We are not Afraid to die if we can all be together chapter 2 Hornbil Easy Summary and Explanation

 

 

Introduction

• The Story, ‘We’re Not Afraid To Die—if We Can All Be Together” Is A Story Of Extreme,,,

• Courage And Skill Exhibited By Gordon Cook, His Family And Crewmen In A War With Water And Waves For Survival.

Beginning

• It Was July 1976 The Narrator His Wife Mary Son Jonathan 6 And Daughter Suzanne 7 Set Sail From Plymouth England  

• They Wanted To Duplicate The Round The World  Voyage 

• Made 200 Years Earlier By Captain James Cook 

• For The Last 16 Years They Had Spent Their Leisure Time In Sharpening Their Seafaring (Traveling By Sea) Skills 

• Their Boat Wave Walker Had Been Professionally Built It Had Been Tested In The Roughest Weather For Months   

First leg of journey passed  

• The First Part Of Their Planned Three-year 1,05,000 Kilometer Journey Past Pleasantly 

• They Took On Two Crewmen American Larry Vigil And Swiss Herb Seigler 

• They Were To Help Them Tackle One Of The Roughest  Seas The Southern Indian Ocean 

• They Sailed Down The West Coast Of Africa To Cape Town They Were Heading Towards East 

Encountered Strong Gales 

• For Next Few Weeks They Encountered Extremely Strong Winds .

• The Size Of Waves Was Alarming (Up To  15 Meters High)

• They Celebrated The Christmas In Spite Of Rough Weather.

• The Weather Continued To Be Bad Even On The New Year's Day On January 2nd The Waves Were Huge   

• Endless Big Waves Came Rolling Towards Them The Wind Simply Screamed 

Precautions

• To Slow The Boat Down, They Dropped The Storm Jib

• They Tied  Heavy Ropes Across The Stern (Backside Of Boat) 

• They Attached  The Lifelines, Put On Oilskins And Life Jackets 

• The First Sign Of The Coming Disaster Came At About 6:00 PM The Wind Dropped The Sky Grew Dark . 

• Then Came A Growing Roar That Changed Into A Thunder 

• A Tremendous Explosion Took Place 

• It Shook The Deck A Wall Of Green And White Water Broke Over The Ship 

Wavewalker Near Capsizing 

• Narrators Head Crashed Into The Wheel  

• Accepted His Approaching Death 

• Waves Tossed Him Around The Deck 

• His Left Ribs Cracked, And His Mouth Was Filled With Blood And Broken Teeth

• He Was Losing Consciousness And Wavewalker Was Near Capsizing 

• Suddenly His Wife Appeared And Cried We Are Sinking   

• Larry And Herb Were Pumping Like Madmen 

• Clothes, Crockery, Charts, Tins And Toys Lay Scattered In Water

• He Crawled Into The Children's Cabin 

• They Were Safe Only Sue’s Head Was Swollen She Had A Deep Injury  

• The Entire Night Was Spent In Pumping And Repairing 

• By Morning On January 3, The Pumps (Electric Pump) Kept The Water Level Under Control 

• They Could Rest For Two Hours In Rotation 

Search For An Island

• There Was Still A Big Leak Below The Waterline 

• Boat’s Rib Frames Were Smashed  

• They Had Survived For 15 Hours Since The Waves Hit Them 

• But Wave Walker Could Not Hold Together Long Enough For Them To Reach Australia 

• The Narrator Checked  Their Charts He Calculated That There Were Two Small Islands A Few 100 Kilometers To The East 

• One Of Them Ile Amsterdam  Was A French Scientific Base Their Only Aim Was To Reach There 

• However, The Great Wave Had Put The Supportive Engine Out Of Action  

• On January 4th, The Water Level Could Be Contained They Could Not Set Any Sail  On The Main Mast 

• But They Hoisted The Storm Jib And Headed For The Two Islands  

• They Ate Their Meal After Almost Two Days  At 4 Pm Black Clouds Were Building Up Behind Them 

• Wind Was Back To 40 Knots And The Seas Were Getting Higher .

• The Weather Remained Rough Throughout The Night, Situation Remained Same By Morning On January 5th 

• The Narrator Went In To Comfort The Children. The Narrator Tried To Assure His Son But Jon Said We Aren't Afraid Of Dying If We Can All Be Together. The Narrator Was Speechless 

•  Narrator And His Wife Felt That Their End Was Very Near. Wavewalker Rode Out The Storm And Narrator Rechecked His Own Calculations.

•  And Could Expect To See Island At About 5 Pm On January 6th Evening 

Safe Landing

• The Son Jonathan Seemed Quite Excited And Wanted To Hug His Father Also Told Him That He Was The Best Daddy In The Whole World. 

• They Found The Island Ile Amsterdam 

• The Narrator Rushed To The Deck And Saw Ile Amsterdam Before His Own Eyes 

• They Anchored Offshore For The Night 

• The Next Morning All 28 Inhabitants Of The Island Came To Cheer Them