The Story of a Shipwrecked Sailor summary and theme

In the Prologue, Márquez relates the story of how he came to write the tale of Luis Alejandro Velasco, the shipwrecked sailor. Velasco’s story was already known to Márquez because Velasco had been celebrated as a national hero after turning up half-dead on a lonely Colombian beach. He had survived 10 days alone in a life raft. Velasco, along with seven other sailors aboard the Colombian destroyer Caldas, was allegedly thrown overboard during a heavy storm—but, as Márquez soon discovered, this was not the true story. The true story was censored by the Colombian government under the dictatorship of General Gustavo Rojas Pinilla. It was reported that the destroyer encountered a severe storm, but, as Velasco pointed out, there had never been a storm; the true reason for the accident was that the destroyer was listing from being overburdened with contraband while sailing in choppy seas. The uncensored story caused a sensation in Colombia that resulted in Velasco’s discharge from the navy and the forced, government-sanctioned closure of Marquez’s newspaper.

Within 14 chapters (each given a title and oftentimes further subdivided with subheadings), Velasco relates the true events of his shipwreck. He begins his story towards the end of an eight-month deployment in Mobile, Alabama, where his destroyer, the A. R. C. Caldas, is being refitted with newer and larger armaments and electronics. He and his shipmates enjoy Mobile, spending time with their girlfriends and purchasing American goods such as refrigerators, stoves, and radios, all of which are forbidden from transport by a military vessel. Shortly before sailing, Velasco and a few other crew members see the movie, The Caine Mutiny. The movie unsettles them: One scene involves a hefty storm that makes the men wonder what they would do in such a situation.

On February 24, 1955, the Caldas leaves Mobile, sailing to Cartagena, Colombia. The destroyer is overladen with contraband. Though the skies are clear, the wind whips up the seas, causing large waves to wash over the destroyer’s decks. The ship begins to list, and the personnel are ordered to the starboard side in an attempt to rebalance the craft. Velasco and a few of his shipmates are located above deck at the stern. Hours pass, and conditions do not improve. Eventually, a large wave crashes over Velasco and his fellow sailors and washes them into the sea.

The men overboard struggle against the choppy seas. Unlike his less fortunate comrades, Velasco finds himself near a life raft. He watches as three others, one of whom is a close friend, drown attempting to reach the raft. Velasco quickly finds himself alone aboard a raft with no provisions other than what is in his pockets. He drifts in the waters of the Caribbean for 10 days, exposed to the blistering sun, with no water and no food, with sharks circling his raft nightly. On the 10th day, he spots the coastline. He does his best to steer and paddle the raft towards the coast with his broken oar, but to no avail. Two kilometers from shore, he dives into the water and, with his last bit of strength, struggles ashore. After recovering from the swim, he looks around for signs of humanity. After a while, he spots a young woman, who is frightened by his appearance. However, she returns with an older man who takes Velasco to his home.

Velasco is in a very remote area of Colombia, and it takes several days for him to journey, with the help of a large crowd of good Samaritans and curiosity-seekers, to the nearest city of San Juan de Urabá, where a doctor examines him. Afterward, he boards a plane to Cartagena where he reunites with his friends and family.

In the final chapter, Velasco comments on his heroism. He receives many benefits because of his tale, including being personally decorated by the President of Colombia (General Pinilla), making a small fortune with ads for watches and shoes, and personal gifts from ordinary citizens. Some people believe his story is too fantastical, but Velasco remains humble, surmising people find him a hero simply because he didn’t die.

THE STORY OF A SHIPWRECKED SAILOR THEMES

NEVER GIVE UP HOPE

Hope is the single most important thing that Velasco has that helps him survive 10 days adrift at sea. Hope comes in many forms in the book. More often than not, it stems from Velasco’s memories of happier times; but it is also found in the tiny morsels of sustenance that come his way, and even in the sea around him.

Soon after the accident, Velasco expects rescue within a few hours. However, after that time passes, a sense of expectancy gives way to a strong sense of hope, a belief that he will be rescued. Hopefulness is one of Velasco’s inherent traits. Very early on, Velasco hallucinates his old friend, Jaime, with him in the raft, and he vacillates between belief and doubt that Jaime is real. Eventually, however, he decides that it does not matter; the vision of his friend provides him with a sense of companionship, which in turn keeps his hopes up.

Many memories or thoughts of friends sustain Velasco’s hope; for example, when he is wishing for death to relieve him of his suffering, Velasco remembers his times with Massey Nasser, a Jewish salesman in Mobile, and feels encouraged. Similarly, while his very first night alone at sea is extremely lonesome and anxious, Velasco finds hope in the constellation Ursa Minor—and, by extension, the North Star. Not only does this provide the physical guidance of cardinal directions, but, more importantly, it provides a compass towards hope. Velasco remembers a time in Cartagena with his friends, standing on a bridge from which he would always see Ursa Minor in the night sky. He even discovers hope through his hallucinations.

Even physical elements of nature provide hope. The seagulls, for example, play a two-part role in the book. They represent hope but also despair. The very first time Velasco spots a seagull, he is hopeful because a seagull might signal nearby land. Later, however, he fears these gulls have flown too far out to sea and are lost. Nevertheless, the next time he spots seagulls overhead, he is filled once more with the hope that land is nearby.

REAL-WORLD HEROISM

Velasco returns home after 10 days at sea and several days making his way, with the help of a large crowd, from isolated parts of Colombia. Shortly after arriving, he finds he has become somewhat of a national hero with people wanting to meet or hire him to advertise products. He even receives a citation from the President of Colombia. However, at no point does Velasco feel that he is a hero. He wonders about it, wonders why he is considered a hero. In Chapter 14, he equates his heroism to being placed in a situation that left him no choice but to survive: “I did nothing heroic. All my effort went toward saving myself” (101). If Velasco is no hero, there is the question of what heroism entails.

To provide an in-depth definition of heroism is beyond the scope of this guide; however, it suffices to highlight how Velasco demonstrates essential traits of heroism. Oftentimes, the word “hero” recalls the heroes from the Greek myths, heroes such as Achilles or Herakles, or even modern superheroes who possess superhuman abilities. However, such heroes represent a narrow typology. In contrast, there is virtue that appears in most dictionary definitions of heroism: courage. Velasco qualifies for this definition. He faces danger nearly every day at sea. The first danger is the fact that he is alone in a flimsy raft with no provisions in the middle of the Caribbean. He is constantly exposed to the elements: a sun that burns his skin, the wind, and the cold waves of the sea. Furthermore, every night at five o’clock sharks circle his raft. One false move on his part could result in a fatal shark attack. Velasco did not simply endure these elements; he actively held onto hope and determination to either be rescued or to independently make it to land. This alone is heroic.

PSYCHOLOGICAL SURVIVAL

The three main themes of the book—hope, heroism, and survival—are all correlated. Hope fuels survival and survival leads to heroism. Of the three, survival adrift at sea is the most tangible and obvious. In essence, the book is about Luis Alejandro Velasco surviving 10 days alone and adrift in a raft in the Caribbean. However, it is not a survival guide, though it provides useful information.

As a naval seaman, Velasco underwent training for surviving a shipwreck; he mentions his “instructor” several times, mostly when he mentions having to lash himself to the raft. It is this training that most likely kept him from ingesting too much seawater, just enough to stave off complete dehydration. His knowledge of Ursa Minor may also have come from naval training. Other instances demonstrate practical survival facts, e.g., that a sunburned back makes breathing difficult, that the gunwale is the least safe part of the raft, that seagulls are inedible, and so on.

The most important aspect of Velasco’s survival, however, is not through his practical training (since his raft is completely devoid of any survival equipment, leaving him at the mercy of the sea), it is through his ability to maintain hope and determination to live. In Chapters 10 and 11, Velasco talks about death as something welcome: “I felt nothing, other than complete indifference to life or death” (75). However, the sight of a sea turtle and the later arrival of the shark spurs him to continue “fighting for the only thing that didn’t matter at all to me now” (77). Somehow, he maintains this desire despite his horrible physical condition and circumstances. He attributes this to a universal instinct for survival: “But when you feel close to death, your instinct for self-preservation grows stronger” (57). However, this is not a matter of fact. In Laura Hillenbrand’s book, Unbroken, for example, a figure (Mac) on a life raft often experiences a wavering in his survival instinct in the face of death. Thus, Velasco illustrates not only the importance of a will-to-survive but also that it is not to be taken for granted.

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