We are Not Afraid To Die explanation
This
chapter deals with a first-person account of an adventurous ordeal that one
family experiences. The author gives a brief about the voyage, taken by his
family to duplicate round the world voyage which was made 200 years earlier by
Captain James Cook.
The
author and his family had always dreamt of sailing in the British Waters. In
this chapter, you will study about the adventure and the struggle of this
family during the voyage. The never accepting defeat attitude by all the family
members is beautiful to learn.
Character
List
Author
– A 37-year old businessman who has dreamt to sail and has spent many years
honing his sailing skills to finally achieve his dream of sailing in the
British Waters.
Mary
– Author’s wife, a woman with courage. She supports her husband’s dream of
sailing and is ever ready to face any adventures.
Jonathan
– Author’s – 6-year-old son. A little boy with great wisdom and understands the
importance of family and wishes to be together even if they all die.
Suzanne
– 7-year-old girl with patience and perseverance. She dares to endure pain and
chooses to remain silent, not to bother her father. She understands the
severity of the situation and behaves way ahead of her age.
Larry
Vigil – American crewman.
Herb
Seigler – Swiss crewman to help the family sail in the Indian Ocean.
Theme
The
story We’re Not Afraid to Die speaks about the adventures of a family which is
out on a voyage. This story is an encounter described by the author which he
experienced while taking the voyage. You will witness a stream of unfortunate
events that lead to a disaster for this family living its dream of sailing. The
story brings many emotions which helps you to understand the importance of
bonding in a family and you will see how each member of the family perseveres
to survive this deadly situation.
In
this story, all the characters are brave and love each other immensely. The
surprise package is the kids who show great courage in such a difficult time
and give moral support to their father who struggles to save everyone. The
story represents how courage can help you overcome any situation. It
beautifully highlights the struggle of each member of the family and the
combined efforts of all the members that helped them survive such a
catastrophic event.
The
story also shows the struggle of a father determined to save his family and
leaves no stone unturned to bring the situation under control. It also brings
the combined efforts of each character to fight this situation. The little boy
Jonathan exhibits a great deal of courage and is also ready to die if all his
family members are together. All that matters is that they are together. The
young girl Suzanne is seriously injured but chooses not to bother her father
who is struggling to save everyone.
This
entire story revolves around the family and their positive attitude which saved
everyone. The whole family stands together and fights this situation with an
indomitable spirit. The story shows how unity might help you to overcome the
toughest of situations. The family members trust the author and how their faith
in him boost his confidence to fight. In this chapter, you will learn how your
attitude can affect your performance in any situation.
Character
Sketch of Narrator
He was a 37-year-old businessman and a father of two
beautiful and lovely children. He also proved to be a great captain of the
ship, during their rough times amidst all odd situations. He used his wisdom
and managed most of the tasks single-handedly. It was his sea-faring skills
that save all of them from the mighty danger.
We
are not Afraid to Die, if we can all be together Overview – Written by Gordan
Cook and Alan East, the story is about a 37 year old businessman who is the
narrator of the story. He has a wife named Mary and two children, Jonathan,
aged 6 and Suzanne, aged 7. He and his wife both dream of a voyage around the
world on their ship ‘Wave walker’ which is a 23 meter long, 30 ton
wooden-hulled, just like that of the famous Captain James Cook.
The whole family started sailing from Plymouth, England
on July 1976. The initial phase of the three-year-long journey was from Africa
to Cape Town. It was pleasant. While heading east, along with two newly hired
crewmen, strong waves hit them and their survival became a question. The story
tells us about how they fought each day and survived till the end
Character
Sketch of Mary
Mary
was the mother of Jonathan and Suzanne, and the wife of Captain Gordan Cook.
She was a loving mom who was so protective of her family and was helpful and
motivated the captain in a desperate situation, when he was exhausted
physically and mentally. She was so affectionate that she somehow managed to
find cheese and beefsteak for her hungry family. She was as optimistic as her
husband was.
She was a courageous and brave woman. She stood by her
husband after the wave badly damaged the boat. She steered the boat according
to her husband’s instructions. She gave lots of emotional support to the
narrator.
Character
Sketch of Jonathan
Jonathan was Gordon Cook’s 6 year old son who had
accompanied him on the round the world journey. After the Wavewalker was
terribly broken by the wave, he acted very courageously. He gave a new strength
to his father when he said he was not afraid to die if he could be together
with the family. These words filled the author with new determination and
courage. He resolved to fight till the end to save his family from being
drowned in the stormy sea.
Character
Sketch of Suzanne
She was though seven years of age, but was mature enough and showed great
courage even though she was badly injured. Her eyes were badly swollen and
there was a deep cut on her arm but she did not cry and incessantly told her
father that she was alright. She repeatedly told her father she was alright;
the truth was that she was not. She had to undergo six minor operations to
remove the blood clotting from her brain
We Are Not Afraid To Die If We Can All Be Together
Introduction
We are not Afraid to Die Written by Gordan Cook
and Alan East, the story is about a 37 year old businessman who is the narrator
of the story. He has a wife named Mary and two children, Jonathan, aged 6 and
Suzanne, aged 7. He and his wife both dream of a voyage around the world on
their ship ‘Wave walker’ which is a 23 meter long, 30 ton wooden-hulled, just
like that of the famous Captain James Cook.
The whole family started sailing from Plymouth,
England on July 1976. The initial phase of the three-year-long journey was from
Africa to Cape Town. It was pleasant. While heading east, along with two newly
hired crewmen, strong waves hit them and their survival became a question. The
story tells us about how they fought each day and survived till the end.Take
free Online MCQs Test for
We are Not Afraid To Die Summary –
The narrator and
his wife plan a voyage around the world just like famous Captain James Cook.
They have been preparing and perfecting their seafaring skills for the past 16
years. They get a ship which is 23 meters long and weighs 30 tons
wooden-hulled, named Wave Walker. They test it in the rough weather for months.
In July 1976, they all start their journey from
Plymouth, England. They sail from Africa to Cape Town which was quite a
pleasant journey. Before heading East, the narrator hired two crewmen, Larry
Vigil, and Herb Seigler, to help them tackle one of the roughest sea – the
Southern Indian Ocean.
They encounter strong and alarming waves during the second day. By December 25,
they all manage to reach 35,000 kilometers east of Cape Town. The family,
somehow, manages to surpass the bad weather and celebrates Christmas together.
The weather changes for the worse and on January 2,
the big waves hit them. They try to slow the ship down by dropping storm jib
and hit a heavy mooring rope in a loop across a stern but it doesn’t help much.
They carry their life-raft drill, attach lifelines, don life jackets and
oilskins.
Later, in the evening, a vertical and huge wave
strikes the ship and the narrator is thrown off from the ship. He accepts his
‘approaching death’ and starts losing consciousness. When the ship is about to
overturn, a huge wave hit again and turns it right back. He suffers injuries in
ribs and mouth. He grabs the guard rail and sails into the ship’s main boom.
He instructs his wife Mary to guard the wheel as he
realizes that the ship has water in the lower parts. His crewman starts pumping
out the water. The narrator goes to his children’s cabin and checks on them.
His daughter, Sue, informs him about a bump on her head which he ignores
because his major concern is to save the ship.
The narrator does water-proofing on the gaping holes.
This makes water to deviate on the right side. The hand pump gets blocked due
to debris and electric-pump gets short-circuited. However, he later finds a
spare electric pump and connects it to drain the water. They all keep pumping
the water all night long. Their Mayday calls are not answered as they are in
the remotest corner of the world.
Sue, on the other hand, has now a swollen black eye
and a deep cut in her arm. On being asked by her father about her injuries, she
tells him she didn’t want him to worry as he was trying to save them. After 15
hours the situation gets under control. The narrator decides to work in
rotation and rests. The water levels are controlled but the leaks were still
there, below the waterline.
The ship is in bad shape now. It is not in a
condition to reach Australia, and so, they decide to reach the nearest island,
lle Amsterdam, a French Scientific base. As their supporting engines were also
damaged, the chances of the ship to reach the destination are low.
After pumping the water out continuously for 36
hours, they took a sigh of relief. Only a few centimeters of water was left to
be pumped out of the boat. They hoisted the storm jib as the mainmast was
destroyed. They ate their first meal in two days, some corned beef and
crackers. The weather soon started changing and again the black clouds took
over by the morning of January 5. His son, Jonathan, told him that he didn’t
fear death as long as they were all together. This filled him with
determination to fight the sea.
The struggle continued and the narrator tried his
best to protect the weakened starboard side. The same evening, the narrator and
his wife sat together holding hands, thinking that their end was near. His
children continuously supported him which gave him moral support to keep going.
The Wavewalker sailed through the storm and made it.
The narrator then calculated their exact position by working on the wind speed.
While he was brainstorming, Sue, gave him a card that she had made expressing
her love and gratitude towards the family.
He instructed Larry to steer the course to 185
degrees. He said that if they were lucky, they could hope to find an island by
5 pm. He dozed off and suddenly got up around 6 pm. He believed that they
didn’t make it and was disappointed. His son came and informed him about how
they reached the lle Amsterdam Island and he called him ‘best daddy’ and ‘best
captain’.
They reached the island with little struggle and with
the help of inhabitants. The whole team, the family and two crew members, never
stopped trying. Their struggle and hard work finally saved them.
We Are Not Afraid To Die If We Can All Be Together Lesson Explanation
Passage: IN July 1976, my wife Mary, son Jonathan, 6, daughter
Suzanne, 7, and I set sail from Plymouth, England, to duplicate the
round-the-world voyage made 200 years earlier by Captain James Cook. For the
longest time, Mary and I — a 37-year-old businessman — had dreamt of sailing in
the wake of the famous explorer, and for the past 16 years, we had spent all
our leisure time honing our seafaring skills in British waters. Our boat
Wavewalker, a 23 meter, 30-ton wooden-hulled beauty, had been professionally
built, and we had spent months fitting it out and testing it in the roughest
weather we could find.
Word Meaning:
Voyage – a long journey by
sea or space
Leisure – free
time
Honing – sharpen,
improving
Seafaring – regularly
traveling by sea
Honing our seafaring skills – improving
the skills required to travel by sea
Wooden-hulled – a
watertight body of a ship
Explanation of the above passage: The narrator,
37-year-old businessman, along with his wife Mary and two children – Jonathan
(age 6) and Suzanne (age 7) went on a voyage on their ship in July 1976. They
started from Plymouth, England. They wanted to complete the sea trip around the
world just like the one that had been completed 200 years ago by the famous
Captain James Cook. The narrator and his wife spent 16 years improving their
seafaring skills. They got a ship built professionally, a 23 meter long, 30 ton
heavy wooden-hulled called ‘Wavewalker’. They took several months to test it in
the roughest of weathers.
Passage: The first leg of our planned three-year, 105,000
kilometre journey passed pleasantly as we sailed down the west coast of Africa
to Cape Town. There, before heading east, we took on two crewmen — American
Larry Vigil and Swiss Herb Seigler — to help us tackle one of the world’s
roughest seas, the southern Indian Ocean.
On our second day out of Cape Town, we began to encounter strong gales. For the
next few weeks, they blew continuously. Gales did not worry me; but the size of
the waves was alarming — up to 15 metres, as high as our main mast.
Word Meaning:
Gales – A very strong wind
Mast – a
tall upright structure on a boat or ship
Explanation of the above passage: The initial phase of the
three-year long journey of 105,000 kilometre passed pleasantly. They sailed
down the west coast of Africa to Cape Town. The narrator hired two crewmen
before heading towards the east to tackle the roughest sea- the southern Indian
Ocean. Their names were Larry Vigil, an American and Herb Seigler, a Swiss. On
the second day in Cape Town, they encountered a strong wind which continued for
several weeks. A strong wind was not a problem but 15 metres high waves, which
were the height of the mast, worried the narrator.
Passage: December 25 found us 3,500 kilometres east of Cape
Town. Despite atrocious weather, we had a wonderful holiday complete with a
Christmas tree. New Year’s Day saw no improvement in the weather, but we
reasoned that it had to change soon. And it did change — for the worse.
At dawn on January 2, the waves were gigantic. We were sailing with only a
small storm jib and were still making eight knots. As the ship rose to the top
of each wave we could see endless enormous seas rolling towards us, and the
screaming of the wind and spray was painful to the ears. To slow the boat down,
we dropped the storm jib and lashed a heavy mooring rope in a loop across the
stern. Then we double-lashed everything, went through our life-raft drill,
attached lifelines, donned oilskins and life jackets — and waited.
Word Meaning:
Atrocious – bad; of a very
poor quality
Gigantic – huge;
of a big size
Jib – a
triangular staysail set forward the mast in a ship
Knots – a
unit of speed equal to one nautical mile per hour, used especially of ships,
aircraft, or winds
Enormous – a
very large size
Lashed – to
hit with a lot of force
Mooring – the
ropes, chains, or anchors by or to which a boat, ship, or buoy is moored
Loop – a
shape produced that bends round and crosses; bent
Stern – the
back part of a ship or a boat
Donned – put
on, wore
Oilskins – heavy
cotton cloth waterproofed with oil
Explanation of the above passage: On December 25, they had
travelled 3,500 kilometres east of Cape Town. They celebrated Christmas
together, despite the bad weather. The weather remained the same till New
Year’s Day but they hoped for it to change soon. The weather conditions
worsened. On the early morning of January 2, the waves were very huge. They
were sailing with a small storm jib, at a speed of eight knots. When the ship
was sailing with the huge waves, they could see the huge sea in front of them.
The noise of the waves and strong winds was painful for the ears. They dropped
the storm jib to slow down the ship and hit a heavy mooring rope across the back
part of the ship in a loop. They lashed everything with double force. They put
on their oilskins and life jackets, attached lifelines and went through the
life raft drills and waited.
Passage: The first indication of impending disaster came at
about 6 p.m., with an ominous silence. The wind dropped, and the sky
immediately grew dark. Then came a growing roar, and an enormous cloud towered
aft of the ship. With horror, I realised that it was not a cloud, but a wave
like no other I had ever seen. It appeared perfectly vertical and almost twice
the height of the other waves, with a frightful breaking crest.
Word Meaning:
Impending – about to happen
Ominous silence – unpleasant
or threatening silence
Aft – near
the stern of the ship
Frightful – very
unpleasant or shocking
Crest – reach
the top of a wave
Explanation of the above passage: Around 6 pm, an
unpleasant silence rolled over, it was an indication of a disaster which was
about to happen. The wind suddenly dropped and the sky was darker with heavy
clouds. A huge cloud was coming towards the stern of the ship but later the
narrator realized it was a huge wave. The wave was perfectly vertical and it
was twice the height of the previous waves they saw withthe top of the wave
looking unpleasant due to its height.
Passage: The roar increased to a thunder as the stern moved up
the face of the wave, and for a moment I thought we might ride over it. But
then a tremendous explosion shook the deck. A torrent of green and white water
broke over the ship, my head smashed into the wheel and I was aware of flying
overboard and sinking below the waves. I accepted my approaching death, and as
I was losing consciousness, I felt quite peaceful.
Word Meaning:
Tremendous – very great in
amount
Shook – past
tense of shake (vibrate)
Deck – a floor
of a ship
Torrent – a
fast moving stream of water
Smashed – shattered
or violently broken
Explanation of the above passage: The thunder increased
and the waved moved the stern up. They thought that it would not do any damage
but a huge explosion vibrated the deck. A strong moving stream of green and
white water broke over the ship. The narrator’s head smashed in the wheel of
the ship, he flew overboard and sank below the waves. He accepted that his
death was approaching and started losing consciousness. He felt quite peaceful.
Passage: Unexpectedly, my head popped out of the water. A few
metres away, Wavewalker was near capsizing, her masts almost horizontal. Then a
wave hurled her upright, my lifeline jerked taut, I grabbed the guard rails and
sailed through the air into Wavewalker’s main boom. Subsequent waves tossed me
around the deck like a rag doll. My left ribs cracked; my mouth filled with
blood and broken teeth. Somehow, I found the wheel, lined up the stern for the
next wave and hung on.
Water, Water, Everywhere. I could feel that the ship had water below, but I
dared not abandon the wheel to investigate. Suddenly, the front hatch was
thrown open and Mary appeared. “We’re sinking!” she screamed. “The decks are
smashed; we’re full of water.” “Take the wheel”, I shouted as I scrambled for
the hatch.
Word Meaning:
Capsizing – be overturned in
the water
Hurled – throw
with a great force
Taut – stretched
or pulled tightly
Boom – pole
that controls the angle and shape of the sail
Scrambled – climb;
claw one’s way
Hatch – door
Explanation of the above passage: The narrator’s head
popped out of water. The ship was about to overturn but a wave turned her
upright. His lifeline jacket was stretched, he grabbed the guard rails and
sailed to the ship’s main pole. The waves tossed him around the deck. He was
injured as his left ribs cracked, his mouth filled with blood and he had a
broken tooth. He found the wheel, lined the stern for the next wave and waited.
There was water everywhere. The narrator could feel water below the ship but he
didn’t leave the wheel alone. Suddenly, the front door opened and his wife,
Mary, came screaming that they were sinking. She said, ‘the decks are smashed;
we’re full of water’. The narrator handed her the wheel and climbed towards the
door.
Passage: Larry and Herb were pumping like madmen. Broken
timbers hung at crazy angles, the whole starboard side bulged inwards; clothes,
crockery, charts, tins and toys sloshed about in deep water. I half-swam,
half-crawled into the children’s cabin. “Are you all right?” I asked. “Yes,”
they answered from an upper bunk. “But my head hurts a bit,” said Sue, pointing
to a big bump above her eyes. I had no time to worry about bumped heads. After
finding a hammer, screws and canvas, I struggled back on deck. With the
starboard side bashed open, we were taking water with each wave that broke over
us. If I couldn’t make some repairs, we would surely sink.
Word Meaning:
Timbers – wood board used in
building of a ship
Starboard – side
of a ship which is on the right side when one is facing forward
Bulged – swell
Sloshed – move
through liquid with a splashing sound.
Bashed – strike
hard; hit
Explanation of the above passage: The crewman Larry and
Herb were pumping the water very fast. The timbers of the ship were broken and
were hanging badly. The starboard of the ship had sunk, clothes, crockery,
charts, tins and toys were roaming around in deep water. The narrator swam and
crawled to the children’s cabin and asked the children whether they were
alright. The children replied ‘yes’. Sue, his daughter complained about a big
bump on her head. The narrator didn’t pay much attention to it as his major
concern was to save them. The narrator found screws, hammer and canvas, he went
back to the deck. The broken starboard side was letting so much water in, if
the narrator could not fix the problem, they would all sink in the sea.
Passage: Somehow I managed to stretch canvas and secure
waterproof hatch covers across the gaping holes. Some water continued to stream
below, but most of it was now being deflected over the side.
More problems arose when our hand pumps started to block up with the debris
floating around the cabins and the electric pump short-circuited. The water
level rose threateningly. Back on deck I found that our two spare hand pumps
had been wrenched overboard — along with the forestay sail, the jib, the
dinghies and the main anchor.
Then I remembered we had another electric pump under the chartroom floor. I
connected it to an out-pipe, and was thankful to find that it worked.
Word Meaning:
Deflected: turned aside
Canvas – a
strong unbleached cloth
Debris – rubbish
Wrenched – pull
suddenly, removed
Forestay – a
rope to support ship’s foremast
Dinghies – a
small boat for recreation with mast or sail
Explanation of the above passage: The narrator stretched
the canvas cloth and secured the waterproof hatch which covered the gaping
holes. Some water streamed below and some was now deflected over the side. The
handpump was blocked as rubbish was floating around the cabins and entered it,
the electric pump short-circuited. As the water level rose, the narrator found
two hand pumps had been removed along with a rope, jib, a small boat, and the
main anchor. He found another electric pump under the chartroom. He connected
it to an out pipe and it started working.
Passage: The night dragged on with an endless, bitterly cold
routine of pumping, steering and working the radio. We were getting no replies
to our Mayday calls — which was not surprising in this remote corner of the
world.
Sue’s head had swollen alarmingly; she had two enormous black eyes, and now she
showed us a deep cut on her arm. When I asked why she hadn’t made more of her
injuries before this, she replied, “I didn’t want to worry you when you were
trying to save us all.”
Word Meaning:
Mayday calls –words used to signal
ships stuck in a disastrous situation through radio
Explanation of the above passage: The whole night was
about the endless routine of pumping out the water, steering the wheel and working
the radio. There were no replies to their signals sent over the radio as they
were in the remotest part of the world. Sue’s head was now more swollen and she
had two back eyes with a deep cut in her arm. When upon being asked why she
didn’t tell him about her injuries earlier, she said that she didn’t want to
worry him as he was trying to save all of them.
Passage: By morning on January 3, the pumps had the water
level sufficiently under control for us to take two hours’ rest in rotation.
But we still had a tremendous leak somewhere below the waterline and, on
checking, I found that nearly all the boat’s main rib frames were smashed down
to the keel. In fact, there was nothing holding up a whole section of the
starboard hull except a few cupboard partitions.
We had survived for 15 hours since the wave hit, but Wavewalker wouldn’t hold
together long enough for us to reach Australia. I checked our charts and
calculated that there were two small islands a few hundred kilometres to the
east. One of them, Ile Amsterdam, was a French scientific base. Our only hope
was to reach these pinpricks in the vast ocean. But unless the wind and seas
abated so we could hoist sail, our chances would be slim indeed. The great wave
had put our auxilliary engine out of action.
Word Meaning:
Smashed – badly broken
Keel – steel
structure along the base of the ship
Pinpricks – a
prick caused by a pin
Pinpricks in the vast ocean – the
two small islands in the vast ocean were very tiny like the prick caused by a
pin
Abated – something
unpleasant to become less intense
Auxiliary engine – small
secondary engine used to board ships to operate a windlass in the ship
Explanation of the above passage: The water level was
under control by the morning of January 3, so all of them took two hours rest
in rotation. But there still was a leak somewhere below the waterline. Upon
checking, the boat rib structure was badly broken down till the base of the
ship. The whole section of starboard was held together with a few cupboard
partitions.
The ship’s condition was so bad that
it would not make it till Australia. The narrator checked the charts and
calculated that there were two small islands a few kilometres to the east, one
of them was lle Amsterdam, which was a French Scientific base. Their only hope
was to search and reach that island. But only if the wind and the sea do not
cause further damage, else their chances were slim. The wave had destroyed the
ship’s auxiliary engine.
Passage: On January 4, after 36 hours of continuous pumping,
we reached the last few centimetres of water. Now, we had only to keep pace
with the water still coming in. We could not set any sail on the main mast.
Pressure on the rigging would simply pull the damaged section of the hull
apart, so we hoisted the storm jib and headed for where I thought the two
islands were. Mary found some corned beef and cracker biscuits, and we ate our
first meal in almost two days.
But our respite was short-lived. At 4 p.m. black clouds began building up
behind us; within the hour the wind was back to 40 knots and the seas were
getting higher. The weather continued to deteriorate throughout the night, and
by dawn on January 5, our situation was again desperate.
Word Meaning:
Rigging – the ropes and
wires supporting the structure of the ship
Hull – the
framework of the vessel
Respite – a
short period of rest
Deteriorate – get
worse
Explanation of the above passage: After 36 hours of
continuous pumping, on January 4, the water was only a few centimetres left to
be pumped out. But they still had to pump out the water which was coming in.
They could not set sail on the main mast. They hoisted the storm jib and sailed
towards the two small islands. They had their first meal in two days, some
corned beef and cracker biscuits found by Mary.
The rest period was short-lived as
black clouds built up around 4 pm. The wind was now 40 knots and the sea was
getting higher. The weather got worse and by the early morning of January 5,
the situation was bad.
Passage: When I went in to comfort the children, Jon asked,
“Daddy, are we going to die?” I tried to assure him that we could make it.
“But, Daddy,” he went on, “we aren’t afraid of dying if we can all be together
— you and Mummy, Sue and I.”
I could find no words with which to respond, but I left the children’s cabin
determined to fight the sea with everything I had. To protect the weakened
starboard side, I decided to heave to — with the undamaged port hull facing the
oncoming waves, using an improvised sea anchor of heavy nylon rope and two 22
litre plastic barrels of paraffin.
That evening, Mary and I sat together holding hands, as the motion of the ship
brought more and more water in through the broken planks. We both felt the end
was very near.
Word Meaning:
Heave to – to raise or lift
with effort
Paraffin – colorless
flammable oil liquid
Explanation of the above passage: When the narrator went
to comfort his children, his son asked him whether they were going to die. He
tried to assure him that they would make it. His son replied that they were not
afraid to die till they all were together. This filled the narrator with a
determination to fight back. He made efforts to protect the weakened starboard
side. He used an improvised sea anchor made of heavy nylon rope and two 22
liter plastic barrels of kerosene. That same evening, the narrator and his wife
sat holding hands and they believed that their end was near
Passage: But Wavewalker rode out the storm and by the morning
of January 6, with the wind easing, I tried to get a reading on the sextant.
Back in the chartroom, I worked on wind speeds, changes of course, drift and
current in an effort to calculate our position. The best I could determine was
that we were somewhere in 150,000 kilometres of ocean looking for a 65
kilometre-wide island.
While I was thinking, Sue, moving painfully, joined me. The left side of her
head was now very swollen and her blackened eyes narrowed to slits. She gave me
a card she had made.
On the front she had drawn caricatures of Mary and me with the words: “Here are
some funny people. Did they make you laugh? I laughed a lot as well.” Inside
was a message: “Oh, how I love you both. So this card is to say thank you and
let’s hope for the best.” Somehow we had to make it.
Word Meaning:
Sextant – an instrument with
graduated arc of 60 degrees for taking altitudes and navigation
Caricatures – picture
of a person; cartoon
Explanation of the above passage: The ship made it through
the storm and by the morning of January 6, the narrator tried to get reading on
the sextant. He worked with wind speeds, drift and current and calculated their
position. They were in 150,000 kilometres area of ocean, looking for a 65
kilometer wide island. While the narrator was still thinking, his daughter Sue,
joined him and she was in pain. The left side of her head was swollen and her
blackened eyes had narrowed down to slits. She gave him a card which she had
made herself. On the front of the card was a cartoon image of her parents with
words written about them being funny people and how they made her laugh. On the
inside of the card, she told them how she loved them both and she thanked them.
This made the narrator realize that they had to make it to the island.
Passage: I checked and rechecked my calculations. We had lost
our main compass and I was using a spare which had not been corrected for
magnetic variation. I made an allowance for this and another estimate of the
influence of the westerly currents which flow through this part of the Indian
Ocean.
About 2 p.m., I went on deck and asked Larry to steer a course of 185 degrees.
If we were lucky, I told him with a conviction I did not feel, he could expect
to see the island at about 5 p.m.
Then with a heavy heart, I went below, climbed on my bunk and amazingly, dozed
off. When I woke it was 6 p.m. and growing dark. I knew we must have missed the
island, and with the sail, we had left, we couldn’t hope to beat back into the
westerly winds.
At that moment, a tousled head appeared by my bunk. “Can I have a hug?”
Jonathan asked. Sue was right behind him.
Word Meaning:
Tousled head – disarranged
hair of the narrator’s son, Jonathan
Bunk – bed
Dozed off – went
off to sleep
Explanation of the above passage: The narrator rechecked
his calculations. They lost their main compass and were using the spare one
which was not corrected for magnetic variations. He estimated the influence of
the westerly currents which flow through the Indian Ocean. Around 2 pm, he went
on deck and asked Larry to steer the wheel to 185 degrees. He felt, if they
were lucky, they would see the island by 5 pm. Then he went below and slept. He
woke up around 6 pm and it was dark outside. He thought that they might have
missed the island. He started worrying about how they would tackle the westerly
wind more as the ship wasn’t capable to sail more. His son came and asked him
for a hug, his daughter followed.
Passage: “Why am I getting a hug now?” I asked.
“Because you are the best daddy in the whole world — and the best captain,” my
son replied.
“Not today, Jon, I’m afraid.”
“Why, you must be,” said Sue in a matter-of-fact voice. “You found the island.”
“What!” I shouted.
“It’s out there in front of us,” they chorused, “as big as a battleship.”
I rushed on deck and gazed with relief at the stark
outline of Ile Amsterdam. It was only a bleak piece of volcanic rock, with
little vegetation — the most beautiful island in the world!
Word Meaning:
Bleak – an area of land
lacking vegetation
Stark – sharply
defined
Explanation of the above passage: He asked that why was he
getting a hug. His son replied that he was the best daddy in the world and also
called him the best captain. The narrator replied that he was afraid. Sue told
him then that they had found the island which was as big as a battleship.
The narrator rushed to the deck and
gave a sigh of relief. They could see the complete outline of lle Amsterdam.
There was a bleak piece of volcanic rock in front of them. It had a little
vegetation. It was the most beautiful island in the world.
Passage: We anchored offshore for the night, and the next
morning all 28 inhabitants of the island cheered as they helped us ashore.
With land under my feet again, my thoughts were full of Larry and Herbie,
cheerful and optimistic under the direst stress, and of Mary, who stayed at the
wheel for all those crucial hours. Most of all, I thought of a seven-year-old
girl, who did not want us to worry about a head injury (which subsequently took
six minor operations to remove a recurring blood clot between skin and skull),
and of a six-year-old boy who was not afraid to die.
Word Meaning:
Anchored – moor a ship to the
sea bottom
Offshore – situated
at the sea some distance from the shore
Ashore – on
the shore of the land
Optimistic – hopeful
and confident
Explanation of the above passage: They moored the ship at some distance from the shore and the next morning, 28 inhabitants of the Amsterdam island helped them to move on the shore of the land. As he felt the land again on his feet, he thought of his crewmen and his wife. He also thought of his seven-year-old daughter who was injured badly. She had to go through six minor operations to remove the blood clot in her head. His son who never gave up and was not afraid to die.