Reader's Digest

July• 2018 | 57

READER’S DIGEST

MARRYING FOR LOVE

Karen Cooper was ready to go out on a limb to save her

beloved so she got married – to a tree. Specifically a giant

ficus that’s shaded a park in Fort Myers Florida for more

than a century. The tree became the centre of a controversy

when authorities began discussing cutting it down.NBC

on land they knocked on someone’s
door borrowed a phone and called
theCoastGuardtoreportthatthey’d
survived.
As the sun started to set that
evening Scott and Hope God-
bold sailed into the Coast Guard’s
DauphinIslandstationwiththree
survivors.
“It was amazing” said Bannon. he
oddsagainstindingevenoneperson
in more than 1000 square kilometres
ofchoppyseawereoutrageous.
After leaving Hope and the sur-
vivors at the station Godbold was
joined by his father Kenny and to-
gether they continued the search.
Scott had in mind a teenager he
knew: Lennard Luiten who re-
mained missing. Lennard’s father
hadbeenfoundaliveashadhis
friend Jacob. But two otherRazrcrew
members–AdamClarkandJimmie
Brown–hadnotsurvived.
BythispointLennardwouldhave
beeninthewaterwithoutalife
jacketforsixhours.Nighthadcome
andthemenknewthechancesof
finding the boy were vanishingly

remote.Scotteasedhisboatintothe

bay listening for any sound in the

darkness.

Finallyavoicedriftedoverthewa-

ter: “Help!”

Hoursearlierthecurrenthad

swept Lennard towards the sea.

Heswamtowardsanoilplatform

butthewavesworkedagainsthim

and he watched the platform move

slowly from his south to his north.

herewasnothingbutseaanddark-

ness and still he hoped:Maybe his

hand would ind a crab trap. Maybe

abuoy.

Now Kenny shined a torch into

his face and Scott said “Is that you

Lennard?”

TEN VESSELS SANKor were de-

stroyedbythestormand40people

were rescued from the water. A half-

dozensailorsdied.Itwasoneofthe

worstrecreationalsailingdisastersin

American history.

Work ing w it h t he Coast Guard

which is investigating the disaster

regatta organisers have adopted

more stringent safety measures.

FROMSMITHSONIAN(JULY 2017) © 2017 BY SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. SMITHSONIANMAG.COM