We're Not Afraid to Die... if We Can All Be Together
by Gordon Cook and Alan East
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The narrator, along with his wife Mary and children Jonathan (6) and Suzanne (7), sets sail from Plymouth in 1976 aboard the Wavewalker to duplicate Captain James Cook's round-the-world voyage. Off Cape Town they take on two crewmen, Larry Vigil and Herb Seigler, to face the roughest seas, the southern Indian Ocean. On January 2 a gigantic wave hits the ship, injuring the narrator and smashing the boat's decks and hull. Through desperate, exhausting effort, pumping water, plugging holes with canvas, and steering by hand, the family battles to keep the ship afloat and alive. The children are astonishingly brave: Sue hides her serious head injury so as not to worry her father, and Jon declares they are not afraid to die if they can all be together. Using dead-reckoning navigation with a spare compass, the narrator calculates a course to the tiny Île Amsterdam. After days of struggle they miraculously find the island and are saved by its 28 inhabitants, the narrator full of admiration for his courageous family and crew.
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The narrative is a gripping true account of courage, determination, optimism and teamwork in the face of near-certain death. It shows how a family, especially its brave young children, endured a terrifying sea disaster and survived through skill, hope and love.
The dream voyage begins
In July 1976 the narrator, a 37-year-old businessman, sets sail from Plymouth with his wife Mary and children Jonathan and Suzanne to retrace Captain Cook's voyage aboard the professionally built Wavewalker. After a pleasant first leg to Cape Town, they take on two crewmen, Larry and Herb, to help tackle the notoriously rough southern Indian Ocean.
The monstrous wave
Strong gales and enormous waves batter them for weeks. On January 2, after taking all precautions, they are struck at dusk by an enormous, almost vertical wave. The narrator is flung overboard and back, his ribs cracked and teeth broken; the decks are smashed and water pours in. Mary reports the ship is sinking, and the narrator takes the wheel and organises the fight to survive.
The desperate fight to stay afloat
Larry and Herb pump frantically while the narrator stretches canvas over the gaping holes and finds a spare electric pump to control the flooding. Through a bitterly cold night of pumping, steering and sending unanswered Mayday calls, the family struggles on. Sue, badly injured with a swollen head and black eyes, hides her hurt so as not to worry her father who is trying to save them all.
The children's courage and the search for the island
When Jon asks if they are going to die, he adds they are not afraid if they can all be together, giving the narrator new resolve. Their only hope is to reach the tiny Île Amsterdam. With the main compass lost, the narrator uses dead-reckoning and a spare compass to calculate a course, telling Larry to steer 185 degrees.
Rescue and reflection
Exhausted, the narrator dozes and wakes fearing they have missed the island, until the children joyfully announce it is right in front of them, 'as big as a battleship'. They anchor and are helped ashore by the island's 28 inhabitants. The narrator's thoughts are full of admiration for the cheerful, brave crew, for Mary at the wheel, and above all for his courageous children, a seven-year-old who hid her injury and a six-year-old who was not afraid to die.