Local man aboard ship disabled by 50-foot wave
Dave and Sharon Christopher, both fourth-grade teachers at George Plava Elementary School in the Albert Gallatin Area School District, hold a recent family photo of their son Daron Christopher, who is one of hundreds of college students aboard a ship that was disabled Wednesday by a 50-foot wave in the North Pacific Ocean. For Dave Christopher, it’s “a parent’s worst nightmare.’ His son Daron, 19, is one of hundreds of college students aboard a ship that was disabled Wednesday when a wave hit it in the North Pacific Ocean.
And while none of the students was reported injured, as of Thursday afternoon, Christopher and his wife, Sharon, both fourth-grade teachers at George Plava Elementary School in the Albert Gallatin Area School District, had not heard from their only son for three days.
“It appears they will be able to refuel, refurbish and move forward,’ said Dave Christopher. “If everything is under control and they can move forward, I’m for it.
“But you know the worries of parents,’ he continued. “He is a good kid and he’s done well at school. …We’re asking people to keep the students in their thoughts.’
Daron Christopher, a 2003 graduate of Albert Gallatin Area High School, is a sophomore at the University of Pittsburgh, where he is majoring in communications and political science.
He is participating in Pitt’s Semester at Sea, an around-the-world, comparative, study-abroad program that began Jan. 18 in Vancouver, British Columbia, and is scheduled to end May 28 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
But the Semester at Sea ship ran into trouble Wednesday.
The 591-foot vessel, the Explorer, became temporarily disabled when a 50-foot wave hit it in rough seas, breaking windows and damaging the ship’s controls as it traveled in the Pacific, about 650 miles south of the Aleutian Islands.
The Anchorage Daily News reported the wave hit the ship’s bridge windows around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, showering saltwater over crew members and equipment and shorting out electronics controlling the engines. The newspaper said one crewmember broke a leg and another an arm. No students were injured.
Coast Guard vessels and aircraft from Alaska and Hawaii were dispatched to help the ship, which operated for a time on just one of its four engines and could do little more than keep the bow headed into heavy seas using emergency steering. By Wednesday evening, a second engine had been started and the ship was making headway, according to Coast Guard spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Glynn Smith in Alameda, Calif. The ship never lost internal power and maintained good communications with the Coast Guard.
The ship was expected to head to Midway Island, about 800 miles away.
The ship contains 691 students, 113 faculty and staff, and 196 crewmembers. A medical staff of two doctors and two nurses is on board.
The Institute for Shipboard Education administers the program, which takes American and foreign college students on a trip around the world. The University of Pittsburgh academically sponsors the program.
The Christophers learned of their son’s predicament Thursday from news reports and received word from Semester at Sea on Thursday morning. That report included a message from the captain that everyone aboard the ship was doing well and that they are maintaining a course that is safe and comfortable for everyone on board. The report also said the weather conditions had improved.
A noon report Thursday from the Semester at Sea Web site noted, “Students are being briefed regularly and are being made as comfortable as possible. Reports indicate that their spirits remain high. Faculty and staff, including our counselors, are on hand to talk with them as needed. … The plan on board is to re-establish a normal pattern as soon as possible, including the start of classes (Friday).’
The Christophers have not heard from their son since the wave hit the ship.
“He went on board Jan. 17 and we had a few e-mails, but we’ve heard nothing for the last three days,’ said Dave Christopher.
While the communication system on the ship remains unavailable, some students have satellite phones that are functioning intermittently, and they are sharing the phones with others to allow them to call home, according to the Semester at Sea Web site.
The Daily News reported that students on board have relayed to their parents that they were scared and that debris, broken glass and furniture were tossed about the ship.
“My understanding is that the weather has been poor since they started and that the last 24 hours, it took a turn for the worst,’ said Dave Christopher.
What the Christophers have heard is that the ship is going to Midway to re-fuel.
The Semester at Sea Web site said in a Wednesday report that it would take the ship three days to reach Midway, the nearest port of call. That estimate was based on current speed and weather conditions.
Before signing on for the Semester at Sea, Daron Christopher already was an experienced traveler.
“His first semester out of high school, he toured Italy, Spain and France,’ said Dave Christopher. “He worked with Habitat for Humanity in Hawaii last March. And this past summer, he worked in Freedom, Maine, as a counselor for children. Through talking to friends and professors, he became interested in the Semester at Sea, and we started processing the papers last March.’
Daron Christopher flew to Seattle on Jan. 13 and then took a train for Vancouver, boarding the ship on Jan. 17. The ship was en route to South Korea, its first stop, when the wave struck.
Dave Christopher said the rest of the itinerary calls for stops in Kobe, Japan; Shanghai and Hong Kong, the People’s Republic of China; Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; Chennai, India; Monbasa, Kenya; Capetown, South Africa; Salvador, Brazil; LaGuiria, Venezuela; and finally Fort Lauderdale.