Dougal Robertson
Encyclopedia
Dougal Robertson was a Scottish author and sailor born in Edinburgh. He joined the British Merchant Navy after attending Leith Nautical College. After leaving maritime life, Robertson began to raise a family and to work as a dairy farmer.
On 27 January, 1971, Dougal departed from Falmouth, England on board Lucette, a 43-foot wooden schooner built in 1922 which the family had purchased with their life's savings. He was accompanied by his wife Lynn, daughter Anne, son Douglas, and twin sons Neil and Sandy. Over the next year and a half, they sailed across the Atlantic, stopping at various ports of call in the Caribbean. Anne retired from the voyage in the Bahamas.
During their transit of the Panama Canal
, the family members took aboard an inexperienced crew member named Robin Williams, who was to accompany them on the next segment of their voyage to the Galapagos Islands
and beyond to the islands of the South Pacific.
On 15 June, 1972, Lucette (Lucy) was holed by a pod of killer whales and sank approximately 200 miles west of the Galapagos Islands. The group of six people on board escaped to an inflatable life raft and a solid-hull dinghy
with little in the way of tools or provisions.
Using the dinghy as a towboat powered by a jury-rigged
sail, the group made its way towards the doldrums
, hoping to find rain there so they could collect drinking water. They did so successfully, while catching turtles, dorado
, and flying fish to eat. The inflatable raft became unusable after 16 days, so the six people crowded into the three-metre long dinghy with their supplies. They then continued to use the wind and current to their advantage, moving to the northeast towards Central America
. By their 38th day as castaways, they had stored dried meat and fresh water in such quantities that they intended to begin rowing that night to speed their progress. However, they were sighted and picked up that day by a Japanese fishing trawler (Toka Maru II) on its way to the Panama Canal. Robertson, who had been keeping a journal in case they were rescued, recounted the ordeal in the 1973 book Survive the Savage Sea, which served as the foundation for the 1991 film of the same name. The story was revisited in his son Douglas's book The Last Voyage of the Lucette.
Dougal went on to write "Sea Survival: A Manual", and continued to sail until his death in 1992.
The fact that Dougal's party survived because of their dinghy, which they were able to use as a proactive lifeboat, is used by proponents of the multifunction self-rescue dinghy to make their case that the self-rescue dinghy can be a better survival option for blue water sailors than is the inflatable liferaft.
On 27 January, 1971, Dougal departed from Falmouth, England on board Lucette, a 43-foot wooden schooner built in 1922 which the family had purchased with their life's savings. He was accompanied by his wife Lynn, daughter Anne, son Douglas, and twin sons Neil and Sandy. Over the next year and a half, they sailed across the Atlantic, stopping at various ports of call in the Caribbean. Anne retired from the voyage in the Bahamas.
During their transit of the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
, the family members took aboard an inexperienced crew member named Robin Williams, who was to accompany them on the next segment of their voyage to the Galapagos Islands
Galápagos Islands
The Galápagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands distributed around the equator in the Pacific Ocean, west of continental Ecuador, of which they are a part.The Galápagos Islands and its surrounding waters form an Ecuadorian province, a national park, and a...
and beyond to the islands of the South Pacific.
On 15 June, 1972, Lucette (Lucy) was holed by a pod of killer whales and sank approximately 200 miles west of the Galapagos Islands. The group of six people on board escaped to an inflatable life raft and a solid-hull dinghy
Dinghy
A dinghy is a type of small boat, often carried or towed for use as a ship's boat by a larger vessel. It is a loanword from either Bengali or Urdu. The term can also refer to small racing yachts or recreational open sailing boats. Utility dinghies are usually rowboats or have an outboard motor,...
with little in the way of tools or provisions.
Using the dinghy as a towboat powered by a jury-rigged
Jury rig
Jury rigging refers to makeshift repairs or temporary contrivances, made with only the tools and materials that happen to be on hand. Originally a nautical term, on sailing ships a jury rig is a replacement mast and yards improvised in case of damage or loss of the original mast.-Etymology:The...
sail, the group made its way towards the doldrums
Doldrums
The doldrums is a colloquial expression derived from historical maritime usage for those parts of the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean affected by the Intertropical Convergence Zone, a low-pressure area around the equator where the prevailing winds are calm...
, hoping to find rain there so they could collect drinking water. They did so successfully, while catching turtles, dorado
Mahi-mahi
The mahi-mahi or common dolphinfish is a surface-dwelling ray-finned fish found in off-shore temperate, tropical and subtropical waters worldwide. It is one of only two members of the Coryphaenidae family, the other being the pompano dolphinfish...
, and flying fish to eat. The inflatable raft became unusable after 16 days, so the six people crowded into the three-metre long dinghy with their supplies. They then continued to use the wind and current to their advantage, moving to the northeast towards Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
. By their 38th day as castaways, they had stored dried meat and fresh water in such quantities that they intended to begin rowing that night to speed their progress. However, they were sighted and picked up that day by a Japanese fishing trawler (Toka Maru II) on its way to the Panama Canal. Robertson, who had been keeping a journal in case they were rescued, recounted the ordeal in the 1973 book Survive the Savage Sea, which served as the foundation for the 1991 film of the same name. The story was revisited in his son Douglas's book The Last Voyage of the Lucette.
Dougal went on to write "Sea Survival: A Manual", and continued to sail until his death in 1992.
The fact that Dougal's party survived because of their dinghy, which they were able to use as a proactive lifeboat, is used by proponents of the multifunction self-rescue dinghy to make their case that the self-rescue dinghy can be a better survival option for blue water sailors than is the inflatable liferaft.
See also
- Steven CallahanSteven CallahanSteven Callahan is an American author, naval architect, inventor, and sailor most notable for having survived for 76 days adrift on the Atlantic Ocean in a liferaft...
, survived a stint adrift for 76 days in the Atlantic - Maurice and Maralyn BaileyMaurice and Maralyn BaileyMaurice and Maralyn Bailey were a British couple who, in 1973, survived for 117 days on a rubber raft in the Pacific Ocean before being rescued....
, survived 117 days adrift in the Pacific. - Rose NoelleRose NoelleRose Noelle was a trimaran that capsized in the southern Pacific Ocean off the coast of New Zealand in 1989. Four men survived adrift on the wreckage of the ship for 119 days.-References:...
, trimaranTrimaranA trimaran is a multihulled boat consisting of a main hull and two smaller outrigger hulls , attached to the main hull with lateral struts...
on which 4 people survived 119 days adrift in the South Pacific. - Poon LimPoon LimPoon Lim or Lim Poon BEM was a Chinese sailor who survived 133 days alone in the South Atlantic.-Castaway:...
, who survived for 133 days adrift in the Atlantic.