11-Year-Old survives nearly a week at sea

He had sailed during World War II and after working for a few years, he wanted to just take a year off so he could do just that. Little did he and his family know that their first foray into sailing would prove to be a nightmarish night that would change all their lives forever.

It was in the year 1961 and Wisconsin-born Arthur Duperrault was looking to fulfil his dream of finally sailing around the tropics. The Duperrault family would head to The Bahamas, would head to the Bahamas for a week aboard a chartered yacht.

The family adventure had begun. Over the next four days, Captain Harvey took the Dupperaults around the 100,000 square miles of the Bahamas archipelago.

Before long, it was time for the family to return to Wisconsin. On Sunday before they sailed back home, the Depparaults stopped by the Sandy Point village commissioner in order to fill in the official forms that would let them re-enter U.S. territory. They were hoping to be back by Christmas. That night, however, would prove to be the last for many of the Bluebelle’s passenger

It was barely 9 p.m. when little Terry Jo, the Duparraults’ youngest girl, decided to head to her small sleeping quarters below decks. Later that night, Terry Jo was awaked by her brother screaming in panic “Help, Daddy! Help!” She didn’t know what was going on, there was running and screaming above her for a good five minutes and then…only silence. As she crept out of her room she saw a terrifying sight: her mother and brother lying lifeless in a pool of blood in the main cabin.

Terry Jo climbed the stairs and stuck her head out of the hatch. More blood seemed to be spread about the deck, along with a blood-soaked knife. Despite her crippling fear, she climbed up and headed to the captain’s cabin.

Without warning, Captain Harvey lunged at her, shoving her down the stairs and shouting “Get back down there!” She crawled back into her bunk, avoiding the bodies of her mother and brother, and waited…

The captain soon stood in her doorway, clutching her brother’s rifle and breathing heavily. Terry Jo knew something was very wrong. All around her the ship was creaking and roaring as water began to fill all of the lower levels. Waves crashed outside of the ship, thundering against the bulkheads. Without saying a word, Captain Harvey turned and walked out of her cabin, then climbed up the stairs to the upper decks

Water began to pour from beneath her cabin floor. The mattress was becoming waterlogged know. She couldn’t stay there, she knew that she needed to be brave and make her way through the waste-deep seawater, to the stairs. Once she had made her way through the icy water and climbed out, she saw that the boat’s only lifeboat and rubber dinghy were floating beside the ship. It seemed like the captain was getting ready to leave

Water began to pour from beneath her cabin floor. The mattress was becoming waterlogged know. She couldn’t stay there, she knew that she needed to be brave and make her way through the waste-deep seawater, to the stairs. Once she had made her way through the icy water and climbed out, she saw that the boat’s only lifeboat and rubber dinghy were floating beside the ship. It seemed like the captain was getting ready to leave…

Exhausted and alone, Terry Jo began frantically searching for any item she could potentially gloat on once the boat inevitably sank. She remembered the cork life float that was kept lashed to the top right side of the main cabin, and made her way there, sloshing water around her as she went. She struggled with the float for a few minutes until finally

By the next morning, Terry Jo realized the gravity of her situation and began to weep. She had no water, no food, and had only the barest of pyjamas on to keep her warm. The night had been freezing and all through it, she has prayed for an end to the frigid waters and the random waves breaking upon her tiny, disintegrating cork raft.

Thankfully, the tropical sun had driven away from the evening chill. But the tiny 11-year-old soon found that the heat was quite as bad as the cold, of not worth. Terry Jo’s pale skin was roasting in the sun and if she put her legs and feet in the water, they’d be nipped at by territorial parrotfish.

The next day, Tuesday, a small red plane began to circle above her. The plane just kept passing directly over her.

After the departure of her would-be saviour, Terry Jo encountered the help of a very different saviour. Ghostly shapes began to float just below the water’s surface about 30 feet from her.

It seemed that a pod of dolphins had heard her cries for help and come to do what they could. They comforted her with a series of clicks and whistles and even remained by her side for hours that day. Sadly, she was still very much alone

The next day was bright and equally sunny, her eyes burned, her lips were swollen, and her muscles ached. The skin, even that which was covered by her pants and blouse, was blistered and burned. She began to hallucinate that she had found a tiny desert island, or that she and her family were still on the boat. The lack of water and food were starting to take their toll.

It was now her fourth day alone on the raft. The rescue ship rumbled around her and she soon felt like she was being raised into the air, suspended somewhere between sea and sky. Images of hands and faces that she didn’t recognize swam around her. As she slid back into unconsciousness, she knew she had been rescued