Page 61 of Old Girls on Deck
15
After Dick had given a long, rather rambling speech that made my sister sound like a cross between Michael Palin and Jacques Cousteau, she took a deep breath and stepped up to the podium, Casper’s notes in front of her but whether they were in any sort of order was debateable.
‘The Bermuda Triangle,’ her voice squeaked, and she cleared her throat and took a sip of water. ‘Why have people been so fascinated by this small stretch of the ocean for so long? What is it about it that has inspired tales of unexplained disappearances, superstitions, strange sea creatures and dread in so many people? Not to mention Barry Manilow.’
There was a reassuring chuckle from the audience which I think gave her renewed courage, because despite everything, she smiled. I clenched my hands together, I was so proud of her.
‘In 1964 a book was published naming the area between Florida, Bermuda and Puerto Rico “The Bermuda Triangle” for the first time, and it sold fourteen million copies. Because people love a mystery, unexplained phenomena, and in the case of this book, the possibility of ancient civilisations, holes in time, and alien abductions. And I think it is made even more enticing because Bermuda is so beautiful. There are warm blue seas, pink sand, waving palm trees. Lots of people want to go there, but what if your ship or your plane should be a target for whatever is out there? Perhaps it evokes the same thrill we get from a roller coaster or a ghost train?’
There was a murmur of agreement from the audience. From my place in the shadows, I saw her glance down at Evelyn and she gave a mad grin and two thumbs up. Diana took another sip of water and pressed on.
I was suddenly filled with admiration for my sister. Although she probably had a sound knowledge of the subject after all her years of research, she hadn’t expected to present this talk herself and certainly not in front of a large audience. She could have run away, but she hadn’t. I was once again impressed by her bravery.
‘It’s been called The Devil’s Triangle. The Graveyard of the Atlantic. Stories go back to Columbus in 1492, when he noted problems with his compass, unexplained lights, and giant waves. Mariners’ tales may have been the inspiration for Shakespeare’s The Tempest. In 1609 a fleet of nine English ships were nearing the end of a supply voyage to the Bermudas when it ran into “a cruel tempest”.
‘Many vessels were lost and no trace of them were found, but of course navigation and technology were nowhere near as effective as they are today. Then in 1881 a ghost ship was discovered, in 1918 the USS Cyclops was lost. In 1941 two other ships vanished without warning, during World War II several planes vanished, then the famous Flight 19, when five planes and a rescue seaplane disappeared.’
Diana suddenly remembered to change the pictures on the screen behind her and clicked at the button on her control. There were artistic shots of the beauties of the Bermuda coastline, the island surf, quaint little beach shacks selling drinks and souvenirs. The cerulean skies, wonderful sunsets. All those things she had seen, and – I realised with a jolt – from what she had said, usually on her own. Casper had been on the ship, having safety briefings, phone conferences with the management, discussions with the engineers, dealing with all sorts of problems. No wonder he had been so twitchy when he was home on leave.
Then came a series of grainy, black-and-white pictures of tall-masted ships and wartime planes.
I looked out at the dark auditorium for the first time. There was silence. Had they all gone? No, I heard a discreet cough and the thump of a tip-up chair as someone out there in the darkness sat down.
I could feel that people were listening intently as Diana spoke and rattled through some more pictures. Her voice had lost its initial, rather breathless tone, and she was talking in a far more relaxed way.
‘The loss of five pirate ships in the seventeenth century, known as Jingles fleet, thought to have been swallowed by sea monsters or massive holes in the ocean added to the mystery. Added to that is this: sailors through history have always been superstitious. I was married to a mariner for a long time, and there are hundreds of strange customs. Don’t whistle on board a ship or you will whistle up a wind. Don’t start a voyage on a Friday, don’t wear green, don’t mention drowning. Step onto a boat with your right foot, ships’ cats can ward off bad weather with their tails. Don’t take bananas on board ship. So sailors were more than willing to believe that there is good and bad luck, or that there is a curse on somewhere or someone.’
She cleared her throat and her hand hovered over her glass of water, but she wisely decided not to have any. Good shout, after all she couldn’t exactly dodge off the stage hoping to find a loo. I wondered how long she had been talking for; it felt like a long time, but it probably wasn’t.
I looked across into the wings where Dick had returned, and he gave me a little wave and a thumbs up.
‘It was Flight 19 that alerted the public interest in the late 1940s, because this time, the story went around the world thanks to the press interest and the publicity. Five US training planes were lost and never seen again, along with a rescue plane. But even this mystery has been explained without any mention of sea monsters or alien abduction. The truth is that there are no more losses of ships and planes in the Bermuda Triangle than anywhere else in the world. In fact, statistically there are fewer. Over the last centuries, the reefs around the islands sank a lot of wooden sailing ships, but these days the Pacific and Indian oceans are more dangerous.’
She had got back into her stride by then, and she confidently reeled off figures and explanations and put up some of her pie charts and analyses.
I had heard it said that performers can sense whether an audience is enjoying themselves, but by the time she got to the end of her talk I was still so nervous for her that I wasn’t sure if it was going well or not.
‘Anyway, I hope you have found this interesting, and thank you for listening,’ Diana said at last.
She stepped away from the podium and hesitated. Suddenly there was a huge burst of applause from the audience, and I could see Diana’s face grow hot with shock and embarrassment.
Dick came scudding onto the stage, applauding.
‘Well, wasn’t that marvellous. I learned a lot there, Diana. I’ve heard Terry’s talk and it wasn’t nearly as good. Ladies and gentlemen, wasn’t she terrific?’
We managed to leave the stage with more style than we had entered it and I was amazed to see that over an hour had passed. And even more surprisingly, I realised from her expression that Diana had enjoyed herself.
‘Well done!’ Evelyn said, hugging her as she came down the steps from the stage. ‘I only came along to give you moral support, I didn’t think I would enjoy that. But I did.’
‘Thank heavens that’s over,’ Diana said, heaving a sigh. ‘Never again!’
‘Now then, I just need five minutes,’ Dick said, appearing at speed at her side and gently steering her away from the audience members who wanted to talk to her. ‘Pierre who works in the Lautrec wine bar, told me your husband used to give a talk about the history of the Voyage Première line. Is that right? Because if you have his notes on that, I’m sure we would all want to hear it.’
‘You’re joking,’ she said, her face showing her horror. ‘It’s going to take me the rest of the trip to get over giving this one. And they weren’t his notes, they were mine.’
‘Really, well I didn’t know that. Well, that’s even more impressive. But like I said, you’re a natural. And we still have a space to fill after we leave Naples.’ He favoured her with a beseeching look that reminded me of Eddy when he knew I was making steak and kidney pie. ‘And look how well this one has gone. An absolute triumph. Did you know the captain was sitting in? He came in at the back just after the lights went down, but I saw him. I don’t miss anything.’
‘Did he see me fall over on to the stage as well?’ she asked. ‘I must have looked such a fool.’