Q. What did the narrator plan to do? What preparations did he make for it?
A. For the past 16 years, he and his wife had spent all their leisure time developing and improving their skill with work - related to travel on the sea. The narrator planned to go on a voyage like James Cook 200 years ago. He prepared himself to cope every odds and problems of the sea in his leisure time
Q. Give a brief description of the narrator’s boat. How had the narrator equipped and tested it?
A. The narrator's boat was professionally built. It was 23 meters long, weighing a total of 30 tons. The boat was a wooden hulled vessel.The narrator tested the boat by passing it through various harsh weather tests and fitting it to perfection.
Q. How long did the narrator plan his voyage to last?
A. The narrator had planned his round the world journey to cover 105,000 kilometres in three years.
Q. When and with whom did the narrator begin his voyage?
A. The narrator begins his voyage on July 1976 from Plymouth, England. He begins his voyage with his wife Mary, son Jonathan,6 and daughter Suzanne,7.
Q. Whom did the narrator employ and why? When did he do so?
A. The narrator employed two crewmen—American Larry Vigil and Swiss Herb Seigler in order to help them tackle the southern Indian Ocean which is known as one of the roughest seas of the world. He engaged them before leaving Cape Town.
Q. What happened on their second day out of Cape Town? What worried the narrator and why?
A. On their second day out of Cape Town, they began to face strong storms. These storms blew continuously for the next few weeks. He was worried about the waves. Their size was alarming. This rose up to 15 metres i.e., as high as their main mast.
Q. How did they celebrate the Christmas holidays?
A. They were 3,500 kilometres east of Cape Town on 25 December. The weather was very bad. Still they had a wonderful holiday—complete with a Christmas tree. New Year’s Day saw no improvement in weather.
Q. How did the weather change on January 2? How did they feel?
A. The weather changed for worse on January 2. Now the waves were gigantic. As the ship rose to the top of each wave, they saw endless enormous seas rolling towards them. The screaming of the wind and spray was painful to the ears.
Q. What efforts were made to face the rough weather?
A. In order to face the rough weather, the speed of the ship was slowed down. They dropped the storm jib. They lashed heavy mooring rope in a loop across the stem. Then they fastened together everything and went through their life-raft drill. They attached lifelines, put on waterproof clothes and life-jackets.
Q. What sort of wave hit the ship? How did the narrator react?
A. t was a mighty and huge wave. It appeared perfectly vertical. It was almost twice the height of the other waves. It had a very unpleasant breaking crest. The narrator had never seen such an enormous wave, so he was filled with horror.
Q. How did the narrator manage to survive through the attacks of subsequent waves?
A. One of the waves threw the ship upright. The narrator was able to reach its main
boom. Subsequent waves tossed him around the deck like a rag doll. His left ribs cracked. His mouth was filled with blood and broken teeth. Somehow, he found the wheel, lined up the stem for the next wave and remained firm.Q. Why could they not set any sail on the main mast on 4 January?
A. The hull of the ship had been damaged badly. Pressure on the ropes supporting the masts and sails would simply pull the damaged section of the hull apart. So they hoisted the storm jib and headed towards the islands.
Q. How did the narrator respond to little Jon’s words? What do his actions reveal about his character?
A. He could not find proper words to respond. However, he felt inspired to fight the sea with everything he had. He decided to stop the ship and protect the weakened starboard side. He did so with an improvised anchor of heavy nylon ropes and two 22 litre plastic barrels of paraffin. This shows his resourcefulness and determination.
Q. How did Sue try to enliven the gloomy atmosphere?
A. Sue forgot her swollen head and blackened eyes and prepared a funny card. On the front it had caricatures of Mary and the narrator. She called them funny people who had made her laugh. There was a message also. It expressed her love, thanks and good wishes.
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