Ten Degrees of Reckoning (12 page)

“Can you help me, please? Can I hang on to your bamboo pole?” Judy asked the chief.

“You can do it. Trust me. I promise that you can,” Chief Nico replied.

It took her at least two more hours to crawl, digging into the rocky bottom, to the driftwood line, safely away from the breaking waves and the undercurrent, and then, with a last effort, she managed to haul herself and the dinghy up onto the grass.

She couldn’t move her hips and legs, but she thought the other people on the beach would come to her aid. “Can you help me, please?” She could hear them chattering and moving about, but as she asked again for assistance, she didn’t realize she was completely alone and hallucinating.

Forty-two hours in the dinghy. Now Judy lay on the grass, dehydrated, depleted, and bleeding. The physical exertion and mental anguish made her overwrought, and she couldn’t settle down. It had taken an entire day to reach this cove, and the sun was setting. It was urgent that she get out of her wet clothing before it got too dark and too cold. A part of her mind stayed alert to the tasks still at hand.

Judy struggled to remove her clothing. Her foul-weather pants came off inside out, and she noticed that while they were red on the outside, the inside lining was a bright yellow. This was encouraging; yellow is considered an international color of distress, since yellow and orange are the easiest colors to sight from a distance. She would lay them out in the morning. She took off her fleece jacket and, very systematically, working from the center, wrung out all the water. She took off her black T-shirt, flung it aside, and put the polar fleece layer back on. Next she tried to get the fleece pants off, but it was just too difficult. The only thing she could do was to pull the fabric away from her legs and twist the material to get as much water out as possible. But it wasn’t just water; she had shells embedded in her hands and feet, and she was covered with diesel and jellyfish and urine. She collapsed into a dreamless sleep.

In the morning she awoke to the sound of voices, but they were the hallucinations of hope. She saw that she was in a tiny cove. The beach at the shoreline was partly sandy, but mainly rocks. She was lying farther up, on the grass, and behind her were steep hills covered with what appeared to be impenetrable native bush. Over to one side were the tall, green, swordlike flax plants ubiquitous in New Zealand. The Maori and many artists use them to create baskets and bags, and she had read about them in one of her arts books. She wondered if the roots were succulent, and if there were any other plants with cupped leaves holding precious rainwater. She was parched.

Judy crawled toward the flax, but she didn’t have the strength to go very far. She couldn’t see any other possible water source, critical to her survival. Nearby, though, she discovered sticks scattered about, and found two that were three feet long. She tightened the Velcro on the ankles of the inside-out foul-weather pants and stuck the driftwood sticks into the legs. She had fashioned a perfect hailing distress flag, a big yellow V. Every time a boat went by, she raised her flag and waved and screamed, but no one saw her. She realized she was too low to be observed and would have to move again. She managed to drag herself over to a rock ledge about ten feet away. Although the movement exacerbated her pain, she was somehow able to get herself into a sitting position. All day she sat and waited for boats to pass by, and all day she waved her yellow pants and nobody came. There was a hornets’ nest on the rocks nearby, and the hornets swarmed around her face. She knew time was running out. She had never been so thirsty, and she calculated that that she had been without drinking water for at least sixty hours. According to her Medicine at Sea classes, she had twelve more hours.

Another boat came by and she screamed and waved, but there was no response. She looked at her watch. It was just after four P.M.; it would be dark by eight. She was grateful that it was spring in the Southern Hemisphere, with the longer hours of daylight. She saw a dark cloud moving above her and thought,
Thank goodness, it’s going to rain and I won’ t die of dehydration before I get to tell my story.
She took the sticks out of the foul-weather pants and used the pants to form a well in her lap to collect the forthcoming water. The cloud passed by without dropping any water, but as she looked up at it in despair, she noticed there was a plane flying low overhead. She hurried to get the sticks back into the pants so she could wave, but she was too slow. Like the cloud, the plane continued on.

Eleven

Searching for
Melinda Lee

IN MARCH 1995, WHEN ANNIQUE, HER HUSBAND, MARCO, and their little girl, Geneva, departed from Panama for the Galápagos Islands, they remained in contact with five or six other boats on the same route through their marine radios. The short, informal daily chats about weather and well-being evolved into what they called the Hole in the Net, with a regular schedule and a prescribed format.

From the Galápagos to the Marquesas, there were twenty-five international boats, including the
Melinda Lee,
making the same long passage to French Polynesia. Annique told everyone that she had been designated as net controller because she was bossier than anyone else. In truth, her beautiful English accent was soothing, and according to her listeners, she was always unflustered and methodical. Every boat that joined the net gave Annique background information, including the type, size, and color of boat, number of persons aboard, and a land-based emergency contact phone number. The net gave everyone a sense of community, but they didn’t meet in person until they reached the Marquesas, where they celebrated the successful end of a passage with a big potluck dinner on the beach.

It was advantageous that Annique was proficient, because the net grew. They collected boats on passages from the Marquesas to the Tuamotus, Tahiti, the Cook Islands, Niue, Fiji, and several other islands as they continued westward across the South Pacific. Annique and Marco had a special spot in their hearts for
Melinda Lee.
They had first encountered the Sleavins in Colón, Panama, and the two families shared adventures as they continued to cross paths. Their daughter, Geneva, enjoyed playing with Ben and Annie, and when she was four years old, Geneva had her first-ever sleep away from home aboard
Melinda Lee,
in the Cook Islands.

In the Southern Hemisphere’s spring season, as boats began to depart from Tonga and Fiji, the Hole in the Net resumed. Those who selected Australia as their destination split off and formed their own net.

Thirty boats were heading to New Zealand over a period of several weeks in November 1995, and the Hole in the Net resumed. Annique conducted roll call every morning and, when weather conditions were especially bad, in the evening as well.

Thursday 23 November, 1995

Morning Roll Call

0845-0930 (NZDT) (NZ daylight savings time)

Boat: MELINDA LEE

Location: lat 33°13’ S, long 176°24’ E

Course: 180 Magnetic, speed 5.5-6.5 knots

Wind: E 25-30 (Gust 37)

Seas: 8’

Cloud cover: 80%

Barometer: 1020 (up 7)

Other: 130 nm (nautical miles) to Opua, staysail only

Note: AQUAVIT (in Opua harbor) makes a contact and they switch frequencies.

(Last transmission from the MELINDA LEE to the Hole in the Net. From the Log of Annique Goldenberg, Net Controller, on the sailing vessel RUQUCA, sailing from Fiji to New Zealand.)

Ten boats on their way to the North Island of New Zealand followed the
Melinda Lee
on the roll call, some going to Opua, some to Whangarei, and some to Auckland. In each report the wind and sea conditions varied slightly, but everyone was concerned about a weather report forecasting two fronts coming in.

Friday 24 November, 1995

Morning Roll Call

0845—0930 (NZDT)

Boat: MELINDA LEE

Note: No check-in. I assume they are busy checking in at Opua.

Log addendum: Since MELINDA LEE is fastidious about maintaining regular contact, I call Kerikeri Radio to ask if Judy had checked in the evening of Thursday, 23 November. Kerikeri Radio says no.

Routinely, Annique urged all boats to check in whenever they made landfall, assuring the net of their safe arrival. Not all did; some were occupied with immigration procedures, and some were asleep after a long passage. If a boat did not respond on roll call, Annique requested information from other boats in the anchorage. On this particular passage, many boats also checked in with Kerikeri Radio, an official station in the Bay of Islands with weather information.

Friday 24 November 1995

Morning Roll Call

1800 (NZDT)

Log addendum: AQUAVIT (in Opua) tells me that MELINDA LEE has still not arrived in Opua; they have been waiting for them. AQUAVIT’s VHF is not good and so they asked WALACHIN to check on VHF to see if anyone else has seen them. No one has.

I call Kerikeri on 4445.0 KHz after evening roll call to ask if they have heard from ML tonight (24th), they have had no contact tonight but we are told that ML checked in last night after all. They passed on the message that they have battery problems and will be in on Sat. (25th) morning. Great relief.

Saturday 25 November 1995

0830-0930 (NZDT)

Boat: MELINDA LEE

Note: THEY HAVE NOT ARRIVED IN OPUA.

Log addendum:

AQUAVIT informed us that there was confusion at Kerikeri. The vessel with battery problems due to arrive Sat. morning is MARY LOU TOO.

MELINDA LEE HAS STILL NOT ARRIVED.

Kerry on MYTHRA and Lewjean on WINDOW are 100% sure that MELINDA LEE did check in with KERIKERI the evening roll call of Thursday 23rd Nov.

They remember that MELINDA LEE (JUDY) said they would arrive the following morning (FRIDAY 24th) in Opua, no position given.

Word will go out on the various nets to look out for MELINDA LEE.

NOTE: After the net I speak to Kerikeri to inform them that we have not had any word from MELINDA LEE on our net this morning (25th).

Have they heard anything? No.

I also inform them that 2 of the boats on my net clearly remember MELINDA LEE checking in with Kerikeri the evening roll call of Thurs. 23rd Nov. Kerikeri will check their log book as soon as they can.

I give them the last known information I have on MELINDA LEE from the morning of Thurs. 23rd Nov. Plus any information I have on the boat:

(Info given): MIKE, JUDY, BEN (9) ANNIE (7) SLEAVIN * USA * WCQ 7351 * 47’ COMPASS CUTTER * WHITE HULL / BLUE STRIPE / BLUE DECK * 406 EPIRB * 6-PERSON GOODYEAR LIFE-RAFT *

I also inform them that MELINDA LEE was very good about checking in every day. In my opinion they have some problem as they have missed two check-ins and they are definitely overdue.

[We believe] THEY LOST CONTACT BETWEEN THE HOURS OF 1930 ON THE 23rd AND 0830 ON THE 24th.

RUQUCA arrives in Opua in the afternoon (Saturday 25th).

I have various conversations with Kerikeri on the VHF.

I pass on a contact address in the USA we have for MELINDA LEE:

Maureen (Reenie) Lull and her address and phone number in Hermosa Beach, California.

AQUAVIT has been very active in alerting people to the fact that MELINDA LEE is DEFINITELY OVERDUE AND HAS CEASED RADIO CONTACT.

Sunday 26 November 1995

Morning Net

0845-0930 (NZDT)

Log Addendum: NO WORD FROM MELINDA LEE.

NO SIGHTINGS FROM OTHER YACHTS ON THE NET.

YACHTS STILL OUT THERE CONTINUE TO KEEP A LOOK OUT.

WE ARE INFORMED BY KERIKERI THAT THE SEARCH HAS BEEN CLASSIFIED CLASS 3, WHICH IS WHEN THE VESSEL MIGHT BE 30 OR MORE MILES OFFSHORE. IT REQUIRES AN AIRCRAFT THAT HAS LONGER RANGE THAN ONE SEARCHING THE COASTLINE. AN ORION WILL BE FLYING THIS MORNING TO SEARCH, PLUS ANY SMALL AIRCRAFT IN THE DISTRICT.

Early that afternoon, Sunday, November 26, at Kerikeri Radio’s request, Annique and Marco invited other sailors to come aboard
Ruquca
to gather information. They tried to plot
Melinda Lee
’s course, discussed the possibility of equipment malfunctions, and took collective notes on any ship sightings.

All of this information was given to Jon and Maureen Cullen, the operators of Kerikeri Radio. It was conveyed to search and rescue personnel, who were also told the net had been in regular contact over the passage,
Melinda Lee
was always meticulous about responding during a passage and upon arrival, and contact had ceased suddenly. They were also informed of the last possible position of the
Melinda Lee,
as deduced by the cooperative effort of several yachts from the net.

The National Rescue Coordination Centre (NRCC) in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, had charge of the search. Since they were looking for a vessel some thirty miles offshore, the search was designated a Class 3, and a Royal New Zealand Air Force Orion aircraft with the necessary range would be sent out to sea. The officials plotted out their search patterns, with an initial investigative area of 144 square miles. The Orion would be sent out to sea, and the NRCC recommended that the Northland Search and Rescue Squad conduct a coastline search. The positions on this squad are voluntary; all the members also hold full-time jobs with the Whangarei police force.