By Laura Salas
Many people dream of sailing the seas. They fantasize about getting away from the tedium of the office, the restrictions of the suburbs, or the chaos of the city. People form elaborate plans about taking their friends, family, or loved ones out on the wide open waters where there are no lines at the grocery store, no Powerpoint presentations, and no busy sidewalks filled with people who will walk right over you.
One man who dreamt of hitting the high seas was Arthur Duperrault. Duperrault, a World War II veteran from Green Bay, Winsonsin wanted more than anything to take his family for the sailing adventure of a lifetime. At least that was the plan. And that’s what left everyone shocked when rescuers found a young girl, utterly alone at sea. How did she get there?
Terry Jo was too afraid to move. Harvey, though, was moving all over the place. Soon, Terry Jo noticed Harvey in the doorway.
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There was something in his hands. Could it be her big brother’s rifle? What was Harvey doing with the weapon?
With water reaching Terry Jo’s mattress, she came to understand that she could no longer stay in her cabin.
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Making her way through the waist-high water, Terry Jo gallantly got herself to the top of the boat again.
On the side of the boat, Terry Jo noticed the ship’s dinghy and rubber life raft. She saw Harvey and asked him: “Is the ship sinking?” Harvey answered in the affirmative. He then gave Terry Jo the line to the dinghy. Shocked, Terry Jo let the line go.
The small boat slowly separated from the deteriorating Bluebelle. A man of action, Harvey leapt overboard to get it. Terry Jo observed Harvey swim feverishly for the dinghy. She watched him disappear into the frightful and mysterious night.
Terry Jo didn’t have the dinghy, but she did have a cork life float. She hurriedly untied it. Just as she able to get it loose, the boat deck capsized.
Partly crawling and partly swimming, Terry Jo moved the float into the open water and climbed aboard.
