Maersk Alabama crewman gets homecoming

The return to normalcy will have to wait a little while for Ken Quinn.

The father of two says he's still a little dazed by the sudden celebrity that came with being a crew member of the Maersk Alabama when it was hijacked by Somali pirates. The crew was eventually rescued by the U.S. military, who shot three of the pirates who had taken the ship's captain hostage.

Since the crew arrived in New York late Friday, Quinn and his fellow shipmates have been barraged by media and well-wishers., Quinn, 54, spent the weekend talking to national media about his ordeal, stressing the role the ship's captain, Richard Phillips, played in dealing with the pirates.

Quinn landed at the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport shortly before 5 p.m. today to a line of local media.

"I'm just a regular guy, working, and all of a sudden everyone now wants to interview me,'' Quinn said.

After being given gifts of a wine basket and gift certificates to local eateries, Quinn cheerfully answered questions from reporters and neighbors for nearly half an hour, interrupted occasionally by cheers and applause.

Among his comments:

On what was going through his mind after the ship was hijacked: "I was thinking that the company wasn't going to pay a ransom and I needed to get back to my family. That's what motivated me the most.''

On whether the U.S. Navy can make the area off Somalia safe: "The area's so vast to really do it they'd need hundreds of ships, and they can't do that, it's impossible.''

On the captain: "He's got some guts. He's got a lot of character.''

On what's next: He'll try to "find another berth on a ship. I don't know how long it will take.''

On how some of his friends are on another ship heading to the same area: "The chances of them getting attacked is like a hundred percent.''

On how the balance of power was temporarily changed when the crew captured one of the pirates: "They had two guys prisoner and we had one.''

On a startling revelation when he was in the same room on the ship as the captured pirate: "I looked down at his feet and he was wearing my shoes.''

On whether the pirates were really only young teenagers: "They looked older to me. They must have had a hard life.''

On what should be done with the one surviving pirate: "I don't really know. It's beyond my pay grade.''