S.S Allure | 05 May, 1967 | 08:34 P.M
Lake Michigan
Twenty-four minutes have come and gone. Sinking fast by her stern, the Allure's fate is sealed. Resting very low in the water, her stern would soon be swallowed by the Lake. The S.S Allure, as of this moment, has just minutes to live.
Many people remained aboard her, anxious and eager to get to safety of the Dauntless. The older sister ship was on scene to aid in the emergency evacuation.
The bow has slowly been rising up out of the water the lower the stern settled. The bow thrusters, mechanisms that aren't supposed to be visible, were now rising out of the water.
"Get those damn boats in the water!" Captain Rowell yelled to his crew, who weren't moving fast enough. He is the Captain of the older and smaller sister ship; the S.S Dauntless.
He then looked directly ahead, witnessing the final minutes of the S.S Allure. Her bow was rising, with water nearly at the top of the lowest deck of the stern.
No power, meant no lights. No power, meant no communication between the two ships. As far as he was concerned, the crew were all but on their own.
"Boats being swung out now Sir," a senior officer alerted him. But he disregarded the officer because he couldn't take his eyes off the dying Allure. A spectacle to see, a nightmare to remember.
Back on the Allure, the crew being overwhelmed by passengers pushing and shoving their way past them to secure a seat on the last three boats.
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
Shots had been fired. Passengers screamed and shouted. A crew member had drawn his pistol, firing three warning shots into the air.
Captain Rowell picked up his binoculars, holding them up and over his eyes. Looking through them, he saw a crewman possessing a firearm. Something that is strictly prohibited on all MidWestern's ships.
"Get back! These boats will buckle under intense weight. Do you all want to be dumped into the water?"
He continued holding his gun above his head, aimed straight up and never once aimed directly at the passengers. In a way, the crewman was only using the firearm as a way to reestablish order to the surrounding and unfolding chaos.
"Didn't think so!" He continued as he lowered his gun and slid it back into his inner coat pocket. Turning around, he extended his arms out to his side.
"Lower away," he ordered as he began moving his arms up and down, signaling to lower together and in sync.
CREAK!
GROAN!
The ship was beginning to list heavily to Port, which wasn't a good sign of what's to come. Not only that, but the water was now washing over the stern, with it being entirely submerged a moment thereafter. She was now dropping like a stone now that the stern was gone. Her bow was rising higher, but at an accelerated pace, faster than before.
"Oh my," Captain Rowell muttered quietly as he saw what looked to be the hull starting to fail: succumbing to the stress of an uneven keel. At the waterline, just barely visible to the naked eye, the hull was starting to bend and bulge outward. Although, it was bending slowly, it was a serious danger nonetheless. If the ship broke, many more lives could be lost.
The higher the bow rose, the more noticeable the failing hull became. It was bending outward, with the weld lines being ripped open like scissors cutting paper.
"My god," a female passenger said as she gasped and covered her mouth. "Those poor people."
Two lifeboats were launched simultaneously on the Portside of the ship. With one just one boat remaining, the remaining passengers had two options.
ONE: they could jump overboard and be plucked from the water by the lifeboats from the Dauntless, or TWO: they could test their luck by running to the bow and postponing the inevitable. The inevitable being pulled underwater by the strong undertow current, drowning. Options were limited and time was dwindling…fast.
Captain Hendrickson was still on the Bridge, but departed it when he saw large clusters of people running up towards the rising bow.
BANG!
"Lord have mercy on their souls," the same female passenger aboard the Dauntless said in shock and horror.
As the hull continued to bend and deform, portholes were shattering and blowing out shards of glass. The first signs of an impending breakup began showing themselves. The wooden boat deck was in a sense being stretched out as the hull beneath was crushing inwards.
Because wood isn't rubber and cannot be stretched out, the planks began giving way to the stress and cracking, with a few snapping and separating from the main superstructure.
"Release the falls," a crewman shouted from one of the lifeboats that had just touched down in the water.
The lifeboats were made of fiberglass and steel. The hulls were fiberglass, and the cover over the boat was constructed with steel rods to support the orange canopy.
Being dangerously over capacity, the boats rested low, with the white part of the hull being entirely underwater.
Even though some of the deck planks were giving way, the ship was holding up for the most part. Almost as if she was refusing to give in and break. A testament to how well built the Allure was.
"Michigan Coast Guard to S.S Allure, over," a man's voice said, "come in S.S Allure."
"MGD to Michigan Coast Guard; Captain Rowell. MGA power failure. Radio silent."
S.S Allure -- MGA
S.S Dauntless-- MGD
As for John, he hears someone calling out for help down on the stern's B deck. He ran down the stairs.
By the time he got down there, the water was ankle-height and rising fast. He looked to right and then left.
Over by the bar, clinging onto a mounted barstool, was an elderly man. He was struggling to keep his grip on the slippery metal pipe that mounted the barstool to the deck. John hurried as fast as he could, but the rushing currents of the deepening water were going against him.
"Help me!" The old man cried out desperately.
John noticed that the man wasn't wearing a life jacket. Without thinking anything of it, he untied the straps on his. After tirelessly fighting the currents and the downward pull from the stern, he'd made it over to Russel. He took his life jacket off and began trying to calm the old man down.
"We have to move quickly. Take mine. Put it on and come with me, Russ!" John yelled.
Russ shook his head as he let go of the barstool. When he did, he slipped, almost hit his head on the bar. The bottles stored on glass shelves behind the counter were sliding off the shelves; falling into the water with a splash.
"Everything is going to be okay. You're going to be okay. We're going to survive, I promise you that," John told him, "where's Dorothy?"
"On that ship!" Russ shouted as he put the life jacket over his head and slid it over his body. John made sure it was properly fit on Russel. Looking back over his shoulder, he caught a quick glance of the Dauntless, which was about a quarter of a mile away.
"Take my hand," John said. Russ grabbed it and held it tight.
The two of them began making their way back over to the stairwell leading up to the boat deck above. The water was now passing their waistlines, causing them to walk slower. They were both on the verge of loosing their footing.
Luckily, someone else heard the desperate cries for help and had also come rushing down the stairs. He leapt into the water and began swimming over to John and Russ. He wasn't wearing a life jacket either. From the looks of it, he was a part of the crew. Wearing a white buttoned-up shirt with a black tie, black pants, and black leather shoes. His nametag is pinned to his shirt above his upper shirt pocket.
"Take my hand," he shouted to John and Russ, "follow me!"
"Any chance you know how to swim, Russ?" John asked.
"I do."
"We have to swim."
The ceiling of the deck above was coming down on top of them. If they don't move fast, it'll force them under. Won't be able to breathe or see.
When they got to the stairs, they were almost underwater. They aren't off the hook yet. The water was following fast behind them…and soon it will catch up with them.
When they got back up onto the boat deck, they were soaking wet and cold. Their lips were turning blue. Their bodies were losing heat. Even with the temperature being a steady 62 degrees, it felt much colder coming out of the water.
"He needs to get in one of those boats!" John told the crewman.
"Why'd you stay back?" John asked.
"Our belongings were left in our room."
For a moment, John thought about going down to get their stuff. He quickly second guessed himself though. Too risky, too dangerous.
"Everything we'd packed with us—is gone."
"Not everything," John said, "you still have Dorothy."
From the boat deck on the S.S Dauntless, Dorothy watched on in horror. She and a few of her friends stood by her side.
"Russel," Dorothy mumbled as she shed a tear.
"Dear god! They're jumping overboard!" A friend of hers gasped. She'd covered her mouth and pointed at what she was seeing.
The three-hundred or so passengers have conjured at the bow. The bow was ridden and over-occupied. What they didn't realize, is that their weight was feeding into the already stressing hull.
CREAK!
SQUEAK!
These are the sounds of the Allure giving in, unable to staying afloat any longer. She fought diligently until the end.
They all continued to watch in horror as they watched the ship's list grew more steep. The time: 08:39 P.M. The water creeps ever closer.
"Jump or run!"
The incoming lifeboats stopped when they saw the ship capsizing. Those who were gathered at the bow realized the ship was turning over, they all began screaming. Men and women both showed their weakness and fear. As the ship capsized onto her Portside, many started jumping off and into the water. But some weren't so lucky.
"Russel! Jump. Jump now," John shouted as they both leapt over the safety railing and down, falling two feet before splashing down in the water.
The massive center funnel and outer deck walls came crashing down into the water, with the starboard side exposed. As the Portside of the ship crashed down into the water, it caused a mass tidal wave to ripple out and away from the ship. Russ and John had jumped just seconds before the funnel broke free from its casing, tumbling down into the water.
The ship is leveling out in the water, with the bow going back down. The stern rose slightly out of the water.
When John resurfaced, he looked all around for Russ. Kicking his feet and swinging his arms around, he anxiously waited for Russ to resurface. Many in the water began swimming back to the ship, now resting on her side. All in an attempt to avoid being dragged under by the current.
The wave lost momentum quickly. It then dissipated. But the water was still somewhat ripply when the wave reached the ship. The ship rocked back and forth slightly.
Russ had finally resurfaced, inhaling a large amount of air. People began climbing and pulling themselves out of the water and back onto the hull of the ship.
For now, at 08:40:12 P.M, the S.S Allure laid on her side. No one knew how long she'd remain like this. Will she lose the fight to stay afloat and founder? The hull, down the center of the ship was crumpled up like tinfoil. There were blown out portholes, with air hissing out of them. It was the trapped air inside that was keeping her afloat.
John pulled himself up out of the water, turning around after gaining his footing, and pulling Russ up onto the hull. The hull started bulging out like a bubble on flat surface.
The two lifeboats revved their engines as they raced towards the lingering vessel. John made sure the straps on Russ's life jacket held and didn't come undone while in the water.
GROAN!
All of the air trapped inside had escaped through any openings. With no air, the ship was now dead weight.
One last groan was heard as the ship began going down again. Water again was working its way towards everyone on the side of the ship. The lifeboats in the water continued racing to help those stuck.
"Listen," John shouted, "you're going to take a deep breath in on my count, understood?"
"Yeah," Russ responded.
John walked over to the edge and looked down at the rising water. It was now inches from washing over the remainder of the ship. He turned around and grabbed Russ's hand. Water began spewing out onto the hull as the ship got lower and lower.
"Remember," John shouted, "on my word you take a breath."
"Yeah, yeah," Russ said as his breathing escalated once again.
The water now washed past their feet. John and Russ both looked down at their feet as the white painted hull slowly slipped away. By the time water reached their upper waists, that's when John told Russ to take a deep breath. And they both did because the next second, the ship disappeared from under their feet, leaving them to fend off the strong undertow current.
By 08:41:04 P.M, the S.S Allure…was gone.