Adrift by Brian Murphy

Author:Brian Murphy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Da Capo Press
Published: 2018-09-04T00:00:00+00:00

The North Atlantic allows precious little room for error. Even close to shore, the winter waters can freeze a life away before rescuers can arrive. In January 1840, the steamboat Lexington was chugging up the Connecticut coast when cotton bales in the cargo hold caught fire. Lifeboats quickly sank or were sucked into the still-churning paddle wheel. Aid was immediately launched from shore. But only 3 of 143 people aboard survived, and they did that by clinging to the floating cotton bales and staying out of the water as much as possible.

That first night off the John Rutledge passed in almost total silence. The men—the three crew members and two others, William Henderson and one of the men in the stern—took turns at the oars trying to keep the bow of the lifeboat pointing into the weather. The other man on the boat, a bit older than the rest, was too sick and weak to row. He had only a thin jacket and huddled alone in silence during the night. They had no lanterns. The best they could do was pick up the direction of the waves from the boat’s movement and steer blindly.

The others each were lost in their own thoughts until blessed sleep came. From time to time, a bit of drift ice would knock the side of the boat.

At first, the sound jarred people awake. Soon, quicker than they could have imagined, they grew accustomed to the slapping waves and the sounds of the boat: the groan of wood and howl of wind humming through the metal oarlocks.

A harsh sleet fell. It turned to snow for a while, and then a spell of cold rain.

It was miserable. Everyone tried to huddle under their coats. There was one good thing. Nye uncorked the demijohn to catch some of the rain.

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