- in the chapter "we are not afraid to die"did the author's family survived in voyage ?
Answers
Answer:
Gordon Cook was born on December 3, 1978 in Toronto. He is a two-time Canadian Olympic sailor. He sails for the Royal Canadian Yacht Club. He is the son of Stephen Cook and Linda Cook. Cook is a graduate of the Engineering Physics program at Queen’s University. At Queen’s University, he also met his 2008 Olympic team partner Ben Remocker, where they were members of the university sailing team. Cook and Remocker became the first Canadians to sail a 49er in an Olympic Regatta at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where they finished 14th.
Introduction
The narrator Gordon Cook, his wife Mary and their children, Jonathan and Suzanne set sail on a ship to imitate the historical round-the world voyage undertaken by James Cook in 1768. The journey began from Plymouth, England and headed south to Cape Town, South Africa. It was expected to journey to Australia through the endless Indian Ocean and finally return to England. Unfortunately the ship partially wrecked in the Indian Ocean and the sailors faced death very close.
The narrative describes the near death experience of these hapless people, their hard work, the children’s encouraging messages, their willingness to die with their father and mother, hours of endurance and finally their reaching Ile Amsterdam, a tiny island.
Characters
The narrator = captain of the ship
Mary = wife of the narrator
Jonathan = six year old son of the narrator
Suzanne = 7 year old daughter of the narrator
Larry Vigil = American crewman hired from Cape Town
Herb Seigler = Swiss crewman hired from Cape Town
Nautical terms
Voyage = a sea journey
Set sail = started a sea voyage
Seafaring = travelling on the sea
Wavewalker = was a 23 meter long boat, 30 ton wooden hulled beauty
Crewmen = men working at the ship
Gales = extremely strong winds
Mast = a tall pole in a ship that supports the sails
Jib = a small sail/ a triangular stay sail
Knots = a nautical mile of 6080 feet
Mooring rope = rope with which a boat is fastened with a fixed object
Stern = back end of the ship
Life-raft = life-boat
Oilskins = waterproof coverings
Crest = top
Deck = roof of the ship
Boom = bar/ long pole
Hatch = a door in the deck of a ship
Timbers = pieces of wood
Starboard = right side of the ship
Overboard = on the ship
Forestay sail = the front big sail of the ship
Dinghies = small open boats
Anchor = a heavy metal object dropped over the side of a ship to keep it in one place
Bunk = a sleeping berth in a ship
Canvas = a rough cloth
May-day calls = SOS signals for help
SOS = save our souls
Rib frames = frames of wood
Keel = along piece of wood/ steel along the bottom of a ship which helps it to keep upright
Rib = one of the ship’s curbed timbers
Steering = the mechanism by which one controls the direction of a ship
Planks = long flat pieces of timber
Rigging = ropes that balance the mast of the ship
Sextant = an instrument for measuring angles and distances
Hull = frame
Offshore = near the shore
Compass = an instrument with magnetized needle for telling direction
Explanation:
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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 main mast 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.