Question

How did the narrator and the other members react to the presence of water to the ship ?

Answer 1

Though water in the ship can be a cause of extreme panic, but the neither narrator nor any of his family members panicked. It could be owing to the sixteen years long training they had undertaken before setting off to the voyage. The author was really a great captain whose timely decisions helped them survive through the stormy ordeal. It was such a wise decision on his part to hire two professionals, Larry Vigil and Herb Seigler, to help them tackle the Southern Indian Ocean. They proved to be real saviours when the ship had been flooded with the sea water. They pumped like madmen to keep the water levels reasonably low. Even author and his wife lent a helping hand to them. The most amazing reaction was that of the kids. They showed such a courage during those hard times as is rare to be seen of children of that age. This courage of the kids motivated the author to figure out survival strategies for the entire crew. And ultimately they made it to Ile Amsterdam, a French scientific base.

Answer 2

Answer:

As Mary took control of the wheel, the narrator made his way towards the hatch. Larry and Herb were pumping out the water frantically. He saw broken timbers hanging, the starboard side bulged inwards; clothes, crockery, charts, tin and toys sloshed about in deep water. So he struggled into the children's cabin, found a hammer, screws and canvas, and laboured back on deck. He managed to stretch the canvas and secure waterproof hatch covers across the gaping holes. Some water continued to stream below, but most of it had been now being deflected over the side. The problems cropped up when the hand pumps started to block up with the fragments floating around the cabins and the electric pump short-circuited. The water level rose ominously. On the deck he missed the two spare hand pumps, forestay sail, jib, dinghies, and the main anchor, which were pitched overboard. He found another electric pump and connected it to an out pipe, and this worked.