An ancient mariner’s warning against ships traveling south of the 40th parallel states, “in the roaring 40s, there is no law; in the furious 50s, there is no God!"
Today's guest, author Matt Lewis, is going to tell us the harrowing true tale of his book Last Man Off, which proves the whaler's warning accurate by describing how nearly half the crew of the doomed ship he was on, the Suddar Havid, never returned north of the 40th parallel again.
(Interview Starts at 5:10)
The Southern Ocean, a vast expanse of swirling seas at the bottom of the world between the far ends of South America, Africa, and Australia, and the icy crags of Antartica, is some of the most treacherous water on earth.
It is a violent cauldron of 30-foot waves, frigid temperatures, 125 mile per hour wind gusts, killer whales and icebergs, in which innumerable ships and sailors have perished throughout history. Even in our modern age of jet travel, GPS satellites, and cell phone communication, if anything goes wrong in the huge Southern Ocean, timely help is non-existent.
Yet in 1998, this is exactly where an adventure-seeking 23-year-old Matt Lewis went for his first job out of college. Matt accepted a position as a scientific observer aboard the ill-fated South African fishing vessel the Suddar Havid. He had no idea that in approximately two months after leaving port he would be on its sinking hull in a gargantuan storm within a desolate, angry expanse of ocean at the end of the earth, no rescue in sight.
In his excellent non-fiction book Last Man Off Matt recounts this terrifying true story of the sinking of the Suddar Havid, which left nearly half the crew of 38 dead, and he as the last man to ever step foot off its deck before it sank away into the bottomless depths of the Southern Ocean. Graciously, Matt has decided to come on the show today to give us his riveting first hand account of that terrifying sinking of the Suddar Havid, and how he was one of the lucky ones left to tell the tale.
This is a story that will unnerve you, uplift you, and leave you much more appreciative of your warm, dry bed at night. Enjoy, and then buy Matt's book for the outdoor adventurer in your own life.