Dead Calm

Merry Christmas, captain. Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas, sir.

Police told you about the child?

Yes, they did.

I'm very sorry, but we'll need a formal identification.

Yes, of course.

I have to warn you...

...most of the injuries were to the face, I'm afraid.

The police said that....

That my son died on impact. Is that correct?

Not quite.

Just after the ambulance arrived.

-And how long was that? -He was unconscious, captain.

-He wouldn't have been aware of any pain. -How long, doctor?

About twenty minutes.

Have you ordered x-rays? Yes, they're on their way.

-She'll need an urgent CT scan. -It's organized.

Decerebrate response?

It's her husband.

I want you to talk to her.

Rae, it's John.

Try it again.

Rae, it's me.

It's John, Rae.

Down came the rain

And washed poor Wincy out

Out came the sunshine And dried up all the rain

And Incy-Wincy spider Crawled up the spout again

That's a funny one.

Will you try it with Mummy now?

No.

Oh, come on.

Incy-Wincy spider

Crawled up the water....

Spout!

Down came the rain And

Washed poor Wincy out

-Out came the sunshine -He fell down!

And dried up all the rain

Danny. Danny, come on, darling.

-Get back in your seat. -I've got him. I saved him.

Danny!

Danny!

Mommy!

No!

No!

No!

No!

It's okay. It's all right.

-I was holding him! -I know, I know.

John, I could smell his head.

Stop it, Rae. Stop it.

No, I can't!

I'm so scared.

I'm so scared.

He's gone. He's gone, baby.

We can never get him back.

Hey.

It's gonna take a long time.

Now, you know that. They warned us.

Let's go home.

-Please? -It'll be worse there.

-I don't think I can get rid of it. -Yes, you can.

No, I can't.

Don't say that.

Now, look...

...we've got weeks and weeks.

Calm days, calm seas.

Now, we're gonna get strong.

And when you're strong...

...then we'll go home and we'll start again.

Won't we, Rae?

Say it, Rae. Won't we?

Say it, Rae. Won't we?

What's wrong, Ben?

Come on, mate.

What was it?

It's nothing. Just the dawn.

Is there any wind?

Not a whisper.

So, what day is it today?

I don't know, Thursday or Friday. One of those days with an R in it.

Oh, look at that.

First boat in three weeks.

She's been through some weather, that's for sure.

Is there anybody on deck?

Not that I can see.

I'll call them up.

Oh, do you have to?

I like it like this.

Just the two of us.

So do I.

But look at her, Rae.

That boat's in trouble.

Black schooner to my east, black schooner to my east.

This is yacht Saracen, Victor Kilo 2-7-6-2.

Position 16-16 south, 176-47 west.

Do you read me? Over.

John!

John!

-Arf, arf! -Whoa.

I thought I saw something between here and the boat.

What is it, a turtle?

No. It's bigger.

-You see anything? -Not yet. Hold on.

There it is.

It's a dinghy.

Adrift?

No, there's a man in it.

Save it! We'll drop down to you!

You hear me? Ship your oars!

Get the fender, darling.

Stand off!

Take it easy.

Get him some water, darling.

-Not too much. -Okay.

-Here you are. -Thanks.

My name is Hughie Warriner.

-John Ingram. My wife, Rae. -Hi.

I'm 32 days outward bound from Papeete. I'm heading for Fiji.

I only bought her about three months ago.

My plan had been to cruise around the Pacific...

...to sail around the Pacific.

Who would have thought, right?

What's your trouble?

Trouble is she's going down, that's the trouble.

She's not gonna last the morning.

-Are you sure? -Yeah, she opened up all over.

Has the water hit your engine?

My engine, the radio...

...the fucking bulkhead. Galleys.

Everything.

My only chance was to try to reach you in the dinghy.

See what Mr. Warriner needs, darling, and, um, get him to bed.

All right.

Where are you going?

Well, um, I ought to get over there.

How many people onboard?

Nobody. I'm alone. I'm it.

You tried to take her across the Pacific on your own?

No.

There were six of us.

The others died 10 days ago.

One by one.

It all happened in a day.

What happened?

Have you ever thought about how life can hinge on the smallest thing?

I mean, ever since I was a kid, I thought salmon was for cats.

Was it canned salmon?

Yeah.

At first we thought it was the tourist trots...

...until, uh, Chantal looked at her hand...

...and said Picasso should have painted it.

It had seven fingers.

Double vision, huh?

Sounds like botulism.

What's that?

It's a lethal form of food poisoning. It hits the nervous system.

Hmm. Yeah, well, I tried everything.

There's no treatment.

Not on a small boat there's not. Not 1200 miles from land.

Well, ahem...

...when you're ready, Mr. Warriner.

We better go and salvage your gear.

My--? My gear? You're looking at it.

There's nothing to salvage.

Everything was ruined by the water.

There must be something.

Oh, give me a break, will you? I mean, you know what I had to do?

I can guess.

You can guess.

They've been dead for days. You know what that does to a body?

You've gotta try and stop thinking about it.

I mean, I....

Fuck, I can't go back. All right? I can't go back there right now.

Ever.

That's all right. I understand.

Why don't you go to bed and get as much sleep as you can?

Thank you.

Look, I'm really sorry to ruin your day, you know?

-Here? -Yeah, straight ahead.

You all right?

Yeah. I'm fine.

You sure?

Mm-hm.

Some interesting stuff here.

Listen to this:

"South Sea Island Cruise.

Four young women wanted for photo assignment.

Must be attractive and broad-minded."

You don't like him, do you?

Hadn't really thought about it.

John, imagine what he's been through.

I'm sorry, Rae. Whichever way I turn it...

...I just can't swallow it.

Any reason?

Not really. Just 25 years at sea.

Shh.

I'm going onboard her.

You can't do that.