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I almost missed the date. March 28th was the anniversary of my shipwreck off the coast of Komodo Island in Indonesia. I wouldn’t have remembered if my shipmates hadn’t emailed me. It was good to hear that they’re doing well these days, especially little baby Elin, who was just 10 months old when our Perama boat went down.
One of my shipmates, Mirko, wrote a piece about our shipwreck (in German) for a Swiss newspaper. In it, he remarked that it’s been 100 years since the sinking of the Titanic, and one year since our own shipwreck.
Aside from the timing, they don’t deserve to be compared. As frightening as it was at the time, it wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been. People on the Titanic froze to death in the icy North Atlantic. We jumped off our sinking boat into warm water and swam to shore before being rescued 30 minutes later. And while we landed off the north coast of Komodo, this part wasn’t inhabited by dragons. We were extremely, extremely lucky.
Still, my shipmates and I will never be the same. Boats terrify me now. I’m working on it all the time. But sailing overnight to Shetland and back, on the rockiest waters I’ve ever experienced, was one of the most difficult things I’ve done recently.
Allow me to make my periodic announcement:
Do you want to see Komodo Island? Do not take an overnight boat trip. The safest option is to fly to Labuan Bajo, Flores, and take a day trip to Komodo.
And now, on to the main show: the Titanic‘s 100-year anniversary.
Titanic’s Anniversary
For the anniversary of the Titanic, commemorations are taking place around the world. The movie is being released in 3D. And Belfast, Northern Ireland, is celebrating with a brand-new, sure-to-be-spellbinding digital projection show.
From the site:
Cutting edge architectural projection, intense 3D motion graphics, synchronised pyrotechnics and bespoke sound design, will combine to treat you to an unforgettable audiovisual performance. As one of the most challenging projection mapping projects ever attempted, this will be an irrepressible celebration of Belfast, its culture, heritage and bright future.
The show is inspired by the design of RMS Titanic itself, its construction, engineering, its journey and transformation. And it demonstrates its continued life and spirit at Titanic Belfast.
The 40-minute show features pyrotechnics and 3D graphics — and is said to be one of the most challenging projection shows ever attempted!
The show itself takes place this Saturday, April 7 — but you’ll be able to view it in full here on AdventurousKate.com:
Send the link to this post to your friend who LOVES Titanic. We all have one (hi, Alexa!).
The Titanic, having been built in Belfast, is a huge part of the city’s heritage — there’s even a Titanic quarter in town! And this show is just the beginning of the festivities in Belfast to take place in all of 2012. If you’ve ever thought of visiting Belfast, this is the year to do it.
While I’ve never been to Northern Ireland, it’s just a short ferry ride away from me in northwest England. With so many celebrations taking place this year, I’m going to make visiting Belfast a priority for 2012!
To learn more about these celebrations and events in Belfast, please visit ni2012.com.
