Lost at Sea
Lost at Sea | |
This voyage was your first as a new cadet aboard the 120m container ship "Neptune". | |
Everything was going as planned, your time is equally spent monitoring the refrigerated containers and observing the ship's officers plotting the ship's course. Three days out of Tauranga, the ship receives a weather bulletin which causes concern among the crew. From the frantic efforts of the crew tying down equipment and repetitively checking cargo lashings, it is obvious that severe weather was expected. What nobody expected was a severe tropical storm developing into a category 5 cyclone, Cyclone Jacob. | |
| The next twenty four hours will become the most terrifying day of your life, as eighteen fellow crew members are injured or lost at sea and the Neptune is left a derelict hulk, devastated beyond belief. After helping the injured crew as much as you can, your thoughts then turn to alerting the authorities to your situation. A thorough search of the ship reveals that all radio communications were destroyed when the antennae on the ship's mast and bridge were smashed by relentless towering waves. One crew member suggests trying the satellite internet link located in the crew quarters. | |
With unbelievable luck, the connection still works, and you decide to send a mayday message to Search and Rescue headquarters in New Zealand. Within minutes of sending your message, you receive a reply. “Message received, rescue aircraft airborne. Please advise your position” With all of the ship's officers severely injured or lost in the storm, you become the only person left aboard with any idea of navigation. All that is required is, to read the ship's current position off the GPS system. | |