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.

 

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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.