Im grading this story a high sea! In 1829, four days out of Sydney, Australia, a heavy storm struck the vessel Mermaid, and drove it into a reef. All 22 on board jumped ship and swam to a large rock. After three days of waiting, another ship, the Swiftsure, found and rescued them. Five days later another storm struck. The Swiftsure was swept into a ridge and wrecked. Both crews escaped and waited for rescue on some nearby rocks. They were soon picked up by the schooner Governor Ready, which caught fire three hours later. Once again they abandoned ship, this time in lifeboats. Along came the cutter Comet, which had blown off course by a storm. The crew of the Comet loaded the crews and passengers of all three vessels on board. Five days later a storm snapped the Comets mast, ripped her sails, and ruined her rudder. The Comets crew loaded into the longboat, leaving the passengers to cling to floating bits of wreckage. After 18 hours passed the mail boat Jupiter came along and rescued everyone, only to hit a reef and sink two days later. Fortunately, the passenger vessel City of Leeds was nearby and picked up everyone, finally delivering them back to Sydney. The doomed voyage sank five ships, but incredibly, not a single life was lost. - Uncle Johns Bathroom Reader.
Posted on: Sat, 23 Nov 2013 02:12:45 +0000
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