We were on our own. I mean, you have to make a choice. Are we going to die? The Pacific Ocean, the early 70s. Douglas, stick the wheel. Stop, he's gone, he's gone. All right. Two white sails billowing in the wind. Andy, over here. On board, a family. Of course. On the adventure of a lifetime. Wow, what a gorgeous view. Sailing round the world. Just sea, sky, for hundreds of miles. His spray was coming across the deck. But it was a normal morning. And there was no cause for alarm. We could smell the coffee. And we're all looking forward to having a cup. But then? I did notice that the fishing line was dancing in the water. Sandy looks over. I thought, oh, I caught a fish. And he pulled it in. I said, oh, look, Sandy, it's a squid. And where are there a squid? Bigger fish I found. It was then that I saw something. A black mark in the distance. A distinct black shape. And it drew my attention. But then it disappears. I thought it might be a piece of flotsam. Maybe a dinghy or something. But it came and went. And I said to Sandy, did you see that? That dark black thing, did you see it? I said, yeah, yeah. I said, top of your beard. Where sea birds don't really have that shape, they're soft. This was solid. Bang! Bang, bang! This is a drift. An Apple Original podcast produced by Blanchard House. I'm Becky Milligan. Episode 1 Dark Shadows Four years earlier, Staffordshire, rural England, January 1968, farming is a tough existence. Fetching the cows in, milking the cows. Money is tight. Dougal and Lynn are struggling to put food on the table and buy clothes and shoes for their four kids, Douglas, Anne and twins, Sandy and Neil. 15 years dairy farming in the middle of the countryside. It had diminished to extinction, my enthusiasm for an agricultural way of life. And in those 15 years, just two weeks off, it's up at the crack of dawn, day after day. He wasn't a farmer. My dad wasn't. He wasn't born to farm. You know, it took a lot out of him doing that farm. Found it very hard work. Originally from Edinburgh, Dougal was one of nine. The youngest. He was the youngest. 11 of them in one tiny apartment. His dad was a music teacher. They had no money. They were very poor family. There were so many kids, in fact, that Dougal and his brother had to sleep underneath the piano. His eldest brother joined the merchant navy. And I think my dad was a bit taken with tales of foreign travel and followed his brother's footsteps. Dougal was at sea for 20 years travelling the world. And he was a good sailor, rising up the ranks to sea captain before he gave it all up to be a farmer and start a family. He was like a square pegging around hell, you know. Now he's married with four kids. Life is a struggle. We didn't have electricity. We had paraffin lamps and candles. And no running water. We had open fires. We set fire to the house twice. Dougal had to stop milking the cows and come put the fire out. So, yeah, it was a tough life. The kids don't know just how hard things are. We didn't know we lived in poverty. But they do have freedom, acres and acres of countryside to play in. We would go out and enjoy our life from sun up to sun down. If mum and dad wanted us, dad would whistle. Like that? No, four fingers. Oh, I can do that too, yeah. Yeah, yeah, go. No, you can't. I can, I use that. Well, it was twice as loud as that. Really? Yeah, and you could hear this for half a mile away just whistling. Anne and Dougalus are the oldest kids. We used to get up to all sorts of mischief. Climbing trees and making dens. We used to play together all the time. We only had each other. We got on well together. That's why I told him all my secrets. We'd have fights. Fist fights. We'd chip two of my teeth. So we weren't afraid of physicality. Dougalus and then are working all hours. So the kids are left to get on with it. When we got hungry, we'd find mushrooms. Wild raspberries, wild strawberries, crab apples, green gauges. We knew all the places to find lunch. On a windy day, I'd go and find myself a patch of long grass. And I'd lie down, just listening to those sounds. This circle of grass around me. Four years later. Dad. Dad. Dougalus is on deck, looking down through the hatch at Dougal. He was looking back up at me. Terrified. Confused. His eyes full of fear. And it's only now that Dougalus realises why his dad looks so scared. He was up to his ankles in water. There was water around his feet. And he said, where's this water coming from? And I didn't know. I mean, I was asking him that. And now Dougalus sees the damage below deck. These were gaping holes. Just at that moment, I heard a big surging splash behind me. I turned my head. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Killer whales. Killer whales. Three killer whales. Sandy sees them too. I looked at them and thought, they're killer whales. So close, he can almost touch them. Right there. Killer whales. Orcas. The first one, the big one, about 30 foot long. His head was split open. And blood was pouring into the water in a long stream behind him. I thought that whale's in trouble. Something's wrong here. Whales, dad. There's whales out here. What? What did you see? Dougalus looks through the hatch at his dad. And he was up to his knees in water. The water had risen afoot in that few seconds. Lynn puts her hand on his shoulder. It's no good, Dougal. We can't save Lucette. We have to go. We have to go now. Come on. Well, there's still time to save ourselves. Lynn's voice snaps Dougal into action. Only a minute has passed since the moment of impact. If Dougal doesn't act now, they're all going down with the Lucette. He gives an order. Two words he never imagined he would have to utter. Abandon ship. Abandon ship. Abandon ship. Four years earlier. He had no money yet he'd go to the pub and drink whiskeys, which were expensive, and the children hadn't got any shoes to wear. And Dougal would be drinking all night if it wasn't for Lynn. She walked in her night dress from the farm to the pub, which is three miles. She wandered into the pub and said, Dougal, what the hell do you think you're doing? My mum was a strong woman, farmer's daughter. Big boned. I remember her arms and her wrists. With Dougal spending money he doesn't have on whisky, and with the farm struggling, Lynn has no choice but to return to work. My mum was a nurse. A midwife. And with babies to deliver any time of day or night, Lynn is always rushing back and forth to the hospital on her moped. Wearing oven gloves, because she couldn't find her gloves, and just ordinary clothes. And the roads can be treacherous. My mum had some exciting moments on this motorbike. There were lots of sort of minor accidents. Lynn met Dougal when she was working in Hong Kong in the 50s. Dougal's ship was in port. He was the captain. And they fell madly in love. You think what a perfect couple. The world was at their feet. My mum met Dougal for the very first time in the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong. And he was swinging on the chandelier with his kilt off. You know, that was her first meeting of him. He knew how to party. I used to laugh and saw the party. Dougal was a great talker. He had great charisma and a great talker at a party. He entertained. Oh, yeah, very entertaining chap. And very colorful. Everywhere he went, he held court. People were in awe of Dougal. He had a magnetism. His New Year's Eve parties were legendary. A couple of whiskeys down dad, and he was back in his navy days dancing around with his kilt. Singing his Scottish songs, and he used to get quite drunk. So Dougal was quite a social beast. My mum was not. I think mum was a little bit embarrassed about dad's antics. So they were different. Dougal was an outspoken socialist, atheist rebel. And the farming community goes to church every Sunday. They're quite religious. Dougal was not that. And yet my mum was ultra-Christian. She was religious. We had to go to church. We hated going to church, but we had to go to church on a Sunday. We all had christenings. And she was so pleased when I joined the choir and sang in the church choir. So they came from quite different walks of life, actually. But certainly then, it didn't seem to be a problem. Dougal was the love of my mother's life. My mum loved my dad. My dad was her great love. A landing ship! Dad, what's happening? Get the liferaft over the site, and then get the dinghy over the site. Do as your dad says. I thought, no. This is not happening. This can't be happening. Below deck, Dougal and Lynn grab what they can. Lynn rummages through drawers. For a second, she and Dougal hold each other tight. By now, the water is up to their wastes. Dougal orders Neil up on deck. Now! Lynn is right behind him. Dougal takes one last look. Dougal, Dougal, come on, quick, she's going. And she clambours up. Dad, Dad, please! Everyone is now on deck. Dave, are you in high heels? I stood mesmerised for a moment. It was like watching a film unfold in slow motion. Quickly move! My mum was trying to get the lifejacket's onto the twins. The water's coming up. And she's trying to put these lifejackets on us. We were going to sink, and this was it. Douglas is lowering the sails. It doesn't make sense, but he's in shock. Douglas, get the bloody life-draft over the site! And I immediately jumped to. The adrenaline was pumping by now. Douglas has to get the small fibreglass dinghy into the sea, and then the inflatable life-raft. They'll need both. Pick the dinghy up. Slid it over the rail. Pick the life-rafter. Throw it over the site. The life-raft is supposed to inflate by tugging on a rope. And I started pulling the rope in. It should inflate straight away. But it isn't working. I kept pulling on the rope. Pulling, pulling, pulling. The raft still isn't inflating. Douglas is frantic. In the next few seconds, they're all going down with the lucet. Suddenly, the raft started to inflate. And I just remember the relief. The extreme relief. And then Dougal gives the order again. Mind the ship! The lucet was beginning to go under. The water crashing over the deck. The deck that just minutes earlier was six feet above the waterline. She was going. In the chaos, eleven-year-old Neil can't take it in. He could only think about... Teddy! Me, Teddy! Me, Teddy! I want me, Teddy! His teddy bears. He can't leave them behind. I had me teddy stuffed under my life jacket. Waves are now swamping the lucet. Douglas is standing on the side of the deck when one big rolling wave hits him. And over I went. I reached out, trying to grab him, but I wasn't quick enough. My hands were just desperately grasping at fresh air. My eldest son, who I loved more than I could ever have told him, was taken right in front of me. Douglas is swallowed by the sea. Then, flashes of blood are seen. So black and white. And I thought, my God, I'm going to be eaten alive here. This is how it's going to end. It was terrifying that we might watch Douglas being torn, limb from limb, and devoured. And the rest of us would be next. This is it. Wait for the teeth. Keep feeling for your legs. Just keep feeling for your legs. Keep feeling that you've still got them. How could it come to this? How could a farmer's son from the middle of England be eaten by a bloody killer whale in the Pacific Ocean? Sunday, Sunday is my turn. Four years earlier. Sunday. A day of family communion. Every Sunday, after church, the family gather in the parents' bedroom to just chat. They're all in the same room. They're all in the same room. They're all in the same room. They're all in the same room. They're all in the same room. They're all in the parents' bedroom to just chat. Stop it! Calm down, you lot. But this Sunday will turn out to be unlike any other. Dougal made the breakfast. Porridge. Porridge. Not porridge again, Dad. He brings it upstairs with cups of tea. He himselfed. Douglas, give us a show! Douglas would be fooling around normally does. 16 year old Douglas is the entertainer. I used to do a funny show for them and they used to laugh like hell about it. There's something interesting on the news. The unstoppable Robin Knox Johnston is still in the first place as he approaches New Zealand. The round-the-world yacht race, non-stop, it's never been done before. It's captured the public's imagination and doodles. It takes him back to his days as a sea captain and master mariner. Dad started talking about the perils of the sea and what these men would face and how high the seas were and the dangers of lone yachtsmen at sea and we just sat and listened in awe. Then suddenly Neil just said well. Dad you were a sailor. Why don't we sail round the world? Didn't think anybody'd take that seriously. But Neil's throwaway remark, well it's the spark of an idea. It got him thinking. He said well we could sail round the world you know. There's no reason why we can't. In fact he thinks he has a very good reason why they should. He thought that by taking us round the world it would be an education in life. He thought that his children, he even said it, were a bit backward because they'd been brought up in a rural environment. We're insulting really. Talk of sailing round the world seemed to be the main topic of every conversation. Consuming every moment for two years. Once the dude had sold me the idea, nothing, nothing was going to turn my head. So it turned into your dream as well. It turned into my dream. But while Doogal and the kids are swept up by this crazy idea. My mum was full of doubt. Full of doubt. Really? Yeah. She was quiet. My mum was always very reserved about this. And Lynn's sister tells her to put her foot down. She said you're crazy. Allowing Doogal to talk you into this. You've got your children to think about. But Doogal's not going to be talked out of it. When he made his mind about something that was it. And he's getting ready. Going to some extraordinary lengths. He knows that if you get sick at sea it can be really serious. Because you're on your own. But there's one illness you can prevent. Appendicitis. In fact, lots of sailors used to have their appendix taken out just in case. So that's what Doogal arranges. For the whole family. We're in hospital together. Really? Yeah. A family affair. Going to have your appendix out. Well, you're getting pretty involved, aren't you? If you have your appendix out. Word about their trip and the operation soon gets out. Doogal was a crazy father dragging his wife and kids around the world. And the neighbours give Doogal a piece of their mind. What's this I hear about you sailing around the world? I've never heard anything so ridiculous in all my life. People would come up to us and say your dad's a fool. What are you doing that for? What the hell are your parents doing? Even close family can't believe it. Uncle Bell was saying no, no, you know, you can't do this. You've got your family. But you know, he's trying to talk me mother out of it. He was really aware of it. What was he worried about? Sinking. I said, well, my dad's a mastermind. It's a sailor. We're not going to sink, are we? You know, if you go to sea on a boat, it doesn't matter what sort of boat it is. Things can happen. Like sinking? Like sinking. They're becoming the talk of the town. Robertson family to sail around the world. You know, local news people had got a hold of it. This family sailing around the world. It was big news because people didn't do that. We're going to lose a lot of face if we didn't do it now. So dad sells the farm, buys us boat. The Lucet, a 50 year old boat. Yes, Dougal is a former sea captain with decades of experience. But the rest of his family, we hadn't even set foot on a boat. We were farmers. From rural England, miles from the sea. And that's precisely what's always worried Lynn. Four years later, they're finally about to set sail. And Lynn realizes this is her last chance to stop the madness. Her anxiety turns to anger. What the hell do you mean? I should never have gone along with it. Mum and dad were having a fight, a physical fight. You should have said something before we sold the farm. I should have put a stop to it months ago. She was hitting it. My mum had fists like you wouldn't believe. We always have to do what you want. Oh, that's a lie. I'm not going. We're not going. Well, I'm going. You've had four years to see this from Christ's sake. Four bloody years. Yeah, yeah, and I should have. But you never let me. It's just all about you. It's never about me. This is your dream, Dougal. Your dream. Not ours. What if something happens? What about the children? What about school? What better education can you have than going around the world? Anything's better than that shit hole of a farm. None of us can sail, Dougal. You can, but we can't. It's dangerous. Have you thought about that? We thought, wow, mum and dad are really having a crack at each other here. Nothing's gonna happen, women. I tell you what, I'll tell you what. I'll go back to sea. The rest of you can stay here. It was definitely violent. Oh, you bastard. My mum's ring caught my dad's face and cut his cheek. I don't want to go. Well, it's too late for that. We've got nothing left. It's never too late, Dougal. And she drew blood. He's bleeding. Yeah, off me. I'm sick of you. We, as parents, were for the first time beginning to question exactly what we had embarked upon. It had been all too easy to tell friends and family that we were selling up in order to sail around the world. From the beginning, we had convinced ourselves that we were not fleeing our economic plight or escaping from reality, but were doing what was best for our children. A year and a half later, the Lucette is now low in the water. Douglas is nowhere to be seen and the killer whales are circling. The Lucette's breaking up. Whatever fate had in store for us, we didn't have a choice. It was too dangerous to stay on board the Lucette any longer. Time has run out. Dougal has to put Douglas to the back of his mind. He orders the twins to swim, swim like mad for the raft, which is drifting away from the Lucette. 11-year-old Neil goes first. You've got in the back of your mind. He's blooming killer whales. But he forces himself not to think about them and swims. Next, Sandy, his twin. Before he steps into the sea, Lynn hands him the only food she's managed to salvage, a bag of onions. She said hold on to these. And I just stepped off Lucette into the ocean. But the onions are heavy and Sandy's so small. So I'm rolled on my back like an otter and dropped the onions on my chest and kicked my legs. Kicking, kicking, kicking. Kicking like mad because of those huge killer whales. They must be still around. Dougal watches Sandy from the submerged deck of the Lucette. The raft is moving further and further away from his little boy. No matter how hard his little arms thrashed the water, he just couldn't close the gap. I watched him, Doug, gritting his teeth, trying to reach the raft, trying to find that crucial extra bit of speed that would save his life. The ocean swells roll over the deck of the Lucette, blasting white flumes of water into the air. The cabin windows shatter. Lynn is next to swim to the raft. In the distance, I could hear my children crying. But she's waited too long to get off. Her nightie is caught on something. As hard as she tried, she couldn't break free. The Lucette was pulling Lynn down. And then I lost sight of her. Oh, God! Douglas is gone. Lynn is gone. Dugo is certain they're dead. You've been listening to Adrift, an Apple Original podcast produced by Blanchard House and hosted by me, Becky Milligan. Adrift is written and produced by Ben Crichton and me, Becky Milligan. The series is based on the book The Last Voyage of the Lucette by Douglas Robertson, original score by Daniel Lloyd Evans, Louis Nankmanel and Toby Matimol, sound design by Vulcan Kizzeltug and Daniel Lloyd Evans, with dialogue editing by Toby Matimol. The lead sound engineer is Vulcan Kizzeltug. The part of Dugel Robertson is played by Mark Bonner and Lynn Robertson is played by Ann Marie Duff. Their words are adapted from Dugel and Lynn's own accounts of their story. The young Robertson twins are played by Rocco Hamill and Dexter Hutton. Other parts are played by Mark Gillis. The managing producer is Amica Shortino Nolan. The creative director of Blanchard House is Rosie Pye. The executive producer and head of content at Blanchard House is Lawrence Grisel.
