A riveting true story of a fishing ship, the Sudur Havid, which sank in the icy waters of the South Atlantic in 1998. Only 21 of the 38 crew survived, although when you read about what happened it seems miraculous that even they lived. The author relays the facts in a non-judgemental manner and comes across as a good-natured, practical young man who was thrown into an absurd and terrifying situation.
It's painful to read the catalogue of mistakes that led up to the disaster. The ship was old and poorly equipped. There was a lack of safety measures and procedures. The lifejackets were stored in lockers for which only one man had a key. And, most fatally, there was a misguided decision to keep on fishing through the storm even when the craft – already overloaded – started taking on water. Even the attempts to escape via life-rafts were chaotically disorganised.
The book has photos from beforehand and afterwards, but none are from the voyage in question. All cameras were lost with the vessel.
A gripping account, it is horrifying in places and hard to stop reading. It is a book that reminds you how lucky you are to be alive.
No comments:
Post a Comment