Evening star., 1954-11-16
lis Days at SEQ
Worst Storfnof Raft Voyage
Tears sdii,soH into Ribbons

tgNtNNN ~ eASN aAscAAA A1AAAAAAAG AAAyAkta 2AAC
mast. Just at that moment q
heavier gust blew over the raft
and ripped the mainsail down
the middle. The noise of y tear
ing sail is the worst sound q
sailor can hear at sea. 1t Isl a
cruel sound and it went right
through meI had no spare sails.
Then the wind took it, and
it lashed and tore and ripped,
and sounded like a wild thing.
What d Sight! With my eyes.
well adjusted to work In the dark,
I saw my nlainsail in ribbons.
Z ! pulled it down and secured
it. then hoisted the jib. The raft
didn't handle well, and I put q
reef In the niizzen. Now, as well
as ] could possibly expect. the
raft lay steady.
Huge Seas Hit Raft.
The sea had begun to get up
and the squalls continued to
come. one black roll after an
other. Morning was breaking.
The wind tore at the Seven
Little Sisters, pouring out of the
vast, empty reaches of the Pa
cif1c to the southeast.
j
Again the sunrise was coppery,
the kind I didn't like. The wind
had continued to rise. Now it
had reached gale force, between
IS and so miles an hour, and
roared over me steadily: the fit
full squalls had gone, at least for
the time.
The seas were huge: The
Seven Little Sisters is only SO
feet long and 20 feet wide aft.
l8 forward. The waves rushed
along the logs, looking like NOV
ing hillsides, and smashed in
from the sides. Foam lay on
the water in streaks, and in
masses on the waves crests. AS
a seaman, / shun estimates of
how high the seas were rising
in this hour. But some of them
looked almost as high as my 30
foot mast.
On the open deck, only a few
feet above the water, the noise
was tremendous continuous
roaring, sometimes a pounding
as If the raft were dragging over
rocks.
I worked as best could. but
the motion of the deck was very.
rapid. And ! could not stand
straight, even for second.
When II walked, bent over
double, |ready.to grab with both
hands. couldn't take a step
without a firm handhold.
Sea Full Of Sharks.
Again and again / thought the
raft would be engulfed. and rid
ing SO close to the seas surface,
/ could see plainly what swan
thick in the water around me.
The sea was full of sharks, their
brown, torpedo bodies easy to
identify. I thought that one
would come on board. "A big fell
low, he waseswimming in a fol-
loving wave that roseahigh and
hurled him down against my
iron rudder, which rose to the
top of my raft's main logs. This
part was not covered with the
deck and ! could see his husky
body plainly. He made a ter
rife struggle to get clear.
Falling overboard, especiaIly gin
such q SEA. Vias the gfea test
danger I laced and I faced it
constantly. Lifelines would have
helped greatly-but 7 had
learned that they hindered my
working too much. Sailing my
raft across the open Pacific
without help, ! had to move too
fast to tolerate .any obstruc-
tions. Before leaving Callao, I
had taken a belt with a hook
which could be fastened to a
rope for safety. But it was i'm
possible to. wear this and still
keep my raft running, and it
lay in the cabin. never to be
used.
Through the day the wind
roared on, the raft laboring and
sliding from beam to beam. But
- ' d. !