I can see why “The Wager” is number one on the New York Times Best Seller list. What a story! I was surprised when it turned up in my Great Lakes Library Libby App as I am sure lots of library patrons wanted to read it.
I read David Grann’s “The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny, and Murder” on a couple of travel days we had on our way to our summer holidays. He combines thorough research with writing like an adventure thriller. I couldn’t put it down and I highly recommend it. I love stories of people overcoming incredible hardships in nature. (This post contains SPOILERS, don’t read this post if you want to read the book.)
This non-fiction work tells the story of a British Navy contingent of 5 ships in 1740 that sets sail for an around-the-world trip to find and take a Spanish treasure ship. The British and Spanish governments were sort of at war as they were developing colonies in the New World. Some of their ships are lost at sea or shipwrecked while going around Cape Horn at the bottom of South America. One ship did complete the mission and bring home treasure. The story focuses on the sailors that were castaways on a cold, rocky island in the Straits of Magellan during a southern hemisphere winter and their struggle to get back to England. Once back, they faced British Naval justice as there were conflicting reports of mutiny and murder while the sailors were stranded.
1740 was almost 300 years ago and the technology was not there yet for ocean global travel. Imagine the following:
- Not knowing your longitude and only being able to figure out your latitude through looking at the stars. With my iPhone, today you can tell exactly where you are on the planet Earth with detailed maps. Because the earth rotates, each hour per day corresponds to 15 degrees of longitude.
- No weather forecasts. The ships were at the mercy of the weather and they often were caught in fierce winds, rain and rough seas.
- Having to rely only on the wind to propel you across the planet. The combustion and steam engines were not invented yet.
- A ship doctor that didn’t know about bacterial infections or Vitamin D deficiency.
I can’t believe Ferdinand Magellan circumnavigated the earth over 200 years before (1519) this expedition took place. These sailors were absolutely courageous and mad for going on these epic journies so long ago.
The old and rich businessmen and politicians of England at the time should be ashamed of themselves for sending young men to sea in these conditions. They were looking to enrich themselves by concocting this war against Spain (The War of Jenkin’s Ear). Sending ships at that time to sail to the Spanish colonies to hunt down a treasure-laden galleon ship was a suicide mission and not worth the loss of young lives. For example, the one ship that did accomplish the mission lost over 1,700 sailors of the 2,000 that started the trip. All throughout the book, sailors are dying of starvation, disease, hypothermia, and drowning. The incredible lack of sympathy for the death of navy sailors is astounding. “…sending their troops off on ill-conceived, poorly funded, bungle military adventures.” …”the war cost taxpayers 43 million pounds” It is never the politicians that get blamed or suffer the consequences, but the usually men, who have to follow orders and go off and do the government’s bidding. See Ukraine/Russia war.
My wife Nadia and I traveled to the tip of South America in the southern hemisphere summer of 1998-1999. We visited an island full of penguins in the Strait of Magallanes, although I can’t remember the name. It was the coldest I’ve ever been in my life. The rain and wind went right through my clothing and I remember shaking and my teeth chattering as we got off the boat to return to our hostel in Punta de Arenas, Chile. I can’t imagine what those sailors went through being stuck on Wager Island without food, shelter, or proper clothing in the southern hemisphere winter.
The book also highlighted the help of indigenous tribes, the Kawesqar, Yaghan, and Chono. It is tragic that they were wiped out. What a loss of knowledge of nature in an incredibly harsh and beautiful part of the world. “By the late 19th century, the Chono had been wiped out by contact with Europeans and by the early 20th century there were only a few dozen Kawesqar, who had settled at a hamlet about 100 miles south of the Golfo de Penas.” I would like to read more about these tribes. I remember spending an afternoon in a library in Punta De Arenas reading about the Patagonia indigenous people when I was down there.
- boatswain – a naval officer in charge of the crew and equipment
I was fascinated with how many nautical words and phrases these early sailors used that are still in use today.
- “toe the line” boys on a ship were forced to stand still for inspection with their toes on a deck seam
- “to pipe down” the boatswain’s whistle signaling for everyone to be quiet at night
- “piping hot” the boatswain call for meals
- “scuttlebutt” water cask sailors gossiped around while waiting for their rations; the modern-day water cooler
- “three sheets to the wind” when lines to a sail broke and the boat pitched drunkenly out of control
- “turn a blind eye” – Vice Admiral Nelson deliberately placed his telescope against his blind eye to ignore his superior’s signal flag to retreat
I like this description of what was needed in a captain. “command of temper, integrity of purpose, vigour of mind, and abnegation of self…” Another sailor quoted John Dryden’s poem, “Presence of mind, and courage in distress, Are more than armies to procure success.”
Shocking to learn about the 1945 “Minnesota Starvation Experiment”. 36 volunteers starved themselves over six months for scientists to study the impact both physical and mental on them.
On a final note, I went for a swim yesterday in the warm waters of the Mediterranean. I swam to a buoy that was probably 50 meters from shore. The waves coming from the deep waters were rolling through me. I was trying to put myself in those sailors’ shoes. Being on a rickety boat, miles from shore, with strong winds, huge waves, pouring rain, and cold water, wow! The sea is powerful and just getting a taste of it on a summer day off the coast of Sicily was enough for me.
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