We're not Afraid to Die If We Can All be Together.pptx

A Detailed Explanation of the Chapter 'We're not Afraid to Die If We Can All be Together'

1. ‘We’re Not Afraid To Die If We Can All Be Together’ by Gordon Cook and Alan East

2. Introduction The story or the factual account presented in chapter is set in July, 1976. It is about the sailor, Gordon Cook and his family who are on a voyage round the world. Gordon Cook and his family start sailing from Plymouth, England and intend to cover a distance of 105,000 kms in three years. Initially, their journey is pleasant but as they reach the Southern Indian Ocean, they encounter a violent storm which causes massive destruction to their boat. Their only hope is a small 65 km wide island somewhere in 150,000 kms of ocean. Do they find the island? Do they survive?

3. Gordon Cook Gordon Cook was originally a physics and mathematics teacher, but went on to spend many years running tourism and other related businesses before taking on the ‘Captain James Cook Bicentenary Voyage’. A father of two (Sue and Jon), and married to Mary, Cook was a family man with a passion that developed through his readings and research. This passion for sailing was passed on to his family, which led them to taking the voyage. Alan East was the person who helped Gordon Cook write his autobiography.

4. Characters The Narrator, Gordon Cook Mary Sue Jonathan Larry Vigil Herb Seigler

5. The Setting

6. The story begins with Gordon Cook telling us that he, his wife Mary, his six-year old son Jonathan and seven-year old daughter Sue started sailing from Plymouth, England in July 1976.

7. They wanted to go on a round-the-world voyage just like Captain James Cook who had done the same 200 years ago . They named their voyage ‘Captain James Cook bicentenary voyage’.

8. British explorer Navigator Cartographer Captain  in the British Royal Navy Three voyages(1768, 1772, 1776) Killed in Hawaii Islands during the third and last voyage   Captain James Cook(7 November 1728– 14 February 1779)

9. Mr . Cook lets us know that he and his wife had dreamt of sailing ‘ in the wake of ’ Captain James Cook for the longest time. They had spent the past 16 years ‘ honing ’ their ‘ seafaring skills ’ in British Waters. In the wake of - follow someone or something Honing – sharpening; perfecting something over a period of time Seafaring skills – skills needed to travel and survive in the sea

10. Wavewalker 23 metres 30 tons Wooden hulled (A   hull  is the watertight body of a ship or boat. The hull may open at the top, such as a  dinghy, or it may be fully or partially covered with a deck .) Professionally built Tested in the roughest weather

11. Wavewalker Hull

12. The Journey Starts ( Part-I )

13. The journey started with their setting sail from Plymouth. England in July, 1976. According to Gordon Cook, this leg(part) of their journey was quite pleasant. They sailed down the west coast of Africa to Cape Town. They made a halt at Cape Town and took two crewmen on board: Larry Vigil(American) and Herb Seigler (Swiss). These two men would help the narrator sail through one of the world’s roughest seas, the Southern Indian Ocean.

14. These two men would help the narrator sail through one of the world’s roughest seas, the Southern Indian Ocean.

15. The Storm (Part II)

16. Initial Journey Towards Southern Indian Ocean Wavewalker began experiencing strong gales(strong wind) since the second day of their starting from Cape Town which blew continuously for the next few weeks. According to Mr. Cook, not the gales but the size of the waves, which were up to 15 metres, was alarming him. The size of the waves were as high as their main mast.

17. Main Mast

18. Christmas and New Year There wasn’t any improvement in the weather even on December 25 th . By now, they were 3500 kms east of Cape Town. Despite the atrocious(horrifyingly wicked; savage) weather, the sailing team celebrated Christmas on board. They had even brought a Christmas Tree along with them. The weather remained the same even on the New Year. They hoped the weather would change. It did change. It became worse.

19. 2 nd January They were now sailing with a small storm jib yet were moving very fast. The scene was horrifying. The sound was deafening. Steps taken to prepare the ship from waves: Dropped(lowered) the storm jib to slow down the boat

20. Storm Jib Storm jib is a small heavy jib(sail) for use in a high wind. They had to take it down as the wind was so intense that the boat would have suffered damage because of the jib.

21. Storm Jib Storm jibs are usually fluorescent in color so that they are visible to rescue ships and aircrafts in times of danger.

22. 2 nd January Lashed and double lashed(tied hurriedly) a heavy mooring rope in a loop across the stern

23. Mooring Rope

24. Mooring Rope

25. Mooring ropes kept at the stern of a boat. The stern usually had enough space for storing multiple heavy goods.

26. 2 nd January Went through life raft drill

27. Life Raft

28. 2 nd January Attached life- lines

29. Lifelines a rope or line used for life-saving, typically one where one end of the lifeline is attached to a sailor’s body suit and the other end is tied securely to the boat.

30. Lifelines

31. 2 nd January Donned(wore ) oilskins and life- jackets

32. 2 nd January Oilskins: an oiled waterproof cloth used for coverings and garments

33. 2 nd January Life jackets

34. 2 nd January, 6 p.m. Ominous silence Wind dropped Sky grew dark Growing roar Enormous wave (which the narrator mistook for a cloud)appeared aft(near the stern) of the boat Wave almost vertical and twice the height of the other waves Frightful breaking crest(head) Hoped to ride over the wave

35. Breaking Crest

36. He had hoped that the boat would ride over the wave somewhat like this.

37. Disaster Strikes Tremendous explosion shook the deck Water everywhere

38. Deck of a boat

39. Disaster Strikes Cook’s head smashed into the navigation wheel

40. Navigation Wheel is sometimes inside a cabin and sometimes it’s out on the open deck. Wavewalker had its navigation wheel out on the open deck.

41. Disaster Strikes He Went overboard and sank below waves Began losing consciousness, saw death approaching, felt peaceful Head popped out of the water Wavewalker capsizing; masts almost horizontal

42. Back on board Wavewalker Another wave hurled(threw) Wavewalker upright Cook’s lifelines jerked(got pulled) taut(tight) Held guard rails; landed on the main boom

43. Guard Rails

44. Main Boom Main Boom is the horizontal base against the main mast. It’s used to hoist sails or fold the sails when they aren’t needed.

45. Main Boom

46. Main Boom

47. Back on board Wavewalker Got Tossed around the deck like a rag doll Ribs cracked, teeth broke, mouth filled with blood Took the wheel and aligned the stern to ride over the next wave

48. Below the Deck Mary came through the hatch and informed about the smashed decks underneath and flooding of water. Gordon asked Mary to take the wheel and he went down the hatch.

49. Hatch

50. Below the Deck Larry and Herb were pumping out water using water pumps. There was broken timber(wood) hanging everywhere. Things were floating and moving about in deep water. The whole starboard side bulged inwards from the impact of the wave.

51. Below the Deck Gordon went to check on his children. They were alright but Sue had a big bump on her forehead which hurt.

52. Taking Control Secured holes with waterproof canvas cloth and water proof hatch covers

53. A watertight hatch cover is a cover designed to prevent the passage of water in either direction under a head of water for which the surrounding structure is designed.

54. Taking Control Hand pumps blocked with debris; water level rose Two spare hand pumps, forestay sail, jib, dinghies, the main anchor …everything had fallen overboard

55. Dinghy

56. Taking Control Finally found an electric pump under the chartroom floor and it worked. Kept on pumping out water, steering throughout the night No answers to Mayday calls over radio Sue’s head badly swollen; black eyes; deep cut on her arm; she hadn't showed it before because she didn’t want to worry others

57. 3 rd January By morning, the water levels were under control. They could take two hours rest in rotation. Yet there was a leak somewhere under the waterline .

58. Waterline: the level normally reached by the water on the side of a ship/boat.

59. The line drawn on the hull of a boat that indicates the level up to which the water reaches. The part above the line remains visible and the part below the waterline remains underwater.

60. 3 rd January Upon checking, it was found that nearly all rib frames were smashed down to the keel.

61. Rib Frames are the vertical ribs that form the body of a ship/boat. Rib frames support the hull and give the ship its shape and strength . Keel is the lengthwise timber or steel structure along the base of a ship/boat, supporting the framework of the whole.

62. 3 rd January The boat wouldn’t hold together for long enough to reach Australia. Even their spare engine was out of action. Gordon Cook checked the charts and calculated that there should be two islands a few hundred kms to the east. One of them, ‘Ile Amsterdam’ was a French S cientific Base. But these were like ‘pinpricks in the vast oceans’.

63. 4 th January Finally they reached the last few centimetres of water. They waited for the wind to go down as they could hoist any sails in this strong wind. Any pressure of sails on the rigging will pull the whole damaged section of the boat apart. So, they hoisted the small storm jib and headed for where they thought the islands might be.

64. Rigging is the system of ropes or chains employed to support a ship's masts 

65. 4 th January Mary found some corned beef and cracker biscuits which was their first meal in almost two days. But by 4 p.m., black clouds appeared again. The wind was back to 40 knots and the seas were getting higher. Knots: a unit of speed equivalent to one nautical mile per hour, used especially by ships, aircraft, or winds. One nautical mile is roughly 1.8 kms .

66. 5 th January By dawn, their situation was bad again. Jon asked Gordon if they were going to die. The narrator tried to assure him that they would make it to the island. To that, Jon replied ‘But Daddy, we aren’t afraid to die if we can all be together – you and mummy, Sue and I.’ This made the narrator even more determined to find a way out of the storm.

67. Protecting the Boat Decided to heave-to( bring to a stop, especially by turning across the wind ) Improvised sea anchor made of two 22 litre plastic barrels of paraffin oil tied together Turned the poRt side towards the oncoming waves as the starboard side was already damaged The motion of the boat still brought water through the broken wooden planks. That evening, Gordon and Mary sat together holding hands and felt that the end was near. However, by the morning of 6 th January, the Wavewalker rode out of the storm.

68. Finding the Island (Part III)

69. 6 th January Gordon tried to get a reading on the sextant, worked on wind speeds, change of course, drift and current of water in order to calculate their position and the position of ‘Ile Amsterdam’ in the vast sea. But it was extremely difficult to do so…specially after the wind had displaced them unexpectedly from their route.

70. Sextant is an instrument with a graduated arc of 60° and a sighting mechanism, used for measuring the angular distances between objects and especially for taking altitudes in navigation and surveying . Commonly used by sailors.

71. Ile Amsterdam

72. More Encouragement Sue came, moving painfully, her head badly swollen, blackened eyes two narrow slits(cuts). She gave a card to Gordon in which she had drawn the caricatures(figures) of Mary and the narrator with the words: ‘Here are some funny people. Did they make you laugh? I laughed a lot as well.’ Inside was a message: ‘Oh, how I love you both. So this card is to say thank you and let’s hope for the best.’ Gordon knew he had to make it.

73. Checking and Rechecking Gordon checked and rechecked using a spare compass(they had lost the main one) which did not work properly but he ‘ made an allowance for this’. Although Gordon wasn’t confident, yet, at 2p.m., he told Larry confidently to steer(move the boat) 185 degrees and he would find the island by 5p.m. Gordon then went to sleep. He woke up at 6p.m. and knew they had failed to locate the island. He was deeply disappointed because with the broken boat, one engine, one sail…they couldn’t go back into the storm.

74. The Island Suddenly Sue and Jonathan came, gave Gordon a hug and called him the best daddy in the world because he had found the island. It was out there as big as a battleship! Gordon went on the deck to see the stark(dark) outline of the island which was just a piece of volcanic rock with little vegetation. For them this was the most beautiful island in the world. They anchored offshore that night and the next morning all 28 inhabitants of the island helped and welcomed them ashore.

75. The Fighters Larry and Herb : optimistic and cheerful under direst stress Mary : stayed at the wheel and steered the boat away from trouble during all those crucial hours 7 year old Sue : didn’t worry them about her head(took six minor operations to remove a recurring blood clot between skin and skull) 6 year old Jonathan : not afraid to die

76. Theme ‘We’re Not Afraid to Die’  is a story of unity, extraordinary courage, determination, indomitable spirit and the ‘never say die’ attitude. The story speaks volumes about the bond of love and emotional support that a family shares at all times. It beautifully highlights the struggle of each member of the family and the combined efforts of all the members that helped them survive such a catastrophic event. The story also shows the struggle of a father determined to save his family and leaves no stone unturned to bring the situation under control. It also brings the combined efforts of each character to fight this situation. The little boy Jonathan exhibits a great deal of courage and is also ready to die if all his family members are together. All that matters is that they are together. The young girl Suzanne is seriously injured but chooses not to bother her father who is struggling to save everyone. The various trials and tribulations that the sailing crew went through make this story a fantastic read which is both aspirational and heart warming.

77. Aftermath

78. The Shipwrecked Mariners' Royal Benevolent Society recently presented Mr. Gordon Cook with 'The Lady Swathling Trophy' which is awarded annually for an outstanding feat of seamanship and navigation. T his award was declared just after the horrifying adventure the family and crew had faced. However , the award couldn’t be given then because Gordon Cook and his family spent almost 17 years sailing in the southern hemisphere and couldn’t be contacted for the prize. Sue and Jon were unable to attend normal schools and were taught by their mother throughout the voyage; despite both parents' worries that the children would suffer educationally they went on to gain doctorates from Cambridge and Cranfield Universities respectively.

79. Gordon Cook and his Family at CYC Rushcutters Bay, Australia on 8 th November, 1977; the same year when they experienced the extraordinary adventure. A faint sign of injury can be seen on S ue’s head although by this time, she’s already had her operations.

80. Gordon Cook and his Family at CYC Rushcutters Bay, Australia on 8 th November, 1977. The navigation wheel on the open deck against which Gordon Cook had smashed his head.

81. Some more Photos

82. The photo they had taken of a whale they had encountered while sailing

83. The story of the extraordinary adventure of the family made its way to the newspapers also.

84. The End