The Robertson Family Survival Story
In 1970, retired merchant navy officer Dougal Robertson was running a dairy farm at Meerbrook, with his wife Lyn, 18-year-old son Douglas, daughter Anne, 17, and twin sons Neil and Sandy, both aged nine. "We lived in a very isolated situation," said Douglas, who is now 58 and living in London. "My father thought in order to compensate for that he would take us around the world in a boat to educate his children in the 'university of life'."
On 27 January 1971, the family departed from Falmouth in Cornwall on board a 13 meters wooden schooner called Lucette, which they had bought with their life savings after selling the farm. "Father's planning for this journey was zero; we didn't even have a practice sail around the bay before setting off around the world," said Douglas. "When a wave broke across the schooner and the cold wet spray lashed our faces, I suddenly got a feeling this wasn't going to be easy".
Over the next year-and-a-half, the family sailed across the Atlantic, until one day the boat was struck by killer whales near the Galapagos Islands. "The whole boat shook and something in it must have cracked. I heard this splashing noise behind me and there were three killer whales following the boat." Although wild killer whales are not considered a threat to humans, Douglas, then just a teenager, thought he was going to be "eaten alive".
The family members scrambled on board an inflatable life raft and dinghy. Dougal Robertson had the idea to sail the raft to the centre of the Pacific and catch the current back to America. The group had several cans of water and some rations on board, including dried bread, biscuits, onions and fruit, on which they managed to survive for six days. After that they caught rainwater in containers and caught fish to eat. The inflatable raft became unusable after 16 days, so the family crowded into the 3 meters long dinghy, taking turns to sit in the dry part of the boat. On 23 July 1972, 38 days into their trip in the dinghy, they were finally rescued by a Japanese fishing boat. Their story made global headlines.
In 1992, Dougal Robertson wrote a book about the family's adventure called Survive the Savage Sea, which was turned into a film. He used the profits of the book to buy another boat and went to live in the Mediterranean. In 2008, Douglas wrote his own book called The Last Voyage of the Lucette because he felt his father's account did not give other family members enough credit. "I never regretted the trip even in the darkest hours," said Douglas.
6. Why did Dougas Robertson decide to make a round-the-world voyage with all his family?
A He had got bored with running an isolated dairy farm. B He had dreamt about the voyage since his service in the navy.
C He intended to prepare his children for a naval university.
D He wanted his children to get real-world experience.
7. What did Douglas think about at the beginning of the voyage?
A The wooden schooner wasn't reliable for such a voyage.
B They had done enough training before the voyage. C The father hadn't thought over the details of the voyage.
D They were going to have an enjoyable voyage.
8. What happened to the Robertsons after they were attacked by killer whales?
A They got their schooner badly damaged. B They had to drink sea water and eat raw fish.
C They lost their life raft with the schooner.
D They had to spend 16 days in the dinghy.
9. As soon as the Robertsons were rescued they were
A interviewed by Japanese reporters.
B written about in the mass media.
C shown in a documentary movie. D featured in an adventure story.
10. Which of the following is NOT mentioned about the grown-up Douglas?
A He has written a book about their family's voyage.
B He finds their voyage a very useful life experience.
C He has come into money and moved to the Mediterranean.
D He doubts the objectivity of his father's version of the voyage.