Open Boat Tragedy: The Sinking Of The Commander

On January 2, 1897, American writer Stephen Crane survived the sinking of the SS Commodore off the coast of Florida. Crane, who was on his way to Cuba to work as a newspaper correspondent, turned his experience into the short story The Open Boat, published in June 1897. Crane was one of the last to leave the ship in a 10-foot dinghy, spending a day and a half at sea with three other men before attempting to land their craft at Daytona Beach. The small boat overturned in the surf, forcing the exhausted men to swim to shore; one of them, an oiler named Billie Higgins, died.

Crane's journey to Cuba

A leak began in the boiler room that evening, and as a result of malfunctioning water pumps, the ship came to a standstill about 16 miles from Mosquito Inlet (now Ponce de León Inlet). As the ship took on more water, Crane described the engine room as resembling "a scene at this time taken from the middle kitchen of Hades."

The Commodore's lifeboats were lowered in the early hours of the morning on January 2, 1897, and the ship sank at 7 a.m. Crane was one of the last to leave the ship in a 10-foot dinghy. He and three other men, including the captain, floundered off the coast of Florida for a day and a half before attempting to land their craft at Daytona Beach. The small boat, however, overturned in the surf, forcing the exhausted men to swim to shore; one of them, an oiler named Billie Higgins, died.

Crane's experience of surviving a shipwreck

On January 2, 1897, Crane was one of the last to leave the SS Commodore, a filibustering steamship, in a 10-foot dinghy. The ship had struck a sandbar in a dense fog, damaging its hull, and after being towed off the sandbar, it was beached in Mayport, Florida, and further damaged. Crane and three other men, including the captain, floundered off the coast of Florida for a day and a half before attempting to land their craft at Daytona Beach. The small boat, however, overturned in the surf, forcing the exhausted men to swim to shore. One of the men, an oiler named Billie Higgins, died.

Crane's account of the shipwreck and the men's survival, titled 'Stephen Crane's Own Story', was published in the New York Press on January 7, 1897, only three days after his rescue. He wrote the short story, 'The Open Boat', a few weeks later, in mid-February.

The story is told from the point of view of an anonymous correspondent, with Crane as the implied author, and the action closely resembles the author's experiences after the shipwreck. The correspondent is a condescending observer, detached from the rest of the group. The captain is injured and morose at having lost his ship, yet capable of leadership. The cook is fat and comical, but optimistic that they will be rescued. The oiler, Billie, is physically the strongest and the only character referred to by name.

The moods of the men fluctuate from anger at their desperate situation to a growing empathy for one another and the sudden realisation that nature is indifferent to their fates. The men become fatigued and bicker with one another, but the oiler and the correspondent take turns rowing towards shore, while the cook bails water to keep the boat afloat. They spot a lighthouse on the horizon, but their hopes are tempered by the danger of trying to reach it. They see a man waving from the shore, and what may be another boat, but they fail to make contact. The correspondent notices a shark swimming near the boat, but he does not seem bothered by it.

In the final chapter, the men resolve to abandon the dinghy and swim ashore. Billie, the strongest of the four, swims ahead, while the captain advances towards the shore while still holding onto the boat, and the cook uses a surviving oar. The correspondent is trapped by a local current but eventually swims on. After three of the men reach the shore, they find Billie dead, his body washed up on the beach.

Crane and three other men stranded at sea for 30 hours

On January 2, 1897, American writer Stephen Crane and three other men were stranded at sea for 30 hours after their ship, the SS Commodore, sank off the coast of Florida. Crane, who was on his way to Cuba to work as a newspaper correspondent, recounted the incident in his short story "The Open Boat," published in June 1897.

The SS Commodore struck a sandbar in a dense fog and damaged its hull on the St. Johns River, less than two miles from Jacksonville, Florida. Although it was towed off the sandbar the following day, it was again beached in Mayport, Florida, and further damaged. A leak began in the boiler room that evening, and due to malfunctioning water pumps, the ship came to a standstill about 16 miles from Mosquito Inlet (now called Ponce de León Inlet). As the ship took on more water, Crane described the engine room as resembling "a scene at this time taken from the middle kitchen of Hades."

Commodore's lifeboats were lowered in the early hours of January 2, and the ship sank at 7 a.m. Crane was one of the last to leave the ship in a 10-foot dinghy. He and three other men, including the captain, Edward Murphy, floundered off the coast of Florida for a day and a half before attempting to land their craft at Daytona Beach. However, the small boat overturned in the surf, forcing the exhausted men to swim to shore. Sadly, one of them, an oiler named Billie Higgins, drowned.

Crane's personal account of the shipwreck and the men's survival, titled "Stephen Crane's Own Story," was published just a few days after his rescue. In it, he recounted the sinking of the Commodore and the ensuing chaos, dedicating only two paragraphs to the fate of himself and his compatriots in the dinghy. Despite the tragedy, Crane's story is considered an exemplary work of literary Naturalism and is praised for its use of imagery, irony, symbolism, and exploration of themes such as survival, solidarity, and the conflict between man and nature.

Crane's newspaper account of the sinking

On January 2, 1897, the steamship SS Commodore, carrying American author Stephen Crane, sank off the coast of Florida. Crane, who was on his way to Cuba to work as a newspaper correspondent, recounted the sinking of the ship in a newspaper article titled "Stephen Crane's Own Story".

Crane's account begins by describing the chaos that ensued after the Commodore struck a sandbar in a dense fog and damaged its hull. The ship's lifeboats were lowered in the early hours of January 2, and the Commodore sank at 7 a.m. Crane was one of the last to leave the ship in a 10-foot dinghy. He and three other men, including the captain, floundered off the coast of Florida for a day and a half before attempting to land their craft at Daytona Beach.

The small boat, however, overturned in the surf, forcing the exhausted men to swim to shore. One of them, an oiler named Billie Higgins, drowned. Crane's account details the men's inability to save those stranded on the sinking ship:

> "The cook let go of the line. We rowed around to see if we could not get a line from the chief engineer, and all this time, mind you, there were no shrieks, no groans, but silence, silence and silence, and then the Commodore sank. She lurched to windward, then swung afar back, righted and dove into the sea, and the rafts were suddenly swallowed by this frightful maw of the ocean. And then by the men on the ten-foot dingy were words said that were still not words—something far beyond words."

Crane's report also describes the men's struggle to survive in the small boat, their fear of the crashing waves, and their eventual decision to abandon the boat and swim to shore. He notes the camaraderie that developed among the men, despite their different professions and backgrounds. He also mentions the presence of a shark that circled their boat and the seagulls that swooped down, trying to peck at them.

Crane's account of the sinking of the Commodore caused a sensation and spurred him to write a narrative version of the events, which became the short story "The Open Boat." The story was published in Scribner's Magazine in June 1897 and received high acclaim from contemporary critics and authors.

Crane's short story 'The Open Boat'

Stephen Crane's short story, 'The Open Boat', is based on his own experience of surviving a shipwreck off the coast of Florida in 1897. Crane, a journalist and author, was travelling to Cuba to work as a newspaper correspondent when his ship, the SS Commodore, sank after hitting a sandbar.

Crane and three other men—the ship's captain, an oiler named Billie Higgins, and the cook—were forced to navigate their way to shore in a small, 10-foot dinghy. They floundered off the coast for a day and a half before attempting to land their craft at Daytona Beach. However, the boat overturned in the surf, and the exhausted men were forced to swim to shore. Tragically, Higgins drowned.

Crane's personal account of the shipwreck, titled 'Stephen Crane's Own Story', was published just a few days after his rescue. He soon adapted this report into a short story, 'The Open Boat', which was published in Scribner's Magazine in June 1897. The story is told from the point of view of an anonymous correspondent, with Crane as the implied author.

'The Open Boat' is divided into seven sections, each told mainly from the correspondent's perspective. The first part introduces the four characters: the correspondent, a condescending observer detached from the rest of the group; the captain, who is injured and morose at having lost his ship but still capable of leadership; the cook, fat and comical, but optimistic about their rescue; and Billie, the oiler, who is physically the strongest and the only character referred to by name.

The story explores themes such as survival, solidarity, and the conflict between man and nature. It is praised for its use of imagery, irony, and symbolism and is considered an exemplary work of literary Naturalism. H.G. Wells considered 'The Open Boat' to be "beyond all question, the crown of all [Crane's] work".

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