White Squall -- the Sinking of the School Ship Albatross

The sinking of the school ship, Concordia, last February, and its similarities to the sinking of Albatross, has recently reawakened my interest in sailing. Tall ships have always fascinated me. Give me a story with sails and the high seas, and I'm hooked. Give me a story about high seas and teenagers, and, well, it's a no brainer. Maybe that's why I've always loved the 1996 movie, "White Squall" directed by Ridley Scott.

The movie is based on the actual events surrounding the 92-foot brigantine Albatross, a classroom schooner run by Christopher B. Sheldon and his wife Alice Strahan Sheldon M.D. in 1959. Operating as the Ocean Academy, ltd the Sheldon's hired on two other instructors and a cook. Up to fourteen students sailed with The Sheldons as they operated their "floating classroom" in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific Ocean.

Though the movie is a fictionalized account of the ship, it still contains moments that resonate deep within me. Early in the movie, the sailing classroom of the Albatross has brought on its teenage male crew and they've headed out into heavy, rolling seas. Actor Jeff Bridges playing the role of Captain Sheldon, commands, "All stop on the engines." The scene then quiets, the sound of the sea and wind becoming more apparent. Bridges looks to the sky and sails and says, "Behold, the power of the wind." And I feel it.

The audience then gets several eye-catching scenes as the Albatross (actually the brigantine, Eye of the Wind) cavorts through the swells. Teenage helmsman, Chuck Gieg, (played by Scott Wolf) steadies himself against the rolling deck and the soundtrack from Jeff Rona and Hans Zimmer swells. The cinematography responds in kind. Wind strains canvas and rope, the energy pouring down the masts, the deck surging ahead over waves the size of houses. There's a silly grin on Gieg's face, and in that moment, I'm there too, feeling the grip of the helm, the power of the moment flooding through the movie screen. It is one of the best filmed - and felt -- moments of any film I've ever seen.

The Albatross' story ends in tragedy during passage to Nassau, when she hits a sudden squall in the Gulf of Mexico about 125 miles west of the Dry Tortugas. Sheldon, in a 1996 interview with People magazine describes the event: ''It was as if a giant hand took hold of us. In 15 seconds the Albatross was on its side. In 60 seconds it filled with water. And then it was gone -- the ocean was calm.''

Survivor Chuck Gieg describes the event in his book, The Last Voyage of The Albatross:

"...the sky had grown considerable darker; yet the wind hadn't changed much and there was still no rain. Then I heard someone call out: "Here it comes!" Several hundred yards away the surface of the water had taken on that telltale fuzzy appearance that means a heavy rain is coming towards you. ... Then it hit in a solid sheet. With it came a slight puff of additional wind, and I saw Todd tighten his grip on the wheel.

The rain eased off after a few minutes and settled down to a steady drizzle. We began to heel over a little more sharply. Then, without any sign of warning we began to heel at an alarming angle, much farther than the sturdy old Albatross had ever heeled before. I saw Skipper head for the mainsail sheet to let out the boom and spill some air from the big sail[,] which seemed to be pulling us over.

I had been confidently waiting for the ship to right herself to get back on an even keel. But now I saw that she would never make it. The Albatross had heeled over to a ninety-degree angle and was lying flat on her side. The whole starboard half of the ship was under water, and so were her tall masts and all her sails. Her five thousand square feet of canvas, dragging in the sea, had brought our forward motion to a dead stop. ...There was no logical explanation for what had happened to us with such terrifying suddenness. "

Taken down with the ship were four students, the cook, and Sheldon's wife. The survivors scrambled into lifeboats where they floated for a day before being rescued by a passing Dutch freighter.

Of the movie, Sheldon said in a 1996 interview with The New York Times, "'I've seen the movie twice. The second time I walked out during the sinking scene.''

For me, the sinking scene isn't easy to watch, and the last goodbye through a sunken skylight still haunts me in its emotion. Why, I can still feel myself tear up... just as I type these words...

IMDB's site notes that the movie is dedicated In Memory Of: Alice Sheldon; George Ptacnik; Rick Marsellus; Robin Wetherall; John Goodlett; and Chris Coristine..."Good shipmates all."

As part of a trip for my 25^th wedding anniversary to Traverse City, Michigan, I plan on sailing on a tall ship. The Grand Traverse Bay will be the water beneath us. And though it will be my first experience aboard such a vessel, I wonder how it will compare to the experience of watching it onscreen. I guess I'll find out soon enough.

I'm hoping for a moment where I feel the deck surge, when the water flashes by on the sides. When I smile over at my wife, and look up to sails straining with intensity...

Oh, the majesty of God's creation.

"Behold," I want to say. "Behold the power of the wind!"

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UPDATE 9/27/10: I did get the opportunity! To read of my experience aboard the tall ship, Manitou, Click Here. Close-up photos of the ship can be found here.

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Book Links/References:

► Tall Ships Down, Daniel S. Parrott ISBN 0-07-143545-X (Amazon Link)

► Last Voyage of the Albatross, Chuck Gieg, (Amazon Link) (Author note: I would love to read Gieg's account in its entirety, but as a collectible, it's been a very hard book to find. So, if anyone has a copy...)

► White Squall: The Last Voyage of Albatross, Richard E. Langford, (Amazon Link) (Another unread, hard to find book.)

► White Squall II - The 2010 Sinking of the School Ship Concordia (Click Here)

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Article Links / Websites:
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► New York Times, The Day the Albatross Went Down (Click to read)

► New York Times, C.B. Sheldon, 76, Skipper in a Noted Sinking (Click to read)

► A fan site of, Eye of the Wind (the ship used in the filming of White Squall), has a newsletter describing the filming of White Squall (Click to read)

► The Official Eye of the Wind website (Click here)

► White Squall on the Internet Movie Database (IMDB.com) (Click here)

► History of the Albatross on Wikipedia (Click here)

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Other Nautical articles by Ron Masters:
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► History's Worst Maritime Disaster - Think It's the Titanic? You're Not Even Close (Click here)

► Would You Let Your 16-yr old Sail Solo Around The World? The story of Robin Lee Graham. (Click here)

► The Rescue - fictional short story involving a tall ship (Click here)

► The Burning Vessel Miss Kaitlyn Sinks in Indian River - (Click Here)

► The Search for 12 Lost Submarines from 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea - (Click Here)

► The Uninvited Wedding Guest - A Ski Boat! (Click here)