The Hephaestus was a 30-year-old bulk carrier, so it was considered by its crew and the company to be a geezer. Although it had been modernized with engines, generators, its navigation system, and cargo estimation equipment, it was still an old shell. Another ten years and it would go to the junkyard.
Voyage was a German company with a subsidiary in the country of Venezuela. That's where Bosun Waldermar Golden worked, an elderly man with gray hair and wrinkles on his forehead, although his physique was that of a man who had had to put on strength.
At this time the Hephaestus was sailing through the Bermuda Islands, Pear rock could be seen to port, about 10 nautical miles away.
Its destination was Miami to deliver some minerals, and then from there to China to receive another batch of important minerals for the manufacture of cell phones.
Waldermar was on the bridge with the third officer on watch, it was getting dark, the lights of the lighthouse of San David overshadowed those of the island. The boatswain watched that glow with nostalgia and sadness. It would be his last voyage; when he made landfall again, he would go home. He had been sailing the seas for 30 years, pawning his soul in the oceans to give good shelter to his family. He was tired of so many fights with his wife, distrust grew inside him every time he entered his house every six months.
30 years of discord. He had joined the navy because of an uncle who was a captain. However, Waldermar was not a student, so he took the easy way out. He took the respective courses, due to contacts he started sailing. He did so because his wife Petra was expecting their first daughter. At the age of 19, he was in other countries such as Greece, Japan, or the United States. He sent part of his earnings to his family in the hope that they would live well. As a sailor, he was able to buy a respectable cart and a comfortable house for his three daughters he eventually had.
He was a young sailor like the average one, he had his loves in the ports and his fights at home because of jealousy, both his own and his wife's. However, the marriage grew as the family grew. However, the marriage grew as a façade for his daughters.
Waldermar was so immersed in his thoughts that he did not see the cloud that was approaching the ship. The third officer was immersed in his phone when he shouldn't have been, he was a young man in his early twenties with great opportunities. He was talking about various love affairs. The point is that the two did not correct course to avoid the storm.
The boatswain continued to gallop through his memories. Discovering that his wife had mistresses everywhere, even when she had matured over time, continued to sting his heart. Nor did he ever save any retirement savings. Money slipped away with his wife's whims or those of his daughters. Although he knew he was chained to the sea, he had decided to sever that link and see what would happen if he was shipwrecked.
And that's exactly what happened, the storm hit the ship just as the navigation alarms went off. It was too late, and even if they slowed down, they did not correct their course. Their drift made it difficult to get out of the fateful destination. It was an old ship, so despite its new engines, the bulkheads were torn off little by little, despite the resistance. And as soon as a hole was opened in the hull, the water began to seep in.
The sailors ran from starboard to port trying to avoid the flooding, but it was impossible. In the engine room, they were the first to hit the water. The engines went black-out, and the generators stopped and went dark.
This did not happen instantly, it was hours and hours of horror.
As soon as the lights went out, the auxiliary engines were activated, but they were of no avail when the engine room was flooded. They were adrift in the winds and waves.
The crew would never forget the screeching of the hull with every swell, or the lightning striking the radar antenna causing static. Although they were experienced men for emergencies, this one caught them off guard. However, few shoulders followed lifesaving protocols. There were several life rafts scattered on the sides of the ship, as well as two boats, each equipped with a SART.
Before heading to the boats Waldermar activated the EPIRB to alert the proper authorities of the wreck. The third had long since escaped to the boats because it was up to him to do the job. However, Waldermar never made it to the boats. The ship broke in two and the violent movement was thrown into the sea.
As he fell into the water, the poor boatswain was thinking of his grown daughters. Of the joy of seeing them every time he came ashore, of all the whims he fulfilled for them with his money. The reception at sea was cold, the lurches he received from it were brutal. The poor man turned many times losing his sense of direction.
When he thought he had lost his life, he felt hit a soft structure, then arms pulled him out of the water. He lost consciousness just to see his companions shining a flashlight on him.
Now the survivors had to face the wait to be rescued. The EPIRB signal did its job and the SART signals from each boat made it possible to locate them.
The boatswain's action had saved them because after two days they were found. Only three motormen and a third engineer officer were missing. They were notorious losses, but many more had been saved.
Waldermar's only thought was to stop sailing.
Definitions:
Bosun, Boatswain or Petty Officer
