On the second night you're anchored off
Bounty a storm rises.  You've ridden out other 
storms on this trip, but none of them has been as
fierce as this one.  Though you want to help him,
Bill orders you stay below and catch some sleep.
But the screaming winds and the crashing waves
toss and shake the little boat, making sleep imposible.
You put on your clothes and climb up on
deck.  Bill looks worried.  The storm is worsening.
Streaks of lightning spotlight the island's barrirer
reef.  It's close - much too close.
	"This is a rough one," Bill shouts above the
noise of the wind and the waves, "but Starbuck's a
sturdy old tub.  We'll do just fine."
	That's when the explosion hits.
	"A mine!"  Bill screams.  "We must have struck
an Omicron mine!"
	You don't have a chance to ask what Omicron
is, because at that moment the boat lurches and
staggers - and crashes into the reef.  You are flung
out above the coral.  Then you plunge deep into
the surging water of the lagoon.

 Go to the next page 


1