CBSE Class 11 - English (Hornbill) - Chapter - 2 : “We’re Not Afraid to Die...If We can All be Together” - Chapter Summary (#CBSEClass11English)(#eduvictors)

Chapter - 2: “We’re Not Afraid to Die...If We can All be Together”

Author: Gordon Cook & Alan East

Summary

Dream Came True
A 37-year-old businessman and his own family had dreamt of sailing inside the wake of the famous explorer Captain James Cook and for the beyond 16 years the members of the own family had spent all their entertainment time honing their sea-faring skills in British waters. The narrator, his spouse Mary, son Jonathan 6, daughter Suzanne (Sue) 7, set sail from Plymouth, England to copy the round-the-world voyage earlier made by Captain James Cook.

The first Leg Covered
The first leg of 1, 05,000 km spanning over three years, passed pleasantly from the west coast of Africa to Cape Town. They took two crewmen, American Larry Vigil and Swiss Herb Seigler to tackle the roughest sea, the Southern Indian Ocean.



Change in Weather
On the second one day trip of Cape Town, they confronted strong gales and the waves started out to upward thrust high. Their size up to 15 metres alarmed them. They were at East of Cape Town on Dec. 25, 3500 km away. Despite the terrible climate they celebrated Christmas. New Year’s Day noticed no further development in weather and it changed from horrific to worse.

Got Prepared for the Disaster
At dawn on January 2, the waves had been massive. As their ship rose to the top of every wave they could see endless extensive seas rolling toward them. They dropped the typhoon jib to gradual the boat down. Then they double-lashed the whole lot and went via their existence raft drill, placed on oil-skins and life jackets and waited for the worst.

The Worst Came
The first indication of the coming catastrophe got here at about 6.00 pm. The wind dropped and the sky got darkish. A huge wave like a cloud came over the ship. The roar became a thunder as it struck the ship. The deck shook. A torrent of seawater broke over the ship. The narrator’s head smashed onto the wheel. He established the imminent demise and started out losing awareness.

Sailors’ Struggle
The narrator’s head rose out of the water. He noticed Wavewalker capsizing. Then a massive wave grew to become her upright. The narrator stuck the defend rails. Waves tossed him. His ribs cracked and his mouth became full of blood and broken teeth. The water was everywhere. But he did now not leave the wheel to analyze.

Fear of Sinking
Suddenly the front hatch was thrown open and Mary regarded. She cried that they have been drowning. Larry and Herb have been pumping like madmen. The damaged matters lay scattered right here and there. The narrator swam to the youngsters' cabin and requested in the event that they had been all proper. They stated they were, even though Sue had a bump above her eyes. The narrator took a hammer, screws and canvas. They placed canvas over the gaping holes, some water was deflected. The debris had begun to block the hand pumps. The electric powered pump had stopped working. The narrator laboured with the help of some other hand pump. They were not getting any replies to their May Day calls.

Search for an Island
On January 3, the water stage had come underneath manage. The boat’s principal rib frames had nearly broken down. They had survived for 15 hours for the reason that waves hit. The narrator checked the charts and observed that there had been small islands some hundred km to the east. The boat wouldn’t take them to Australia in that broken condition. One island was He Amsterdam. On January four, after 36 hours of non-stop pumping they had drained out the water.

Now they have been heading for lie Amsterdam island. They ate their first meal in nearly two days with corned red meat and cracker biscuits. But their respite was short lived. At four.00 pm black clouds started out constructing up at the back of them. Within the hour the wind was lower back to forty knots and the seas have been getting better. The weather endured to become worse during the night and by dawn on January 5, their state of affairs become once more desperate.

Hoping for Relief
The narrator went in to comfort the kids. John asked if they were dead. He assured them that they could make out. But John brought that they were not fearful of death in the event that they may be all together. The narrator took every care to defend the undamaged a part of the hull with heavy nylon rope and plastic barrels of paraffin.

Wavewalker riding out the storm
Wavewalker rode out of the typhoon by the morning of January 6. The narrator tried to get studying at the sextant. He discovered that they have been some in which seeking out a sixty-five km extensive island. When he became questioning, Sue came to him with a card she had made which had caricatures of the narrator and made him snigger. She had written a message inside. It changed into: ‘How I love you both’.

A Ray of Hope
The narrator checked and rechecked the calculations. They had lost their major compass. He had been the use of the spare one. At approximately 2.00 pm he went at the deck and asked Larry to steer a course of 185 degrees. He predicted to see the island at about five pm. Then he went beneath with a heavy heart and dozed off until 6.00 pm.

Narrator Cheered up by Children
The narrator awoke. Jonathan came and requested if he ought to have a hug. He asked the cause and Jonathan added that he become the quality daddy and the fine captain within the entire international. Sue introduced that he turned into as he had located the island. It was in front of them.

Achieved the Goal ‘lie Amsterdam’
He rushed on the deck and checked out the outline of ‘He Amsterdam’. It became most effective a bleak piece of volcanic rock with little flowers. It became the most beautiful island within the global. All the 28 inhabitants of the island welcomed and cheered them as they landed on the shore.

Narrator Thinking About Crewmen
With the land below his feet again, the narrator idea of his crewmen Harry and Herbic who have been optimistic underneath the pressure and fought with the odds correctly. He additionally thought of Mary who fought with courage and did no longer lose hope. He additionally thought of Sue with head damage and Jonathan who was now not afraid to die.

☛See also:

Chapter 1: Portrait Of Lady (Summary)