Douglas Robertson
👤 SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
And we cleared the decks, we lowered the sail.
Dougal stood on the thwart and I went forward.
I was at the forward end of the dinghy to make sure the trim of the dinghy was kept
It's easier to adjust the trim of a dinghy or a boat from the bow than from the stern.
You've got much more response from the bow, you know.
So I sat in the bow and I shifted my weight as Dougal shifted his weight and he hung on to the mast and he lit the flare my mum had handed up to him.
And he couldn't hold it.
It was so hot.
And he threw the flare out of the ocean.
And it was that arc of light that the Japanese fishermen had seen.
And they altered course towards us, but not at us.
And then they altered course.
When it seemed like they were about to sail past us, they altered course straight towards us.
And Dougal flopped down on the thwart and he said,
Our ordeal is over.
Our ordeal is over.
We knew, we knew we were going to be rescued.
And, you know,
That Japanese fishing boat stopped.