There's an interesting parallel between "Old Stormalong" as described above, and the character, "Hurricane Jack" in the Para Handy stories of Neil Munro.

Hurricane Jack is described (by Para Handy) as "six feet six inches (the exact height varies, generally increasing as a story progresses!) in his stockinged feet, as strong as an ox, and with a back like two shipping boxes."

Para Handy attributes to his friend great feats of physical strength and "agility". Hurricane Jack is always a likeable rogue, quick to anger, but loyal to his friends. Para Handy always avoids explaining how Hurricane Jack got his name.

If you've not read any of the stories, I highly recommend them. They are sometimes whimsical, always funny, and often a little melancholy. They tell of a small group of men working on a "Clyde puffer" before the first world war. There are many references to folk song, folk dance, and various aspects of melodeon and pipe music, and they were written by a man from local to where they were set, to be published in the local newspaper, so the characters would be fairly "authentic" to their time and place, although perhaps a little exaggerated.

The "walking ashore carrying an oar" thing is mentioned several times in the Odyssey, which tells the story of Odysseus' long journey home from the Trojan war. During the journey, he blinds the cyclops, Polyphemus. Polyphemus is the son of the sea god, Poseidon. Poseidon is angered, and does everything he can to prevent Odysseus' safe return home.

When Odysseus gets home, he has to walk inland carrying an oar, and travel so far that no one recognises what it is. He will then have escaped the sea, and therefore Poseidon's curse. The actual walk is never described in the poem.

Ulysses is derived from the Latin name Ulixes, which is the name that the Romans gave to Odysseus. The Greeks generally regarded Odysseus as an all round good bloke; the Romans thought he was a villain.