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