Captain exemplified courage, dedication on harrowing voyage

Published 9:00 pm Saturday, July 29, 2006

Frank Delaney was 9 and living in his native Ireland in December 1951 when the American freighter Flying Enterprise, en route from Europe to the United States, ran into an especially savage North Atlantic storm.

The ship was making its 27th voyage under the command of Danish-born Henrik Kurt Carlsen, 37, a veteran sailor who had gone to sea at 15.

Delaney became fascinated with the story of the ship’s struggle to stay afloat and of the determination and bravery of its captain. Many years later, he has chronicled that saga in his exciting book, “Simple Courage: A True Story of Peril on the Sea.”

The Flying Enterprise was for several weeks afterward the focus of the world’s attention, and Carlsen became – and would remain for life – the best-known sea captain.

The ship became famous because the storm cracked its hull, shifted its cargo and threw it on its port side, where it listed at between 50 and 60 degrees. It remained afloat that way for almost two weeks before sinking under tow.

Carlsen had supervised the orderly abandonment of the ship by its 10 passengers and 40 crew members but refused to leave. He wanted to stay aboard until the ship was salvaged or was irrevocably lost, and refused the requests of four crew members to stay on board with him.

A few days into his cold, wet and solitary vigil, he was joined by Richard Dancy, the mate of a tugboat who had daringly jumped from its deck to the hull of the freighter during an attempt to pass and secure a towing hawser.

Dancy stayed with Carlsen several days, but both abandoned ship when it became clear that it was foundering.

During the weeks surrounding the Flying Enterprise incident, there was extremely bad weather in the northeastern Atlantic and many ships suffered varying degrees of distress, including sinking. There were numerous losses among the yachts participating in the Fastnet Regatta and several deaths among their crews.

Yet the world’s attention remained riveted on the listing freighter and its captain, as several ships stood by waiting for the drama’s final curtain.

These ships communicated with Carlsen through his private ham radio, which outlasted the freighter’s equipment. As the days passed, the public’s interest was whetted not only by the situation but by the personality emerging from Carlsen’s daily radio conversations with his would-be rescuers.

Airplanes and small ships left English ports daily with reporters and photographers who would keep the world informed. Through it all, Carlsen exhibited no anxiety, no excitability and no distress. His main concern was to protect the interests of his employer and to reassure his family in New Jersey of his safety.

After the ordeal, Carlsen was honored in England, where he was first landed, and in New York, where he was given a ticker tape parade.

Carlsen would not mention the episode unless someone else brought it up. Delaney writes: “By his own measure he was now the rarity that no seaman ever wants to become: a captain who had lost a ship.”

“Simple Courage” is a thrilling sea story and a testament to the noble nature of humankind when put to a stern test. It’s a book that readers will long remember.