John Chipman - Obsession

THE OBSESSION

THE OBSESSION

TRAGEDY IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC

JOHN CHIPMAN

VIKING CANADA

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First published 2007

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 (RRD)

Copyright John Chipman, 2007

EGILS SAGA translated by Bernard Scudder (translation first published in The Complete Sagas of the Icelanders Leifur Eiriksson Publishing 1997, Penguin Classics 2002). Translation copyright Leifur Eiricksson Publishing, 1997. Editorial Matter copyright Svanhildur Oskarsdottir, 2004.

The Sagas of Greenlanders and Eirik the Reds Saga translated by Keneva Kunz taken from THE SAGAS OF ICELANDERS by Leifur Eiriksson (First published in The Complete Sagas of Icelanders Leifur Eiriksson Publishing, 1997, Allen Lane The Penguin Press, 2000). Copyright Leifur Eiriksson Publishing, 1997. Preface copyright Jane Smiley 2000. Introduction copyright Robert Kellogg, 2000. Reproduced by permission of Penguin Books Ltd.

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

Manufactured in the U.S.A.

Chipman, John

The Obsession : tragedy in the North Atlantic / John Chipman.

Includes bibiliographical references.

ISBN 978-0-670-06501-1

1. Evensen, Thomas. 2. Maple, K.C. 3. The Silver (Sailboat).

4. ShipwrecksNorth Atlantic ocean. I. Title.

G530.S5754C46 2007 910.91631 C2007-901713-4

ISBN-13: 978-0-670-06501-1

ISBN-10: 0-670-06501-3

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To Monica,

Hana and Cole

Our journey will be thought an ill-considered one.

BJARNI HERJOLFSSON

THE SAGA OF THE GREENLANDERS, AD 986

AUTHORS NOTE

I did not know Thomas Evensen before his adventure aboard his sailboat, the Silver. I lived a few blocks away in Toronto and read about it in the local newspaper. As a journalist for CBC Radios The Current, I approached the crew of the Silver to discuss doing a radio documentary on their story. This book grew out of that documentary.

I have retold Thomass story here through a combination of re-created dialogue and thoughts, as well as the recollections of friends and family. The recollections are direct quotes from recorded conversations, although in some cases they have been edited for brevity and clarity.

The dialogue is based on what people remember of specific conversations: what they said, what others said. The thoughts are based on what people remember themselves feeling or thinking at certain points, or their impressions of other peoples mood, demeanour and character. They are accurate, but not verbatim. The events of this story were traumatic for all those involved, and I appreciate the patience and support of everyone who helped make this book a reality.

INTRODUCTION

It started on a sunny Sunday morning in the spring of 1968. The Evensen household had shrunk from twelve to just four: Ingwald, Gudrun and their two youngest boys, Ian and Thomas.

Thomas was twelve years old. He woke with a jolt and glanced at the clock. It was 10:20. Sunday school had started twenty minutes agotoo late to even try to get there. But, he thought, he could still catch the service at eleven.

He bolted out of bed, patted down his hair and scrambled out the door in his Sunday best.

The church was only a few blocks away. Thomas arrived at 10:55, happy that he would be there for the service and perhaps appease his parents. Neither tolerated tardiness.

It was a cool spring day. Auburn light poured in from the small windows. The congregation was thinner than usual. Maybe the fine weather has lured them away, Thomas thought.

He was wrong. In fact, it was the spring forward weekend, when clocks are reset for daylight savings. The eleven oclock service was just ending.

Luckily, his father was still there. Thomas spotted him at the far end of one of the pews and quietly nudged his way in beside him.

Ingwald nodded at Thomas. The rest of the family was nowhere to be seen. It was just the father and his youngest son.

One-on-one time was a rare treat. Thomas thought he would be in trouble, but when he looked up at his father, he could sense this would be a special day. Thomas could barely contain his happiness, sitting in church, his father beside him, all to himself.

Ingwald was in an unusually affectionate mood that day. On the walk home, he talked about his early days as a sailor, his many adventures on the Atlantic. He mentioned to Thomas how much he would love to go back to sea again. Maybe, he said, he would build a boat someday.

Thomas had never thought about sailing until that morning. He had never heard his fathers sailing stories. If Ingwald had told them before, Thomas hadnt been listening. On this morning, however, he was entranced.

He said he would help his father, that maybe it was something they could do together. Ingwald looked at his son intently. It was only for a moment, but it felt like ages to the boy. Finally he said if Thomas saved his money, perhaps they would build a boat someday.

And then Thomas revealed his secret: he was saving his money already.

In the year of Canadas centennial, 1967, the government had started making its quarters and dimes out of nickel rather than silver. Thomas hoarded every pre-Centennial silver coin he could find, convinced they would gain in value.

Ingwald chuckled. He was not usually the laughing type, but he could not help himself. He was doing the same thing, collecting silver coins.

And that was how the dream began. On a cool spring morning, father and son decided to pool their coins and use the money to build a sailboat.

1

They spent two days at sea with a north-easterly wind before they saw land. They sailed towards it and came to an island, which lay to the north of the land, where they went ashore. In the fine weather they found dew on the grass, that they collected intheir hands and drank, and thought they had never tasted anything as sweet.