Last Voyage of the Lucette

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On Day 15 Dougal dived in and swam to retrieve the dinghy which had broken free from the raft. Exhausted, he somehow found the strength and escaped the sharks. It was at this stage that Lyn suggested using the water from the bottom of the dinghy in the form of enemas. It was too foul to drink, but would allow their bodies to keep hydrated. Douglas crafted the makeshift equipment and everyone except Robin accepted the enemas. Day 18 – A tasty breakfast of flying fish, turtle meat, mixed with pieces of turtle fat. Saw frigate birds and storm petrels. Clothes were disintegrating causing sunburn. The Robertson Family onboard Lucette in Falmouth before departure. Photograph from ‘The Last Voyage of the Lucette’ by Douglas Robertson. The Ednamair is on permanent display in the National Maritime Museum Cornwall (NMMC) in Falmouth, which tells the extraordinary story in full. The Roberstons - and the museum - mark three dates each year: the date they left Falmouth on January 27, Sinking Day (as the family call it) on June 13 and Rescue Day on July 23. Yet he reveres his father, too, and aspires to be adventurous like him – although his brother, Neil, confirms that Douglas is a much gentler character. "I haven't undermined my dad – I've championed him for what he did for us. Dad was a very courageous man. He would never have got us home otherwise. But I've shown that he is a human being and he made mistakes." Dougal Robertson died in 1991 but Douglas insists that he had his blessing to write the book.

The first turtle was caught later that day and was killed taking great care not to spill any blood into the sea that would attract sharks.

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A record-breaking IMOCA fleet in the Transat Jacques Vabre The 2023 Transat Jacques Vabre-Normandie Le Havre featured a delayed start because of extreme weather and then a shortened course, but it still delivered a classic contest for the record-entry 40 IMOCA teams that took the start. Day 36 – The seas were rough and squally. Clothes were tattered and threadbare, but Lyn washed and mended them. The twins were very thin, Neil was emaciated, and Sandy had a cough, possibly pneumonia. If he did not improve, they would have to start rowing with or without reserves of water. The Volvo Ocean Race broke with tradition by starting outside the UK In 2005-06, the Volvo Ocean Race broke with tradition by starting outside the UK, from Vigo, Spain, to Cape Town, South Africa. Introducing the Volvo Open 70 boat class added excitement but posed challenges on the 31,000 nautical mile global route. Dougal later wrote Sea Survival: A Manual, and continued to sail until his death from cancer in 1991. The manual was used to help save the life of Steven Callahan, who was stranded for 76 days in the Atlantic Ocean in 1981. Jesús Vidaña and two other Mexican fishermen who survived in the Pacific Ocean for approximately 9 months from October 2005 to August 2006.

The Robertson family at the start of their unforgettable voyage in Falmouth (Image: Photograph from ‘The Last Voyage of the Lucette’ by Douglas Robertson) Once on the raft, he and his father came up with the plan that saved their lives: rather than aiming for land, they decided to aim for water – which meant sailing 400 miles north to the Doldrums.Yet, amazingly, they did survive, and their remarkable story is legendary, inspiring a bestselling book – Survive the Savage Sea by Dougal Robertson – an exhibition and a feature film starring Robert Urich and Ali MacGraw (1992).

Day 33 – Eat or be eaten was the law of survival at sea. Three large dorado were caught, giving much needed fluids, helping to relieve the severe thirst of all. For the next five and a half weeks they would fight for their lives, working constantly to keep their raft afloat, catching rain water, fishing, bailing and eking out their meager provisions. Holes started appearing in the raft, and on the 17th day, the floor gave way, forcing them all to take to the open dinghy. Other artifacts on display include a pressure cooker weight from Lyn’s sewing box that was used as a fishing weight. Some of the teeth from the 5-foot Mako shark were kept as a trophy. Turtle Oil, saved by the Robertsons’ from their ordeal, was an extremely valued resource made by melting turtle fat in the sun. The oil was used to rub onto saltwater boils, drunk as a warming tonic, mixed with fish and turtle meat to make a stew, and used as an enema. The Enema Tube was cut from the boarding ladder of the life raft and was a good way of rehydrating the family using the dirty water from the bottom of the boat. Ednamair and the Robertsons Life on the raft was grim. "It got holed when we launched it and that hole got worse. We were sitting with the water up to our chest. We had salt-water sores all over us and the heat would be taken out of your body – it was horrible. We used to take it in turns to sit on the thwart [seat] because it was dry, and my mum, God bless her, would say, 'Doug, you take my turn.' And she'd sit in the water for another hour." Sleep was impossible, because as soon as they nodded off, their heads would hit the water and they'd jump awake. Lyn was terrified that the twins would drown in their sleep.On 15 June 1972, Lucette was holed by a pod of orcas and sank approximately 200 miles west of the Galapagos Islands. The group of six people on board escaped to an inflatable life raft and a solid-hull dinghy with little in the way of tools or provisions. [3] We have a 30-day return policy, which means you have 30 days after receiving your item to request a return. José Salvador Alvarenga, who spent 438 days drifting in a small open top boat from Mexico to the Marshall Islands.

Then there is Albert, a male nurse they met in Miami. "Albert was a very nice man, a very friendly man," Douglas recalls, "but he had a motive – me." He says he still feels let down that his father didn't protect him. The book alludes to "inappropriate sexual connotations" but is hazy about specifics. Did Albert make a pass at him. "Yeah, he did." Did he succeed? "Somewhat, yeah," he says, quietly. Ednamair at National Maritime Museum Cornwall in Falmouth where she is on permanent display (Image: Lynn Vosper) They had no maps, compass or instruments and nobody knew they were missing. Their fight for survival had begun. Day 21 – The sea anchor and float broke away. Douglas rowed after it in a feat of sheer endurance, taking 35 minutes of rowing to retrieve it. That afternoon Douglas saw a green flare often used by submarines on manoeuvres, but nothing came of it. The youngest of eight children, Dougal Robertson had been a master mariner in east Asia, but gave it up after meeting his wife, Lyn, in Hong Kong in 1952 to become a farmer. To understand how the Robertsons survived their ordeal, you only need look at their previous life at Meadows Farm, in Staffordshire. It was a lesson in deprivation. No running water or electricity until Douglas was 10. No TV, set, only paraffin lamps and candles. No money for children's shoes. "Dad's life was terrifically hard," says Douglas. "He was very frustrated – he saw his brothers and sisters sending their children off to university and private school, the sorts of things he was no longer able to provide." Douglas is still critical of this decision. "He was a professional man and he became a farmer. I wish he'd stayed a professional man."Hunger and thirst were the greatest problems to be overcome. The group had several cans of water and the few rations they had managed to salvage, which lasted them about six days. They ate flying fish that landed in the raft and the dinghy, and caught dorado but Turtle became the mainstay of their diet. They ate the meat and eggs and drank the blood. The raft was leaking, and they were all sat in water up to their chests, giving them saltwater boils. They used the wind and current to their advantage, heading to the northeast towards Central America. Dawidziak, Mark (5 January 1992). "ABC's 'Survive the Savage Sea' is an Anchor Dropping Drama". Akron Beacon Journal . Retrieved 20 October 2021. He says he tried to tell his father, but "he didn't want to listen. Neither did my mother. I started to tell my mother about it many years later and she said, 'Douglas, don't give me a burden to take to my grave.' So how can you tell parents like that what is happening?" One of the daughters, Ann, 18, left the expedition in the Caribbean. In Panama, they took on a young hitchhiker named Robin Williams.