We're Not Afraid to Die... if We Can All Be Together — Class 11 English

Gordon Cook and Alan East narrate a real-life sea adventure of survival, courage and family solidarity. In July 1976 the narrator, his wife Mary and children Jonathan (6) and Suzanne (7), with crewmen Larry and Herb, set sail from Plymouth aboard the Wavewalker to retrace Captain Cook's round-the-world voyage. In the rough southern Indian Ocean, a gigantic wave strikes on January 2, smashing the deck, injuring the narrator and flooding the ship. Despite cracked ribs and broken teeth, he fights to pump out water, plug holes with canvas, and steer through endless storms. The children show remarkable bravery: Sue hides her serious head injury so as not to worry her father, and Jonathan calmly says they are not afraid to die if they can all be together. With his auxiliary engine dead and using improvised sea anchors, the narrator calculates their position by sextant and dead reckoning, searching for the tiny French island of Ile Amsterdam in a vast ocean. After days of desperate effort, his correction for compass error pays off, and the children joyfully spot the island "as big as a battleship." All survive and are cheered ashore by the island's inhabitants. The account celebrates optimism, presence of mind, teamwork and the courage of ordinary people facing the direst stress.