Show I at sea p 1 I i- i 0 1 I y 4 CAPTAIN GEORGE RGE FRIED I Ill III luck appears to have dogg d the vessel Florida from the start of her ill fated ill trip Fried laud the and morale of df the members of the rescued crew and tells of some of the hardships they endured before they were safe aboard the Arne America riCa Copyright 1929 4 Press CHAPTER The complete story of oC the rescue of the Florida cannot be concluded without payIng tribute to the men who were were saved from their Ing freighter All of oC us realized what thee themo Italians had and S 1 I I i I ever everyone one spoke soke highly of their courage cour- cour ag age an and after the job was done It was then that we got their story It seems that tho Florida had been Caught aught in the gale oft off the Atlantic Atlantic At- At lantic coast while whilo on lien her way from froni the Gulf of Mexico to Italy ShEl had rather an unfortunate start start for while in the gulf she was badly bad bad- ly buffeted and a member ot of her hei crew Clew was carried away She was in tho Atlantic storm for several days when rudder trouble gave Captain considerable difficulty Two days before lie he sent out his call caIl for help heib th the captain to make repairs himself and while lic he was engaged enga-ed in this perilous job the rudder went out of commission altogether lie He stuck at the tho post while the tho seas carried away part of the bridge smashing lifeboats fin and causing the cargo cargo of to Shift SuddenlY time the was thrown n against the rail by b ba a huge comber and two of his fingers finger were badly smashed forcing forcing- to quit lIe He returned to what was left of the bridge and discussed the situation wIth his officers The chief engineer enl enl- neer was suffering from two broken ribs as a result of being being- thrown about the engine room and four other men of the crew injured The FloridA had no doctor aboard and naturally these men were suffering suf- suf feting fering agon agony Instead of abating the storm became became be- be came worse The fhe men were in a losing fight but true to the tion ot of the sea they were not read ready to give up until all hope was gone When the SOS was was' finally broadcast broadcast broad broad- cast the crew was In iii bad shape and the ship was listing sharply The fresh water supply was ver very low and and that portion of oC the food which was wa still edible was hein doled out In small rations ThC Thit men find Uld been soaked od to the skin for several da days s 's and heing unable to sleep under those trYing condl conditions they were near nar the 1 point of exhaustion While these thee Inca were despairIng pf of hope hpe the operator stuck to his post communicating with aIlous va- va Ilous shins and finally the Amerie alone This man TM DI deserves es much of the credit for his shipmates being being- saved For thirty six hours hours- there was wa no other wireless operator left a aboard the he never the key If I asked a question the response was almost Immediate In I addition he was sendIng dots and dashes which we picked up on the radio compass to guide the America toward to him It was not until we were alongside that lie he left his room hl hi radio silenced by bv th elements When the Americas America's s 's lifeboat was near the Florida and the rope stretched between th two to effect the rescue many marly of the men had to call upon their reserve energy so soS that in iii one last desperate attempt S S i 1 t 1 I I r 6 S SS S 4 S Sc S c The cap captain ain was thrown against aint the raI b by y a I huge luge comber cember they could work hand over hand I their way to the lifeboat The injured injured in- in ns as well as the there sick were four who had contracted nionia from exposure had d to save themselves without any assistance impossible for fOl more than one man to travel along that rope at ne time It must have been very depressing to those still stin left aboard the frel freighter when the rope snapped The gale was increasing in force and the seas getting higher Fortunately Fortu- Fortu natel our men were in the best beat of physical c condition They maneuvered maneuvered ma- ma and got close enough again to throw n. n rope to them and the remaining Italians were ablo abio to abandon ship Captain Favaloro the last to leave leav told mo me afterward that he had two pets aboard a canary and a. a dog dog- The dog he under the army with the lingers fingers until he was ready to jump Into the sea sen I lb lIo had planned to rasp grasp the rope with his hand lie He rotted regretted leaving the ca canary n. ly yet saving t Was wa Impossible The dog freed himself him him- self just a as the thc skipper was getting set to leap For a moment he heS watched it struggle Ie in the water S land kind then it was carried away This His first impulse he saW said was to follow his pet In an effort to save it He realized however that this was not only dangerous but inadvisable for the lifeboat crew was ready to start back for the America as soon nR as ho he was aboard arid and he lid did not want to jeopardize the lives of the tho men So lie he left left- his home and ana his pets the greatest sacrifice a sailor can make As soon as the men got ot aboard thy they were given first aid stimulants lants food and dry lh Not One complained They came aboard as they left their ship iii nn an or or- derl dierly manner mannel without any undue haste halSte or excitement there was no scramble at an any Ca CaptaIn F S dePreSsed de- de PreSsed for a long bug while IT Tie e felt as asan an any sailor feels feel whoa when he has lost lie Ho hall had everythIng been to se sea n years 18 and was only n 31 11 old but the was hi his IllIn and anil without it h he was lost tie He tol told me ho was going guing Professor Ro Roy C. C FJ lj UnIversity of Iowa li lia a member of the Arc i of Athens II |