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Ah yes, the romance of the sea. It seems to hit everyone at some point, even the most hardened landlubber. But John Caldwell's case is a little different. In May of 1946, the end of World War II, this American was trying desperately to return to his Australian bride Mary. Berths were limited at the end of the war, and the earliest sailing date he could manage was 1947...not soon enough. So he bought a 27' cutter in Panama:
"I longed to see my bride again. However, I must admit, as sailing time neared I was gripped more and more with a fever for what was ahead. The adventure of it drew me on like a magnet. In three years of sailing on heavy freighters and oilers in the Merchant Marine, I had never been so taken with the romance of a sea voyage. Suddenly I was rapt in the prospect; my own boat to command at my own will on the southern seas."
Surprisingly enough for a Merchant Marine, Caldwell had no firsthand knowledge of sailing - he did have a copy of How to Sail which he read everyday and "mentally practiced the ritual of getting under sail." He name his ship the Pagan, and with twin kittens as crew, he set off:
"I decided on the spur of the moment not to use the sails since the engine performed so agreeably. I lashed the tiller, and sprang to the bow to ready the anchor in case I needed it. It was tangled with its chain, which was strewn across the fore scuttle.
"I took up the anchor, heaved back on the folds of chain to clear them, and made to lay the anchor beside its hawsehole. The deck tilted ever so slightly I stubbed against the traveller. My foot slipped. I went over, back first, clawing upward. I was under in a second, dragged by the anchor. I dropped it, and groped to the surface. When I could see again, Pagan was a length away, sliding eagerly on toward the moored yachts. The anchor chain was rattling through the hawse..."
In a flash the ship turns on its anchor chain and heads straight for him...
Not at all what he had anticipated when he decided to sail 8,500 miles across the Pacific. The Pagan is later broadsided by a giant tree limb near an uninhabited island, and repaired. Then she is attacked by gales, and the kittens fall overboard (soon rescued) - followed by idyllic days at sea with plenty of flying fish, dolphins and other "animal companions." By August he reaches the Caroline Islands, and a hurricane:
"I lay on my back on the blown decks working with only my hands and forearms in the wind. I took my time; thought carefully over each job before I did it. When I finished, Pagan was bolstered by full shrouds and I was eased of mind. The decks, aheave and awash, didn't seem so bad with the mast safely held.
"The job completed, I made the gross error of sitting up to check it. An explosive wind bent me to a helpless angle. A flurry of bubbling water lifted me bodily and bounced me against the deckhouse and into the shrouds, then whelmed me over the rail on to a churning sea..."
And after that, he runs out of food.
Caldwell himself is immensely appealing and this gives his story added attraction. Seasoned sailors will be astounded by his early naïve assumptions, yet his courage and persistence will earn their admiration. And the rest of us will be equally horrified and captivated.
