Shipwreck off Australia: Dragged Towards the Rocks

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28:52It's two days later, 10 kilometers off the coast of Tasmania. On board a flimsy craft in the bobbing swell, the crew of the lost ship Blythe Star try to maintain focus, try to remain optimistic. It's been around 48 hours since their vessel sank. It should be around now that someone notices her failure to arrive at King Island. Surely a rescue will be launched soon enough. In the meantime, the crew keep busy. Everybody got allocated with some responsibilities. It wasn't much. The chief cook, or the cook, was in charge of the rations, and they were pretty ordinary rations, a bit of glucose powder and tin water.

29:37The crew might be getting organised, but the life raft itself is completely at the mercy of a weather system known as the Roaring Forties. Ferociously strong winds, common in the southern hemisphere. Right now, these gales are forcing them further away from the coast, away from any search and rescue mission being launched. If the craft continues on its current trajectory, the crew could easily freeze to death.

30:05One crew member, Ken Jones, tries to rally the troops, because he can spot some blurry shapes in the distance. Ken Jones, who was the chief mate, was an inspiration. A very, very smart guy. A great guy. Brave, tough, tough guy. And he said, there's lights out here. And he was referring to fishing boats. He says, there's fishermen out here. And we should be able to get them. They're not that far away. In terrible conditions, the image of a fishing vessel on the horizon looks like a ghost ship. its nets silhouetted by the fading light of the day. Ken Jones waves a flare over his head in huge, sweeping arcs.

30:50The fire burns blood red in the dusk air. Surely they've been spotted. The ten men are convinced this is it. They're saved. Ken holds on as long as he can, the flare singeing his skin, until he stops. His shoulders sag. The flare fizzles out.

31:14You can see quite clearly that the fishing boat is changing direction, but not towards them. He said, I'm sorry to say that they've taken off, they've switched off the lights, the deck lights, and they're gone. The sense of abandonment in the raft is palpable. Mick is convinced that these fishermen were interlopers, fishing in Australian waters illegally. Fearing being caught in the act, they ignored the blithe star's flare and fled. The international law and practice is that you never leave a seafarer in such a circumstance. Seafarers leaving seafarers is unforgivable, or for any survivor, quite frankly.

32:03As morale on board drops, the intensity of the weather increases. Screaming gales hammer the tiny inflatable on all sides. The men cling desperately to the craft's slick, rubbery surface. They huddle together, terrified beneath the canopy, as they tumble over a series of stomach-churning crests and troughs. The sheer power of the Southern Ocean is testing the life raft to breaking point. There's no restraints in the raft Nothing to hang on to We were just bounced around like toys We're smashing into each other, headbutting each other And bailing water out as best we can to stay afloat Like I had ten rounds with Muhammad Ali at the end of it all

32:51For days, the torment continues They're constantly shifting direction closer to the coast, further from the coast, almost entirely powerless against the savagery of the open ocean. The crew try their best to steer nearer to the land, putting out the life raft's sea anchor and paddling with what's left of their strength. But they make little to no progress. And then, after seven days at sea, things go from desperate to tragic.

33:26Second engineer John Sloan has been without his thyroid medication for a week Manfully he has attempted to do his part To be a useful member of the crew But he's grown weaker and weaker He took his turn in paddling He took his turn in whatever could be done In fact we had to argue with him not to To sit back and rest Very soon he passed away And that really, that was a kicker. That knocked the stuffing out of us. You know, we half suspected that there would be casualties, but we'd beat the worst opportunity for that to happen by getting off the ship. If we can stay alive and keep working on them finding us, searching for us, we should be right.

34:10Little did we know that wasn't going to be the case at all. That was a body blow, and that cranked it up to a much more serious circumstance than where it was. I'd never seen a dead person in my life and he was right next to me.

34:30The remaining crew members cover John's body and decide to keep him on board. If help arrives in time, they can at least deliver him to his family. But after another 12 agonising hours of floating and hoping, there is still nothing. They resolve that they cannot keep John on the raft any longer. That was one of the deepest parts of the whole exercise, was to bury him at sea, give him a seafarer's funeral. Me, along with others, helped slip him over the side, and we hardly spoke to each other for a few days, except when we had to, because we had to stay alive and do our best. Dread and desperation gripped the men.

35:12Their meagre food and water supplies are all but gone, and there is a creeping feeling that they are now just waiting for the inevitable. They paddle when they can, but people are increasingly unable or unwilling to keep the effort up. I was so angry because that pause in paddling took us way back out to sea again. You could sense that our stamina and our ability to continue to keep the fight up was waning.

35:50Then, eight days after the sinking, the weather finally starts to turn. The wind that seemed determined to drag them all the way to Antarctica finally relents, and the inflatable is pushed northward for an extended period of time. Mick is under the life raft's canopy, lying listlessly on his back. He hears the relentless, never-ending slosh and slap of the water on the dinghy. And then he hears something else. His crewmates, Mick Power, calling out from the front of the craft. Everybody weakly scrambles towards the edges of the vessel. They are suddenly surrounded by towering rock formations. Gnarled, jagged skyscrapers that loom out of the ocean.

36:41The battered life raft is being sucked towards these giant hazards, caught in a vortex between three rocky pillars. They were huge pinnacles, I mean, three, four hundred feet tall, and there was a small gap between them that we'd got sucked into and couldn't get out. We'd be toast, absolute toast. So me and Mick got a hold of the paddles and just paddled. I don't know where we found our energy, but we paddle and paddle and paddle. The current seems determined to draw them onto the rocks. With a gargantuan effort, Mick plunges his oar into the freezing water again and again and fights for his life.

37:25With a final grunt and a heave, they escape the riptide. Got through by the skin of our teeth, and then we came out on the other side and could barely move. was in agony and Mick was in exactly the same. Both Micks collapse back into the inflatable, utterly spent. They've used up precious energy. There's almost nothing left in the tank.

37:53Darkness falls and the remaining survivors of the Blythe Star lie, barely moving, around the remnants of their battered inflatable. These rafts, they're really just to keep you there for a short period of time. and then you get picked up and rescued and what have you, and this raft was really, worked the ass off it. It was in terrible state. With their vessel and their bodies failing, the men have little hope left to cling on to. But as they drift through the night, something catches Mick's eye. A cliff face. Not another rock in the ocean. It's something more substantial, more solid. It's land.

38:35The men squint through the blackness We've seen, or we thought we've seen A road along the side of the cliff That we're heading towards And so collective wisdom was Well, let's get over and have a look And then we can determine what our next action is Summoning his last vestiges of strength Mick paddles the dinghy in the direction of the rock face It's brutal He's on the verge of hypothermia at times hallucinating and blacking out. Somehow, he and his crewmates steer the raft in the direction of the cliffs. But as they draw close, it becomes obvious they've made a mistake. When we got close enough, we realized it wasn't a road.

39:22It was just a part of the cliff face. And there's no way there's a car or anything going up and down that. And now, they have ventured too close to the cliffs. A labyrinth of sharp, sinister boulders poke out all around, half-hidden obstacles, each one threatening to tear a final, deadly hole in the life raft. Dancing in the froth, slimy black and green tendrils offer the men a lifeline. Mick throws himself to the edge and grabs onto the seaweed, arms tremoring. He can't let it slip through his grasp. we spent the night hanging on to kelp to anchor us as best we can. And we'd lose it and then have to go and pull up some more kelp.

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40:41Hey Chicago, class it up with Crocs. You know back to school is coming in fast. So why wait to find your new Fave footwear? Step into a local Crocs store and step into your new look. Try it. Style it. Make it yours. Because the right pair doesn't just show up. It shows off. First day fits, handled. Walk out ready for whatever's next. Visit your nearest Croc store today. It's the following morning. Somehow, the crew have survived another night. Their dinghy remains in one piece. Just. Through exhaustion or delirium, Mick drifted off during the night. It takes him a few moments to get his bearings, as one of his raftmates gives him a shake and wakes him up.

41:35Birds caw above in the cold morning air, and Mick's bleary eyes focus on his surroundings. Malcolm McCarroll grabbed me and said, wake up, wake up, we're close to the beach. Mick is only semi-lucid, But then the sight of the coast snaps him into focus Last night's deadly rocks have been replaced by a large horseshoe bay Smatterings of sand lying at the feet of tree-covered granite walls It's not the most hospitable of locations But after nine days at sea, it looks like paradise Mick doesn't waste a second It looked reasonable in comparison to every other potential landing place. And so myself and Mick Power jumped into the water, which was partly stupid because I wasn't a great swimmer at all.

42:29But thankfully, the water was only up to your chest, freezing cold. And this beach was full of boulders, huge, massive big boulders and rocks and pebbles. and it wasn't a beach at any way, shape or form. Finally, Mick and his crewmates are back on land. But no sooner have they arrived than it becomes depressingly apparent their ordeal is far from over. They're still trapped.

43:08Mick lies stretched out on the rock-strewn beach. his body numb with hunger and fatigue. Everywhere he looks, all he can see are impossibly steep cliff faces and seemingly impenetrable forest. It looks so inhospitable that one of the men even suggests getting back into the raft. Perhaps they should head out of the bay once more, in the hope of finding a more manageable entry point back into civilization. Nick cannot face this idea. And so he sets off, climbing the steep hills that surround the beach, each one covered with thick woodland. He tackles this challenge with vigor, head down, marching into the dense forest.

43:51But the terrain refuses to yield in the face of his youthful determination. I endeavored to find an exit to get out of the place, but to no avail, and it was a disaster. Mick returns, breathing heavily, scratched and bruised. Escaping the bay is proving just as hard as escaping the sea. At least the beach does offer a chance for the crew to recoup some strength. Flowing down one of the cliffs is a stream. Mick walks over to investigate. There was fresh water, and we just all went up and devoured as much water as we could physically drink. And we had a respite there for a period of time. More hydrated than he's been in days, Mick tries to traverse the cliff face again and again.

44:44But it's no use. He's gone for hours at a time, but never gets further than a few meters. Sometimes others come with him, but that doesn't help either. It is impossible to navigate this harsh, overgrown assault course. After another unsuccessful solo attempt, Mick turns back once again. When he returns to the beach, he finds the crew spread out, dotted around the bay, each man in his own little world. Someone is missing. There is no sign of Chief Officer Ken Jones. When I got back, I said, where's Ken? And they said, he's down there. And they pointed to where he was, and he was sitting on a rock.

45:29And he took off his jacket and most of his clothes and just looked out to sea. I went up and, you know, gave him a shake, and he was cold as anything. He was, I could tell he was dead. And it broke my heart because he encouraged us to do the things that need to be done. He did things that others should have done and didn't. But Ken was a true leader. Moments later, Mick also discovers the body of Chief Engineer John Eagles. Like Ken, John had been decisive and brave during your deal, particularly when shutting off the engines as the Blythe star sank. Both men have succumbed to exposure. Extreme hypothermia confused their body temperatures, making them feel hot and causing them to peel off their clothes, exposing them to the elements.

46:31The weight of tragedy hangs heavily over the bay But the loss of his crewmates also fortifies mixed determination To get off the beach So Malcolm McCarroll and I made a decision that we were going to go And we're not coming back We're going to walk and walk and walk and we'll either find something, our rescue or resource, or we'll die. But we can't sit here, can't stay here. The ship's cook, Alfie Simpson, wants to join Mick and Malcolm for this final attempt. Staying on the beach will only end one way. This really is their last throw of the dice. Anything happens to any of us, we've got to keep going.

47:12We don't stop for anybody, we keep going until we get out of here.

47:24It's the next morning. Yesterday, after hours of slogging through the brush, Mick, Malcolm, and Alfie had to rest, huddling up together under a large fern tree for the night. Now, as dawn filters through the canopy, the three men wake, feeble and famished. They set off again. As the day heats up around them, the midday sun pierces holes in the tree line over their heads, casting forlorn shadows on the ground. The forest is slowly starting to thin out. The steepness of the incline starts to level off under their filthy, bloodied feet. Perhaps they really are making progress after all. And then, seemingly out of nowhere, Mick steps out from the forest and onto a road.

48:20A quiet, dirt road surrounded by dry shrubs, but a road nevertheless. Toes blistered and legs wobbling. They stick to this dusty track, following it as it winds onwards. And then, the men stop. There is a distant sound, something rumbling through the trees. We heard a truck talking to each other saying, Does that sound like a truck? We said, yeah, it sounds like a truck coming through its gears. I said, keep quiet, let's listen to it for a second. The man turned, and sure enough, approaching from behind, is a bright red truck. After 11 appalling days, the end is in sight. They can't blow this chance.

49:08Let's not scare this bloke off, because we look like convicts that have escaped from prison or something. He or she might think, let's get out of her, put it in reverse and nick off. So we waited till the very last minute. We ran down and just put our hand up. I jumped onto the passenger side. He said, who are you? Who are you? I said, look, we're off the Blythe Star. He said, no, you're not. They're dead.

49:34It takes a little back and forth to convince the truck driver, a forestry worker named Rod, that they are indeed surviving members of the Blythe Star. Turns out the search and rescue operation has already been called off. with the authorities concluding the crew must be lost to the sea. And yet, here they are, living and breathing. Mick, Malcolm, and Alfie clamber into Rod's truck, and soon enough, rescuers are dispatched to the bay to recover the remaining survivors, as well as the bodies of Ken and John.

50:16While convalescing in hospital, Mick learns that the search for the Blythe Star was called off after just four days. The rescue operation faced problems and confusion from the off. There had been no mayday signal, no information conveyed about the Blythe Star's chosen route. The authorities didn't know where to look or what to look out for. Nobody knew which way the ship was going, whether it was going west about to King Island or east about. So instead of looking for a needle in a haystack, we've got two or three needles in haystacks all over the place because of the lack of knowledge of where the preferred route was to get to there.

51:01The sinking of the MV Blythe Star and the tragic loss of three of its crew turns out to be a watershed moment in Australian maritime practices. New regulations are introduced regarding life rafts. Emergency position indicating radio beacons, or EPIRBs, become mandatory. And procedures are updated that require captains to make regular check-ins with the maritime authorities. These changes come about in no small part thanks to Mick. as part of his work as an official of the Seaman's Union of Australia. Throughout his career, he has fought tirelessly for seafarers' rights and protections. As for his own story, it takes 42 years before Mick speaks publicly about the Blythe Star.

51:48I chose not to talk about it at all shortly after the sinking. It has not gone away. It will never go away. Eventually, he decides to share his account To give the families of his crewmates clarity about what happened Now, more than half a century has passed since the catastrophe Reflecting upon it, Mick puts his remarkable survival at sea Down to the life he hoped was waiting for him back on land I never ever considered that I was going to die I wouldn't allow it I just met a woman and I'd only been going out with her for a few months. And she was off having a 17th birthday party while I was fighting for my life on a life raft.

52:38And I wanted to marry that woman. I was only 18. But I was determined to make a life with that woman. And I did. And we'd been married for 50 years. And I've got two beautiful kids. My son's a seafarer and my daughter's a teacher in the teachers' union. And I've got grandkids and I'm going to make the best of my life and be a good father and a good husband. That was my driving force.

53:15Next time on Real Survival Stories, we meet Jules Mountain. As his surname suggests, he is a man destined to scale the heights. After battling cancer and emerging with a new lease of life, he takes on the epic challenge of reaching the top of Mount Everest. But when an enormous earthquake causes the slopes of the mountain to crack and crumble around him, Jules is once again left staring death in the face. The whole sky, everything I can see, is full of snow, and it's hurtling towards us. and I'm thinking, what do I do? What do I do? I'm about to die.

53:57That's next time on Real Survival Stories. Listen today without ads and without waiting a week by joining Noisa Plus. Click the subscription banner at the top of the feed to get started. At Oli, we've got wellness down to a science. From PMS to pregnancy to menopause, our women's wellness line offers science-backed support for every stage. No judgment, no shame. None of the stigma. Just supplements designed to meet you wherever you're at. OLLI, choose science over shame. Find support at a retailer near you or on ollie.com. That's O-L-L-Y dot com.

54:37Hey Chicago, class it up with Crocs. You know back to school is coming in fast. So why wait to find your new Fave footwear? Step into a local croc store and step into your new look. Try it. Style it. Make it yours. Because the right pair doesn't just show up. It shows off. First day fits, handled. Walk out ready for whatever's next. Visit your nearest croc store today.