tales-of-Fogo-Island

When they reached the Beaumont Hamel, the ferry came to a stop and thestern ramp was lowered. The crew of the Markland climbed out of the speedboat and onto the ramp. When they were all aboard, their little orange life raftswere dragged onto the deck behind them. At last, they were safe!After a serving of hot tea, the crew of the Markland described the events thathad led up to the accident. The week before, they left Nipper's Harbour ontheir first shrimp-fishing trip of the year. While at sea, they ran into trouble withtheir gear and went to Carmanville where a repairman met them and fixed theproblem. They were on a test run and were moving along at nine knots whenthe ship 'brought up solid' on Vesuvius Rock.The crew knew they were in trouble when they looked over the side of theboat and saw pieces of the hull floating on the water. They tried to see if therewas water in her hold but it was impossible, the boat was twisted in the crashand the hatches were jammed shut. Rather than take any chances, theCaptain issued a Mayday and 'all hands' boarded the life rafts.As they told their story to passengers on the ferry, the men were still shaking.When the Beaumont Hamel finally arrived in Farewell the passengers got intotheir vehicles and drove away. The crew of the Markland was not in the samehurry. They were glad to be on solid ground and took their time walking to thenearby phone booth. One by one, the men called home and told their wivesand loved ones about their close call. As the last man said goodbye, a tear ofrelief ran down his cheek.No one was lost in the accident and only one of the crew was injured. Hebroke his collar bone when the ship slammed into the rock. In any case, thiswas one ferry ride that they would never forget. Fortunately it had a happyending.Questions to think and write about:1. How do you think the crew of the Markland felt when they were rescued?2. Can you name some of the things that help this story have a happy ending?