Chapter 2
Adrift by Steven Callahan
Adrift by Steven Callahan was very similar
to Touching the Void by Joe Simpson. The settings were the biggest difference,
one being on a mountain and the other in the ocean. Both men who lived
the story told the story and this I found very refreshing. Steve Callahan
was an adventurer who's sailboat was sunk in the middle of the Atlantic
and he was lost at sea for seventy-six days. It was never found out
why his boat Napoleon Solo sank but it was suggested that it might have
been a whale.
I feel their were a few key reasons for his
survival and his ability to think under pressure was one of them. Napoleon
Solo was sinking fast and there was not much time , Steve managed to
get a lot of gear and supplies off of the boat . The boat stopped sinking
so quickly and Steve had a decision to make , the decision was to jump back
on the sinking ship or to be content with what he had, he decide to jump back
on and retrieve more supplies and gear. That turned out to be a very
important decision and one that probably saved his life.
Any one with out the extensive experience as
Steve's would not have known that his gear and supplies were worth risking
his life over. Experience is another key reason for Steve's survival. Being
lost at sea for seventy-six days is a long time, only one other person has
lived out at sea for that long. I found it very interesting that Steve happened
to have the book of the person who was lost at sea for a longer time than
he was and the book was about surviving when your lost at sea. I dont
think it was an accident that Steve had this book, I think he put it in
his tool bag in case he needed it, along with an assortment of other tools,
that I would never imagine bringing on a sea voyage. After being out there
for awhile his equipment started to deteriorate and he had to start fixing
things, this is where I would of ran into trouble. I am not talking about
tightening a screw. At one point the raft was attacked by a shark and it
left a huge hole in the raft, at that point I said it's over he can't over
come this. He managed to patch the hole and stop the raft from losing air
so rapidly, beleive it or not he had an air pump with him and he pumped
the raft up every so often to compensate for the leak. I think if
Steve had to he could do open heart surgery with a pencil. I chalk a lot
of this up to his experience and the rest up to his will to survive
Steve's ability to survive was as good as Joe
Simpson and that is saying a lot, I never thought anyone could be as gutsey
as Joe Simpson. I can't believe he was able to survive for seventy-six days
in that raft. He was so strong mentally, in that he new the raft was
his life and with out that he was dead.When he was attacked by the first shark
and the raft was punctured, I thought for sure that he was done. I really
think at that point I might of given up, it's hard to tell but I felt
that it was hopeless and I thought he was going to just lay back in the raft
and wait for death. Steve was very calculated in his behavior, making
sure he didn't get hysterical and that he didn't start feeling sorry for himself.
He knew it was important to keep himself under control. He was very disciplined
in the way he rationed his water and food. That I would imagine was hard
because he was starving and very dehydrated. This to me shows his will to
survive, which was incredible.
As I read this book I became emotionally involved and
I would say to myself , "let me see how Steve is doing " and I would read
more. It made me want live everyday like it was my last and I no longer wanted
to take what I had for granted. Reading this story simply makes me want to
be a better person. The story makes me feel like everything is predestined
and your life is written out first and then you live it. Many things on this
adventure were coincidental or were they. Maybe God was watching over
him and just maybe God controls the universe. Or was it luck and experience
that got him through his journey. I think it is wonderful to believe in something
and that the answer is somewhere in the middle.