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“Man Overboard!”

Nakhodka, Busan, Bangkok, 1992

While on board he was constantly reading books and talking nonsense. The Indonesian’s mind was slipping away and it was urgent he saw a doctor. At our first port of call, Busan in South Korea, the shipowner’s agent agreed to go with him. He came back with a bag full of meds when the ship was ready to embark, and I had him put under surveillance, to protect him as best as I could. The crew members, two at a time, were looking out for Antonio. At five and a half the next morning, I went to visit him in his cabin. His slippers were left outside, but he was nowhere to be found. I ran to the kitchen and then to the crew mess. Not a trace of him. Nobody had seen him since the shift.

I stopped the engines and we opened the holds. We sent word to the Ministry. This is what they replied: “Antonio is gone. He must have fallen overboard, claimed by the propeller”. Then we did what one does when he loses something precious and retraces his steps in the hopes of finding it: we followed our route backward. Six miles back the first time, ten miles the second, and as we sailed to the right, we miraculously stumbled upon him! I couldn’t believe my own eyes. Imagine Antonio the sailor, floating on his back like he had no care in the world, stark naked, his gaze turned to the sun, outside Laos in Cambodia. We promptly sent a lifeboat and when he was back on board, he was ecstatic.

The King ordered me to go overboard.”

“And how did you tough this one out?

The King was holding me.”

 

This story is from KEOS issue three

Unknown Oceanic Stories

Issue 03