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from Shipwreck A Saga of Sea Tragedy and Sunken Treasure by Dave Horner The weakened vessel now shifted somewhat to starboard. I knew the galleon was definitely on the bottom and beginning to break. I began running to the mid section of the main deck. The seas were already entering over the gangway area and waves were breaking with great force over the side of the ship. A man near the gangway stood over a chest. As I approached him, I realized it was Gaspar de los Reyes, the assistant pilot. Without speaking a word he hastily undressed. He motioned to me to follow suit. We both stripped to only our shirt and underpants. Following him, I groped my way along the rigging of the mast on the port side. The main mast and tackle, already broken and fallen into the sea, were now banging destructively against the side of the galleon. I watched the pilot dive into the water head first. I knew it was time for me to make a decision. The sound of the ship splitting apart indicated what little time remained. I realized the hull of the ship, as well as the sterncastle, were in the process of collapsing. Because I could not swim, I looked for the portion of the main mast and rigging in the sea, still secured to the port side. The cracking and splintering of the after-portion of the galleon increased with the intensity of the north wind, adding to the agonies of those still alive. The cold was unbearable. The incessant noise created terror and fear. With sea water now covering my feet, I noticed a hatch floating alongside. The current literally brought it to me. I jumped quickly and clumsily in its direction. My body weight sent me plummeting. I sank unfalteringly beneath the water, but was not submerged long. I soon found myself being squeezed between some brackets and planks. This is where I nearly drowned. Totally terrified because of my inability to swim, I managed somehow to maneuver, squirming and struggling with all my strength, to achieve an upright attitude on the miserable piece of wood, now my temporary salvation. As I clung to the hatch cover trying not to be washed overboard, the entire sterncastle of the MARAVILLAS, all three decks of it, crashed in a tumbling fall, astern to starboard. The tower of breaking wood sent horrified and screaming people sprawling into the sea in every direction. The huge structure came down with such a thundering crash it seemed to eerily equalize the bashing of the high wind and eruption of the seas, mollifying the nightmare everyone now faced. I desperately hung on, though frightened beyond belief and trembling with cold. Freezing and drenched to the bone because my shirt had ripped from my body as I struggled to climb upon the hatch cover, I cried a soft prayer, knowing death would soon come. |
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