Blue Water
By: David Rudder
Tags: Sea, Poetry, Shipwrecked, Global Hitchhiking, True Story

Blue Water

A true shipwreck story

Photo by Vania Medina on Unsplash

The surging sea as nightfall nears

adrenalin spikes my latent fears

the mainsail throbs pumped by the waves

the heaven sobs on watery graves.

Thirteen’s the number on our sail

Montague Island the yacht race

the crew though young would never fail

to lead the yachts in wild chase.

I was only 16 years old

my father the skipper intrepid and bold

he was stricken by kidney stone pain

the agony near drove the man insane.

Later on, we shortened sail

as gale winds set in from the South east

we then took bearings and without fail

heading due south just as the wind increased.

The gale blew unchecked

we ploughed through hissing seas

holding fast not to be decked

wind lashing the cross trees.

We surged down roller coaster waves

then slewed into the next

to the elements we were slaves

bewildered and perplexed.

Inadvertently a winch handle was placed

next to the yachts compass

bearings were all scrambled

as towards the coast we raced.

The yacht beached on sand in Batemans Bay

she yawed then freed herself

then headed out to sea apparently

from the beach and a rock shelf.

We found the misplaced handle

my father set a course out to sea

we felt we’d averted the wrangle

and would sail out to sea scot free.

We gathered speed and sailed east

undamaged with relief

till the forward lookout called out “Rocks”!

we were all in disbelief.

“Blue Water” hit the rocks hard

at 15 knots we reckoned

and tore the keel out of the yacht

and she sank in barely a second.

Some crew jumped onto the rocks

then clung fast as the huge seas

washed over the crew and fatal wreck

and brought us to our knees.

When she went down the crew was separated

gone, or did they drown

or were others somehow liberated

lost or gone down.

Throughout the windy night

the waves lashed us as we clung

saltwater burned our sight

and our bodies hurt and stung.

My father held me by the shirt

I said we’re going to die

he said to stay awake and alert

we’ll make it to the island that lay nearby.

As dawns icy fingers lit the day

we viewed our desperate lot

then through the wind rain and spray

rescue plans seemed a long shot.

We liberated a life raft

from the sunken wreck

a 10-man inflatable craft

we set afloat over the deck.

Four of us scrambled aboard

and to our relief located the other crew

and paddled to the island’s lee

a fishing boat appeared out of the blue.

We knocked on the topsides

of the silent fishing boat

then fishermen appeared sleepy and tired

and spotted us there cold and afloat.

The Italian fishermen pulled us up onto the deck

then took us down into their galley

and fed us hot coffee and stew as we told them of the wreck

and then wrapped in blankets motored back to their base in Ulladulla.

Ulladulla is a coastal fishing town

known for her stalwart fishing fleet and well renowned

we thanked them from the bottom of our hearts for our rescue

or we may have easily drowned.

We made front-page newspaper news

some of us got sick but soon recovered and were well

and none of us will ever forget the shipwreck

and the eerie gong of the sunken yachts sad bell.

©

David Rudder

31st December 2020

Thanks for reading.

This is a true story and has coloured my regards for the strength of the elements and sea that never can be underestimated all my life.