“It was fifteen minutes.”
For Grade 12 student Callagy Ross that was the time between her history class and setting off in life rafts with her 63 shipmates from S.V. Concordia as the ship began to sink off the coast of Brazil on February 17, 2010.
The students, teachers and crew of West Island College’s Class Afloat then spent close to 40 hours on the life rafts, not knowing when they might be rescued and having to constantly bail water out of the rafts. Shortly after the wreck three of the four life rafts connected and were able to share emergency supplies and support.
The rafts smelt badly and people had to be held onto if they needed to go to the bathroom. “We held their legs and they squatted overboard,” said Callagy.
As day turned into night few people were able to sleep. Suffering from bruises many passengers developed serious rashes from being wet in the raft for such an extended period.
Then after 34 hours, a plane was spotted.
“It was probably the happiest moment of my life,” explained student Camille Charbonneau who was in another raft. “When you see it, it confirms that you are going to be okay.”
A few hours after seeing the plane, two Filipino cargo ships came to their rescue.
“They really took care of us, gave us blankets and places to sleep,” said Camille. “They were the nicest people I ever met.”
Now almost three weeks after the sinking of the S.V. Concordia both Callagy and Camille say they are ready to head to Lunenburg, Nova Scotia to be with their friends and continue their studies on land. “I’m definitely going back to Lunenburg. I’m extremely excited to be back with the program, friends, teachers and crew,” said Camille who enjoyed riding camels into the Sahara dessert when the ship landed in Morocco.
Asked about if the opportunity rose again to attend school on the seas with West Island College Class Afloat both students had a similar response. “I would go back on in a heartbeat!” exclaimed Callagy. If she does go back, hopefully she can again absorb the sight of the colours and people in the markets of Turkey that was her most memorable experience with Class Afloat before the S.V. Concordia sank.
Arrival Photos
Our Kids’ owner and photographer Andrew Stawicki was on hand at Toronto’s Pearson Airport the morning that the students arrived from Brazil. Click through to see his photos.
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