age is more or less rejected. Instead, he goes with the idea that Glorfindel sailed back by way of Númenor in the 2nd Age, when travel (for the Elves) was permitted both ways.
My point, essentially, is that while Círdan's people may have supplied some of the crew for the ships, they most certainly seem unlikely to have returned to the Grey Havens thereafter. And it is possible that some wished to depart, as the Ages wore on. After all, look how quickly the sea-longing came on Legolas after a mere whiff of ocean air? Little more than a century later, he was gone. Think of the effect on the Falathrim, living right on the western shores!
All the same, if the population of the Grey Havens remained more or less constant, then there can't have been too many boarding the white ships. This raises the question, though, of whether the Elves that were departing had to be themselves trained in the art of seamanship before they sailed? In addition to building ships, were the Falathrim engaged in cruising around the Gulf of Lhûn, teaching Eressëa-sick Sindar and Noldor how to hold a course and trim the sails? Or was there some sort of magical autopilot, whereby if you manage to get your white, Círdan-stickered, ship into the Straight Path, it'll take it from there?
Somehow... I doubt it.