Alone and Adrift in the Pacific
theatlantic.com
theatlantic.com
“There was so much I still wanted to do. I fantasized about the smallest, most mundane things—waking up in bed, getting in my car, waiting at a red light, grabbing coffee, working. I wanted to do it all again, every day, forever and ever.”
For anyone who ever goes to sea, stories like this are also an example of someone who lived to tell the tale. It has to be unpacked, and analyzed, in the context of "what can I learn from this?". What would I do, that this kid did, that helped lead to his survival.
It is an emotional tale, especially given that it involved a young man, just setting out in life. And I think, unlike me, having that youth was one factor that helped him survive.
One aspect that was really scary, was the delirium of the captain, an experienced seaman. No one will ever know what left him sitting in shock. Severe seasickness can be extremely debilitating, way beyond "I feel icky". Maybe that contributed?
At the end of the story, the young man questions again: what did it mean?
I'm not saying people shouldn't try to find an emotional motivating factor or substance in this, but to me, what it means, is that he lived. He kept going, he kept waking up, he kept keeping watch, he kept living. And luckily rescue came before it was too late. That's what allowed him to be there to ask that question.
So these are my two takeaways:
1) Don't give up! Keep living!
2) Don't succumb to shock, or let my debilitation of the moment prevent me from acting with the necessary urgency.
The modern maritime world is so much safer than it's ever been before, but stories like this remind us that the sea is huge. She is still in charge.
All we can do is try our best to live to tell the tale...