The Open Boat: A Backstory Unveiled

'The Open Boat' is a short story by American author Stephen Crane, first published in 1897. It is based on Crane's own experience of being stranded at sea for thirty hours when the ship he was travelling on, the SS Commodore, sank off the coast of Florida. Crane, a correspondent for an American newspaper, was on his way to Cuba to cover the Cuban insurrection against Spain. Crane and three other men were forced to navigate their way to shore in a small boat. One of the men, an oiler named Billy Higgins, drowned while trying to swim to shore. Crane wrote the story soon after.

Stephen Crane's journey to Cuba as a war correspondent

In 1896, Stephen Crane accepted an offer to travel to Cuba as a war correspondent. He was hired by the Bacheller newspaper syndicate to cover the Cuban insurrection against Spain. On 27 November 1896, the 25-year-old Crane left New York by train, bound for Jacksonville, Florida.

Upon arrival in Jacksonville, Crane registered at the St. James Hotel under the alias of Samuel Carleton to maintain anonymity while seeking passage to Cuba. He met 31-year-old Cora Taylor, with whom he began a lasting relationship.

On New Year's Eve 1896, Crane set sail for Cuba from Jacksonville on the SS Commodore. The ship carried 27 or 28 men, as well as supplies and ammunition for the Cuban rebels. On the St. Johns River, less than 2 miles from Jacksonville, the Commodore struck a sandbar in a dense fog and damaged its hull. Although it was towed off the sandbar the following day, it was beached again in Mayport and further damaged.

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. As the ship took on more water, Crane described the engine room as "a scene at this time taken from the middle kitchen of hades".

Commodore's lifeboats were lowered in the early hours of 2 January 1897, and the ship sank at 7 am. 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 overturned in the surf, forcing the exhausted men to swim to shore; one of them, an oiler named Billie Higgins, died.

Crane was reunited with Taylor several days after the ordeal, and quickly wrote his initial report of the sinking while waiting in Jacksonville for another ship. Desperate for work, he soon left for New York to secure a job covering the impending Greco-Turkish War.

Crane's ship, the SS Commodore, sinking

On the evening of December 31, 1896, the SS Commodore, an American steamboat, set sail from Jacksonville, Florida, carrying 27 or 28 men, as well as a cargo of supplies and ammunition for Cuban rebels. The ship was crewed by Captain Edward Murphy and helmed by 25-year-old American writer Stephen Crane, who was travelling to Cuba to work as a newspaper correspondent during the Cuban insurrection against Spain.

In the early hours of January 2, 1897, the Commodore struck a sandbar in dense fog less than two miles from Jacksonville, damaging its hull. Despite being towed off the sandbar the following day, the ship was beached again in Mayport, Florida, sustaining further damage. That evening, a leak began in the boiler room, and the ship's water pumps malfunctioned. As the Commodore took on more water, Crane described the engine room as resembling "a scene at this time taken from the middle kitchen of Hades."

By 7 a.m. on January 2, the Commodore's lifeboats were deployed, and the ship sank. Crane was one of the last to leave the ship, boarding a 10-foot dinghy with three other men, including Captain Murphy. They 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. One of them, an oiler named Billie Higgins, died.

Crane and three other men stranded at sea

In January 1897, American author Stephen Crane was stranded at sea for thirty hours when the ship he was sailing on, the SS Commodore, sank off the coast of Florida. Crane, a correspondent for an American newspaper, was on his way to Cuba to cover the Cuban insurrection against Spain. He and three other men—the ship's captain, Edward Murphy, an oiler named Billie Higgins, and a cook—were forced to navigate their way to shore in a small boat.

The four men faced exhaustion, hunger, and the constant threat of the relentless waves. They spent two nights in the lifeboat, taking turns rowing and resting. They were unsure if they would survive and exchanged addresses in case any of them died. On the morning of the third day, they decided to attempt to swim to shore, knowing that the waves would destroy the lifeboat and endanger their lives. As they neared the shore, a large wave capsized the boat, and the men were thrown into the cold sea. The oiler, the strongest swimmer, sadly drowned, while the other three men were rescued.

The men's attempts to navigate their way to shore

The men were weak from hunger and exhaustion, and they were uncertain if they would survive. They exchanged addresses in case any of them died. On the morning of the third day, the captain decided they must try to reach the shore and be ready to swim when the boat capsized, as they knew it inevitably would. As they got closer to land, the waves grew bigger and more violent. Eventually, a large wave hit the boat, capsizing it and throwing the men into the sea. The oiler, the strongest swimmer, sadly drowned, while the other three men were rescued by people on the shore.

Crane's inspiration for the short story

Stephen Crane's short story 'The Open Boat' was inspired by his own experience of surviving a shipwreck off the coast of Florida in 1897. Crane was stranded at sea for thirty hours when his ship, the SS Commodore, sank after hitting a sandbar. He and three other men were forced to navigate their way to shore in a small boat; one of the men, an oiler named Billie Higgins, drowned after the boat overturned.

Crane's personal account of the shipwreck and the men's survival, titled "Stephen Crane's Own Story", was first published a few days after his rescue. He subsequently adapted his report into narrative form, and the resulting short story "The Open Boat" was published in Scribner's Magazine in 1897. The story is told from the point of view of an anonymous correspondent, with Crane as the implied author; the action closely resembles the author's experiences after the shipwreck.

The story is divided into seven sections, each told mainly from the point of view of the correspondent, based upon Crane himself. 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, yet capable of leadership; the cook, fat and comical, but optimistic that they will be rescued; and the oiler, Billie, who is physically the strongest, and the only one in the story 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; nevertheless, the oiler and the correspondent take turns rowing toward shore, while the cook bails water to keep the boat afloat. When they see a lighthouse on the horizon, their hope is tempered with the realisation of the danger of trying to reach it. Their hopes dwindle further when, after seeing a man waving from the shore, and what may or may not be another boat, they fail to make contact.

The final chapter begins with the men's resolution to abandon the floundering dinghy they have occupied for thirty hours and to swim ashore. As they begin the long swim to the beach, Billie the oiler, the strongest of the four, swims ahead of the others; 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 is eventually able to swim on. After three of the men safely reach the shore and are met by a group of rescuers, they find Billie dead, his body washed up on the beach.

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