Começo da Vida

At noon the waves were like mountains. Our ship went up and down, up and down. The water fell on the deck. Once, twice, we thought that our anchor had come loose. The captain ordered them to throw another anchor. Now we had two anchors holding us.

Finally I forced myself to go to the deck. What I saw still gives me nightmares. The sea was black and white with foam. Waves tall as churches were falling on us. The wind was screaming like a thousand demons. I held on tight or I would be taken.

I looked around. Two ships near us had cut their masts. Another ship about a mile away was sinking. I saw it disappear under the waves. All those men were drowning in the cold and black water. Two more ships had broken free from their anchors.

That night our crew begged the captain to cut our masts. He didn't want to do it. A ship without masts is helpless. But the boatswain said, "If we don't cut them the ship sinks!" The captain finally agreed. They had to save the ship.