Man Overboard!

I continued to keep an eye on my friend from the relative safety of the between deck when suddenly a large rolling wave crashed against the side of the ship causing the entire rig to lurch forward. I watched in horror as the jolt caused John to lose his balance, stagger to the rail, and tumble overboard into the depths of the cold Atlantic.

          “John!” I screamed. “John’s fallen overboard! He’s fallen overboard!”

          The other passengers reacted quickly to my cries. Two of the men ran towards me.

“Overboard? Are you sure?” asked a man named Edward Winslow. “Where did you see him?”

“Yes, I’m sure. He was right over there!” I pointed to the location along the railing where I saw John tumble over. The men quickly ran up the ladder onto the deck and towards the railing. I ran out after to help look and I was immediately drenched with freezing rain. The layered petticoat I was wearing felt like it had gained ten pounds of soggy weight.

“I see him!” said Mr. Winslow. He was looking over the side of the boat and pointing out behind us. We all rushed over to see.

When John had lost control of his balance and fell headfirst over the side of the ship, he had reached out and grasped desperately for the railing. Miraculously he found a rope in his palm and he gripped a hold of it as tightly as anything he had probably ever held in his life. The rope was the topsail halyard and it was normally used to raise and lower the upper sail. For the time being it was used as John Howland’s lifeline. The rope wasn’t short. It was attached to the ship, but it had plenty of slack to give. We watched helplessly as the ship dragged him through the sea nearly fifty feet behind the Mayflower. He grasped tightly to the rough rope that must have been digging into his palms like a fistful of tacks. He did his best to hold his breath whenever he would fall below the ocean surface or bounce on the waves like a rag doll. Once below, he tried frantically to climb his way up the rope back to the surface. If he let go of the rope he could have easily swam to the surface but he would have lost all contact with the ship. The ship’s captain, Master Jones, would never have gone back to look for him.

 -- Man Overboard! 

from Time Trip #3, 

Witness to the First Thanksgiving 

TIME TRIP ADVENTURE 4

KILLING FOR COUNTRY  

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TIME TRIP ADVENTURE 1

THE JOURNEY TO ANCIENT GREECE 

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TIME TRIP ADVENTURE 2

A RIDE ON THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD

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TIME TRIP ADVENTURE 3

WITNESS TO THE FIRST THANKSGIVING 

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