A Knight’s Tale (134: Kilcullen Would Have Been Too Far Away)

One evening we were given a trip from Port St Charles into the Atlantic Ocean.

Kilcullen
Kilcullen towing New Horizons

Flanked by the lowering sun we then encountered Kilcullen towing New Horizons.

Quite why John Peck and Fraser Dodds, who manned the rowing boat New Horizons, needed the attentions of the support boat at this point, I am not sure, for they are given in the statistics of the Ocean Rowing Society as having completed the race.  Kilcullen, you see, is one of a group of vessels deputed to be on hand in case of need by rowers in distress. I understand that, because they tended to stay behind the slowest competitors, these yachts would be a good 500 miles away from the leaders.

Sunset 1
Sunset 2
Sunset 3

Very soon after this, we experienced one of the dramatic gold and indigo sunsets that Sam had enjoyed during his 59 days at sea.

Kilcullen in sunset

By this time the crew of Kilcullen were relaxing in silhouette.

Crabs 1
Crab 2

The next morning a cast of crabs danced the side shuffle on the rocks.

Sam, always having been one of the leaders, told us how the waves could toss his little boat considerable distances through the air. 

The purpose built rowing boat was designed to keep upright. Provided. That the windows to the small cabin remained closed.

One morning my son was woken by the hailer of a cargo vessel asking whether he needed assistance. He informed them that he had no need of it. Off they sailed.

Then, out of the blue, the ship turned and sped back towards Pacific Pete.

Just imagine the bow wave. This didn’t send Sam’s boat any distance. Instead it sent it in a circular spin in which it rolled over twice.

Had the windows been open Sam and his boat would have joined his camera on the bed of the ocean into which it had slipped. He didn’t mention this on one of his weekly telephone calls to me.

50 comments

  1. I feel sure there are some things you kept from your parents too. The main reason is to protect them from worrying too much about an issue they are truly unable to assist with. My parents only found out about some of my youthful escapades years later – when enough time has lapsed allowing one to laugh about potential disasters 🙂

  2. Wow–those sunsets–but really all the shots. I love the dancing crabs, too. I’m glad Sam was OK, and I can understand why he didn’t tell you at the time.?

  3. Why do you call it a pirate ship, Derrick? It looks just like our boat, with a main sail and a jib, a small cockpit with a bimini, and a smallish cabin. The sunset is stunning.
    This is horrifying; so your son’s boat flipped over and then righted itself? Thank G-d!
    The ports (“windows”) are always securely bolted when a boat is under way, even in a safe Biscayne Bay, let alone the ocean.

    1. Thanks very much, Dolly. Mention of the pirate ship was confusing – pirates were a tourist attraction in Barbados – I had photographed them earlier. I will take that out of this Knight’s Tale episode. Thank you for alerting me.

  4. That was a bit nerve wracking. Better not to have known at the time, I imagine. You’d think the bigger ship might have thought of the likely effect, or at least looked back to check!

  5. That must have been quite something to see those sunsets with no land in sight. Rolling over in a small boat like that much have been terrifying.

  6. Yes, there are those things we don’t tell our parents until years later…if ever. 😉
    OH MY GOSH! what scary happenings for Sam and his boat! I’m so glad he was safe!
    What adventures for Sam and everyone who cared about him! 🙂
    Beautiful breathtaking sunsets! And the photos of the crabs are fun and so is your description of them! ? ?
    (((HUGS))) 🙂

  7. Some things are best not shared with our parents. I might have named my book, ‘Things I Never Told My Mother’. Sam must have been terrified, but at the same time, too busy to dwell on the danger he was in at that moment. Just as well he had not taken any short cuts on marine safety measures.

  8. 59 days of Sam at sea in that rowboat must have been hard ones for you and Jessica. It was probably a good thing Sam saved the horror stories for later. Those sunsets were beautiful, but Nature charges an admission for seeing such sights.

    1. Thank you so much, Lavinia. Sam phoned from a satellite phone every week, and we could track his progress nightly on line – that helped 🙂

  9. Holy Moly!! That’s terrifying. Sounds like Sam is made of sturdy stuff, if he remained remarkably calm about it. I envy people who can reason: Well, it happened. Nothing I can do about it now. The sunset photos are stunning. I wonder if you could add a unique tag to the posts that mention Sam’s Ocean Rowing Society race. This is for selfish reasons, of course, so I can click one tag and then read the whole story.

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