2.We're Not Afraid to Die... If We can call be Together

Lesson-2

We’re Not Afraid to Die...If We Can All Be Together

By Gordon Cook and Alan East

We’re Not Afraid to Die... If We Can All Be Together Introduction

We are not Afraid to Die The story, written by Gordan Cook and Alan East, is about a 37-year-old businessman who serves as the narrator. He has a wife named Mary and two children, Jonathan, who is six, and Suzanne, who is seven. He and his wife both dream of sailing around the world on their ship, the 'Wave walker,' a 23-meter-long, 30-ton wooden-hulled replica of Captain James Cook's. In July 1976, the entire family sailed from Plymouth, England. The three-year journey began with a journey from Africa to Cape Town. It was enjoyable. Strong waves hit them as they were heading east with two newly hired crewmen, and their survival became a question. The story describes how they fought each day and made it to the end.

We’re Not Afraid to Die... If We Can All Be Together Summary

The narrator and his wife plan to sail around the world in the footsteps of famous Captain James Cook. For the past 16 years, they have been preparing and perfecting their seafaring skills. They are given the Wave Walker, a 23-meter-long wooden-hulled ship weighing 30 tonnes. For months, they put it through rigorous testing in poor weather. They all set out from Plymouth, England, in July 1976. They sailed from Africa to Cape Town, which was an enjoyable journey. Before heading east, the narrator hired two crewmen, Larry Vigil and Herb Seigler, to assist them in navigating one of the world's most treacherous seas – the Southern Indian Ocean.

During the second day, they are confronted with powerful and frightening waves. They all make it to 35,000 kilometres east of Cape Town by December 25. Despite the bad weather, the family manages to celebrate Christmas together. The weather changes for the worse, and on January 2, they are hit by big waves. They try to slow down the ship by dropping the storm jib and hitting a heavy mooring rope in a loop across the stern, but it doesn't help much. They carry their life-raft drill, attach lifelines, and put on life jackets and oilskins.

Later that evening, a vertical and massive wave strikes the ship, and the narrator is thrown overboard. He accepts his 'impending death' and begins to lose consciousness. When the ship is about to overturn, a massive wave hits it again and turns it around. He sustains rib and mouth injuries. He grabs the guard rail and sails into the main boom of the ship. As he realises the ship has water in the lower parts, he instructed his wife Mary to guard the wheel. His crewman begins pumping the water out. The narrator visits his children's cabin to see how they are. Sue, his daughter, informs him of a bump on her head, which he ignores because his main concern is saving the ship.

The narrator fills the gaping holes with water-proofing. This causes the water to deviate to the right. The hand pump becomes clogged due to debris, and the electric pump short-circuits. He later discovers a spare electric pump and connects it to drain the water. They all continue to pump water all night. Because they are in the most remote part of the world, their Mayday calls go unanswered. Sue, on the other hand, is suffering from a swollen black eye and a deep cut in her arm. When her father asks about her injuries, she tells him she didn't want him to be concerned because he was trying to save them. The situation is under control after 15 hours. The narrator decides to work in shifts and takes breaks. The water levels were kept under control, but the leaks were still present below the waterline. The ship is currently in poor condition. It is unable to reach Australia, so they decide to travel to the nearest island, lle Amsterdam, a French Scientific base. Because their supporting engines were also damaged, the ship's chances of reaching its destination are low.

They breathed a sigh of relief after pumping the water out continuously for 36 hours. Only a few centimetres of water remained in the boat to be pumped out. As the mainmast was destroyed, they hoisted the storm jib. They ate corned beef and crackers for the first time in two days. The weather quickly began to change, and by the morning of January 5, the black clouds had returned. His son, Jonathan, told him that as long as they were all together, he didn't fear death. This fueled his determination to fight the sea. The struggle continued, and the narrator did everything he could to protect the weakened starboard side. The same evening, the narrator and his wife sat together holding hands, convinced that their time was coming to an end. His children were always there for him, which gave him the moral support he needed to keep going. The Wavewalker sailed through the storm and arrived safely. The narrator then used the wind speed to calculate their exact location. Sue gave him a card she had made expressing her love and gratitude to the family while he was brainstorming.

He instructed Larry to steer the ship to 185 degrees. He told them that if they were lucky, they might be able to find an island by 5 p.m. He fell asleep and awoke around 6 p.m. He was disappointed because he thought they didn't make it. His son arrived and informed him of how they arrived at the lle Amsterdam Island, and he referred to him as "best daddy" and "best captain." They arrived on the island with little difficulty and with the assistance of locals. The entire team, including the family and two crew members, never gave up. Their perseverance and hard work eventually paid off.

We’re Not Afraid to Die... If We Can All Be Together Lesson Explanation

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.

• 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

In July 1976, the narrator, a 37-year-old businessman, set sail on their ship with his wife Mary and two children, Jonathan (age 6) and Suzanne (age 7). They began in Plymouth, England. They wanted to complete the world's first round-the-world voyage, which was completed 200 years ago by the famous Captain James Cook. The narrator and his wife spent 16 years improving their sailing abilities. They hired a professional shipbuilder to construct the 'Wavewalker,' a 23-meter-long, 30-ton-heavy wooden-hulled vessel. It took them several months to put it through its paces in the toughest of conditions.

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.

• Gales – A very strong wind
• Mast – a tall upright structure on a boat or ship

The first 105,000 kilometres of the three-year journey went perfectly. They sailed down Africa's west coast to Cape Town. Before heading east to tackle the roughest sea—the southern Indian Ocean—the narrator hired two crewmen. Larry Vigil, an American, and Herb Seigler, a Swiss, were their names. They encountered a strong wind on the second day in Cape Town, which lasted for several weeks. A strong wind was not a problem, but the narrator was concerned about 15-metre-high waves, which were the height of the mast.

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.

• 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

They had travelled 3,500 kilometres east of Cape Town by December 25. Despite the bad weather, they spent Christmas together. The weather remained unchanged until New Year's Day, but they hoped it would change soon. The weather conditions worsened. The waves were huge in the early hours of January 2nd. They were sailing at eight knots with a small storm jib. They could see the vast sea in front of them as the ship sailed through the massive waves. The noise of the waves and strong winds hurt my ears. They dropped the storm jib to slow the ship down and hit a heavy mooring rope in a loop across the back of the ship. They slashed everything with double force. They put on their oilskins and life jackets, attached lifelines, and practised the life raft drills while waiting.

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.

• 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

Around 6 p.m., an unsettling silence landed, foreshadowing a disaster that was about to happen. The wind dropped away, and the sky darkened with heavy clouds. A massive cloud was approaching the stern of the ship, but the narrator soon realised it was a massive wave. The wave was perfectly vertical and twice as tall as the previous waves they had seen, with the top of the wave looking unpleasant due to its height.

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.

• 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

The thunder got stronger, and the waves pushed the stern up. They assumed it would cause no harm, but a massive explosion shook the deck. A powerful stream of green and white water washed over the ship. The narrator's head smashed into the ship's wheel, causing him to fly overboard and sink beneath the waves. He realised he was going to die and began to lose consciousness. He was in a pleasant spirit.

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.

• 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

The narrator's head popped up from the water. The ship was about to capsize when a wave turned her over. He stretched his lifeline jacket, grabbed the guard rails, and sailed to the ship's main pole. He was tossed around the deck by the waves. He was hurt because his left ribs were cracked, his mouth was bloody, and he had a broken tooth. He found the wheel, positioned the stern for the next wave, and waited. Water was all over the place. The narrator could feel water beneath the ship, but he can't leave the wheel. The front door opened, and his wife, Mary, ran in, screaming that they were sinking. 'The decks are smashed; we're full of water,' she said. The narrator handed her the wheel and climbed to the door.

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.

• 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

Larry and Herb, the crew members, were pumping the water at rapid speed. The ship's timbers were broken and hanging dangerously. The ship's starboard side had sunk, and clothes, crockery, charts, tins, and toys were floating in the water. The narrator swam and crawled to the children's cabin and asked about their well-being. 'Yes,' the children said. Sue, his daughter, complained about a big bump on the back of her head. The narrator didn't pay much attention because his main concern was saving them. When the narrator found screws, a hammer, and canvas, he returned to the deck. The broken starboard side was allowing so much water in that if the narrator couldn't fix it, they'd all sink in the sea.

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.

• 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

The narrator stretched the canvas cloth and secured the waterproof hatch over the gaping holes. Some water flowed below, while others were now deflected over the side. Because trash was floating around the cabins and entering the handpump, the electric pump short-circuited. As the water level rose, the narrator found two hand pumps removed, as well as a rope, jib, a small boat, and the main anchor. He found another electric pump beneath the chartroom. He connected it to an out pipe, and it began to work.

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.”

• Mayday calls –words used to signal ships stuck in a disastrous situation through radio

The entire night was spent pumping out the water, steering the wheel, and listening to the radio. Because they were in the most remote part of the world, there were no responses to their radio signals. Sue's head had swollen even more, and she had two back eyes as well as a deep cut in her arm. When asked why she hadn't told him about her injuries earlier, she explained that she didn't want to worry him because he was trying to save everyone.

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.

• 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

By the morning of January 3, the water level had been brought under control, so they all took two hours of rest in rotation. However, there was still a leak somewhere below the waterline. Upon inspection, the boat's rib structure was severely weakened all the way to the ship's stern. A few cupboard partitions held the entire section of starboard together.

The ship's condition was such that it would not make it all the way to Australia. The narrator examined the charts and calculated that there were two small islands a few kilometres to the east, one of which was lle Amsterdam, a French Scientific base. Their only chance was to find and reach the island. But only if the wind and sea do not cause additional damage; otherwise, their chances were low. The ship's auxiliary engine had been destroyed by the wave.

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.

• 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

On January 4, after 36 hours of continuous pumping, there were only a few centimetres of water left to be pumped out. However, they still had to pump out the inflowing water. They were unable to set sail on the main mast. They raised the storm jib and set sail for the two small islands. They ate their first meal in two days, corned beef and cracker biscuits found by Mary.

The respite was short-lived, as dark clouds gathered around 4 p.m. The wind had increased to 40 knots, and the sea was rising. The weather worsened, and by the early morning of January 5, the situation had worsened.

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.

• Heave to – to raise or lift with effort
• Paraffin – colorless flammable oil liquid

When the narrator went to comfort his children, his son asked if they would die. He made an attempt to reassure him that they would make it. His son responded that they were not afraid to die as long as they were all together. This instilled in the narrator a desire to fight back. He worked hard to protect the starboard side, which was vulnerable. He made an improvised sea anchor out of heavy nylon rope and two 22-liter plastic kerosene barrels. That same evening, the narrator and his wife sat holding hands, believed that their time was coming to an end.

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.

• Sextant – an instrument with graduated arc of 60 degrees for taking altitudes and navigation
• Caricatures – picture of a person; cartoon

The ship made it through the storm, and on January 6, the narrator tried to get a reading on the sextant. He calculated their position using wind speeds, drift, and current. They were looking for a 65-kilometer-wide island in a 150,000-kilometer-wide ocean. Sue, the narrator's daughter, joined him while he was still thinking, and she was in pain. Her left ear was swollen, and her blackened eyes had narrowed to slits. She presented him with a handmade card. On the front of the card was a cartoon image of her parents, along with words about how funny they were and how they made her laugh. On the inside of the card, she expressed her love for them both and thanked them. This made the narrator realise that they needed to get to the island as soon as possible.

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.

• Tousled head – disarranged hair of the narrator’s son, Jonathan
• Bunk – bed
• Dozed off – went off to sleep

The narrator re-checked his calculations. They had lost their primary compass and were relying on a spare that had not been corrected for magnetic variations. He calculated the impact of the westerly currents that flow through the Indian Ocean. He went on deck around 2 p.m. and asked Larry to steer the wheel to 185 degrees. He believed that if they were lucky, they would arrive at the island by 5 p.m. Then he went downstairs to sleep. He awoke around 6 p.m., when it was dark outside. He suspected that they had missed the island. He began to worry about how they would deal with the westerly wind now that the ship couldn't sail any further. His son approached him and asked for a hug, and his daughter followed.

“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!

• Bleak – an area of land lacking vegetation
• Stark – sharply defined

He asked as to why he was getting a hug. His son responded that he was the best father in the world, as well as the best captain. The narrator responded that he was terrified. Sue informed him that they had found the island, which was the size of a battleship.

The narrator ran to the deck, exhaling a sigh of relief. They could see the entire outline of Amsterdam. In front of them was a barren swath of volcanic rock. It had a small amount of vegetation. It was the world's most beautiful island.

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.

• 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

They moored the ship some distance from the shore, and the next morning, 28 Amsterdam island inhabitants assisted them in moving onto the land's shore. As he felt the ground beneath his feet again, he remembered his crew and his wife. He also considered his seven-year-old daughter, who had been severely injured. Six minor operations were required to remove the blood clot in her brain. His son, who never gave up and was unafraid of dying.

About the Author

Gordon Cook (born December 3, 1978 in Toronto) is a two-time Olympic sailor from Canada. He is a member of the Royal Canadian Yacht Club. He is Stephen Cook's and Linda Cook's son. He, too, had a strong desire to write stories. Cook graduated from Queen's University's Engineering Physics programme. He met his 2008 Olympic teammate Ben Remocker at Queen's University, where they were both members of the university sailing team. Cook and Remocker were the first Canadians to sail a 49er in an Olympic regatta, finishing 14th in Beijing in 2008.

Alan was admitted to the Roll of Solicitors in 2003 and has worked as a litigator, manager, and legal trainer. He co-founded and managed a niche legal practise specialising in Criminal Litigation and Prison Law in 2004, gaining increased audience rights in criminal proceedings and working as a Duty Solicitor. He joined the Crown Prosecution Service as a Senior Crown Prosecutor in 2007.