In 1883, New Bedford, Captain Sanford Miner and his investors, outfit the schooner Sarah W. Hunt and recruit a crew with no real sailing experience, yet who are nevertheless logged as able seamen. Captain Miner and his green crew set sail and successfully navigate to Macquarie Island, a tiny speck halfway between Tasmania and Antarctica, only to find the beaches deserted, with not an elephant seal to be seen. They sail on to Campbell Island, another tiny but rugged rock in the Southern Ocean, where they find a safe anchorage for the schooner. The captain sends the mates and crew off to search for seals along the shore in two whale boats. A storm blows up and one boat is blown out to sea, never to be seen again, while the other just barely manages to row back to the island. After several days of arduous rowing, they make it back to where the schooner had been anchored, only to find it gone.
The captain, in a feat of considerable seamanship but blindingly poor judgment, has decided that the crew has been lost in the storm and, with the limited assistance of the cook, sails the schooner to New Zealand. Captain Miner's arrival causes quite a furor. There are calls for a rescue mission, which immediately get caught up in political and bureaucratic maneuvering and intrigue.
What is so engaging about The Elephant Voyage is that once the surviving crew is ultimately rescued, an entirely new story unfolds with surprising consequences. It is as if the rescue is a large stone dropped in a quiet pool, where the ripples spread rapidly outward, rocking many boats and lapping unexpectedly on distant shores. The attorneys and prosecutors maneuver, in and out of court, during the trial of Captain Miner for abandoning his men. Local politicians become involved. The captain maintains an amusing running battle with his usually intoxicated cook. The US consulate gets involved and the newspapers join in the circus as the proceedings attract international interest.
The Elephant Voyage captures both the hardship of sailing in the Southern Ocean and the fascinating world of a rapidly developing colonial New Zealand. Highly recommended.
2 comments:
I just found a copy of _The Elephant Voyage_ in a bookstore in Anchorage, Alaska and have devoured it. I really enjoyed it and will be looking for more of Mrs. Druett's books. I find stories of castaways to be fascinating because they show that we are often more capable of surviving difficult situations than we think. I kept stopping and telling my wife all about the book as I went along. I couldn't help myself. Great read! I was unable to find the author's email address so I hope this comment finds her.
Thank you for your kind comments! I am so glad you enjoyed the book. I found the legal ramifications fascinating, so am pleased you found them interesting, too. I think you might like Island of the Lost, which has just been reprinted in new paperback form by Algqonquin, the publishers. It is not just one castaway story, but two. In 1865 two ships wrecked on Auckland Island, with two very different outcomes. It is an illustration of the value of good leadership.
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