The Disaster of the Normandie
The real strong man is the one who has self-control. On the night of March 17, 1870, Captain Halvey walked as usual from Southampton to Georgia. Ensi Island route. The night is getting thick and the mist is thick on the sea. The captain stood on the bridge and steered his "Normandy" carefully. The passengers all fell asleep. The Normandy was a large steamer, perhaps one of the most handsome mail-ships in the English Channel. It has a cargo capacity of 600 tons, a hull length of 220 feet, and a width of 25 feet. The sailors said it was "young" because it was only seven years old and was built in 1863.
The fog became thicker and thicker. After the ship sailed out of the Southampton River, it came to the vast sea, estimated to be fifteen nautical miles away from the Aigui Mountains. The ship was moving slowly. It was about four o'clock in the morning.
It was pitch black all around, and the tips of the ship's masts were barely visible.
There is nothing to fear in a British ship like this when sailing at night.
Suddenly, a black spot appeared in the deep night fog. It looked like a ghost and a mountain peak. I saw an eerie bow tilting forward, piercing the darkness and flying over among the waves. It was the "Mary", a large ship equipped with a screw propeller. It set sail from Odessa, carrying five hundred tons of wheat. It was traveling very fast and carried a very heavy load. It headed straight towards the "Normandy".
It was about to collide with the ship, and there was no way to avoid it. For a moment, the phantoms of many ships seemed to rise in the heavy fog. Before people had time to see them clearly, they were about to die and be buried in the belly of the fish.
The "Mary", which was moving at full speed, hit the side of the "Normandy" and opened a large hole in its hull.
As a result of the collision, the "Mary" itself was injured and finally stopped. There were twenty-eight crew members, one stewardess, and thirty-one passengers, twelve of whom were women.
The shock was terrifying. In an instant, men, women, children, everyone rushed to the deck. People were half-naked, running, screaming, crying, terrified, and chaos. The sea water rushes in, the turbulence is overwhelming, and it is overwhelming. The turbine stove was choked by the waves and hissed and gasped.
There are no leak-proof partitions on the ship to seal the cabins, and there are not enough lifebuoys.
Captain Halvey stood on the command podium and shouted loudly: "Everyone be quiet and pay attention to the orders! Lower the lifeboat. The women go first, other passengers follow, and the crew members follow. The six Ten people were rescued."
In fact, there were sixty-one people in one party, but he forgot about himself.
The crew quickly untied the rope of the lifeboat. Everyone swarmed up, and the momentum of pushing and pushing almost capsized the boat. Mate Oakley and the three foremen tried desperately to maintain order, but the whole crowd went crazy because of the sudden change and became chaotic. A few seconds ago, everyone was sleeping soundly. Suddenly, and immediately, they were about to die. How could this not make people feel devastated!
At this moment, the captain's majestic voice overwhelmed all the cries and noises, and in the darkness people heard this brief and powerful conversation: "Where is Locke Mechanic?" "Did the captain call me?" "How's the stove?" "The seawater is flooded." "Where's the fire?" "It's out." "How's the machine?" "It's stopped."
The captain shouted: "Oakley Ford "First mate?"
"Here we are!"
"How many minutes do we have?" "Twenty minutes," said the captain. Said, "Let everyone get into the boat. Mate Oakley, do you have your pistol?" "Yes, Captain." "You will shoot any man who dares to get ahead of a woman. ”
Everyone immediately fell silent. No one defied his will, and people felt that a great soul appeared above them.
The "Mary" also lowered its lifeboats and rushed to rescue those who died due to its accident.
The rescue work was carried out in an orderly manner, with almost no disputes or fights. Things are always like this. Wherever there is despicable egoism, there will also be tragic self-sacrifice to save others.
Halwei stood majestically in his captain's post, commanding, dominating, and leading everyone. He considered everything and everyone, and faced the panicked crowd, he remained calm and composed, as if he was not giving orders to people but to disaster, and even the wrecked ship seemed to obey his orders.
After a while, he shouted: "Get Clement out!"
Clement was a cadet sailor, just a child.
The ship sank slowly in the deep water.
People rowed their boats as fast as they could and shuttled back and forth between the "Normandy" and the "Marie". "Hurry up!" the captain shouted again.
Twenty minutes were up and the ship sank.
The bow of the boat went down first, and in a moment, the seawater also submerged the stern of the boat.
Captain Halway, he stood on the bridge without making a gesture or saying a word. He was as motionless as cast iron and sank into the abyss with the ship. People stared at the black statue slowly sinking into the sea through the gloomy mist.
This is how Captain Halway's life ended.
No sailor on the English Channel could compare with him.
Throughout his life, he required himself to be loyal to his duties and fulfill his duties as a human being. Faced with death, he exercised his right to be a hero again.