Baptism of Fire | 2

Summary

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Adrift – Episode 2: "Baptism of Fire" (November 10, 2025)

Overview

This episode of Adrift delves deep into the harrowing early journey and trauma of the Robertson family as they attempt to sail around the world in the 1970s—and the echoes from Dougal Robertson's traumatic past during WWII. Interwoven with flashbacks, the episode charts their initial optimism, the challenges of adapting to life at sea, and the abrupt shift into survival mode after disaster strikes. It’s a gripping tale of hope, loss, family tensions, and the raw human struggle against overwhelming odds.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Dougal Robertson’s Wartime Trauma

• Opening flashback (00:05–05:35):
  • The episode opens with a vivid recount of 18-year-old Dougal Robertson on the SS Sagain in WWII, watching his girlfriend and toddler son killed in a Japanese air attack.
  • This loss shapes Dougal’s psyche and informs his approach to both family and crisis.
  • Quote (Dougal):

    "In the blink of an eye, my life had been changed forever. I turned my head towards the clouds. My heart full of hatred. I screamed at the heavens. I would never forgive the Japanese." (04:42)

2. A Family Torn Apart and Reunited (1972)

• Scene: After the Lucette sinks
  • Dougal, initially believing Lynn and Douglas are dead, finds himself adrift with the twins Sandy and Neil, traumatized and freezing.
  • Quote (Sandy):

    "My dad was in shock." (07:38)

  • Miraculously, Lynn resurfaces and is pulled into the raft, battered but alive (09:03). Douglas soon follows.
  • The emotional reunion is fraught with fear, gratitude, and guilt.
  • Quote (Sandy):

    "We're all alive, all looking at each other, scared, in shock. And there we were." (10:30)

3. Initial Despair and Guilt

• Hopelessness and responsibility:
  • The family, barely surviving, confronts the reality of being adrift without supplies, a leaking raft, and sharks below.
  • Lynn blames herself for agreeing to Dougal’s "absurd dream" and endangering their children:

    "I put him before our children's lives, putting them at risk. And now I was gonna pay." (12:29)

  • They resolve:

    "If we only do one thing, Dougal, we must get our boys back to land." (12:46)

4. Preparing for the Voyage: Selling Everything and Saying Goodbye

• Flashback to departure (13:35 onward):
  • The family sells their farm, their possessions—even their dog—to chase Dougal’s dream of sailing the world.
  • Emotional cost captured by Sandy:

    "That dog knew. And he wimped and howled. He knew. He knew." (14:13)

  • The transition from spacious farm life to the cramped Lucette is a struggle for everyone—cramped quarters, endless waiting for the right weather, homesickness.

5. Community and Critical Luck

• Meeting another adventurous family in Falmouth:
  • Friendship forms with Icelanders Siggy and Etta; their concern about the lack of a life raft is crucial.
  • Siggy’s insistent generosity is memorable:

    "Siggy says, I'm not giving it to you, Dougal. I'm giving it to your wife and children." (17:52)

  • Lynn, pragmatic and aware of risk, is thankful:

    "My mum was very grateful. I think my mum knew the frailty of life." (18:05)

6. First Days at Sea: Chaos and Terror

• Departure and immediate challenges:
  • Finally setting sail, the Lucette and crew are slammed by storms in the Bay of Biscay. None of the children have been taught basic sailing skills, a shocking reveal for listeners.
  • Quote (Sandy):

    "Dougal had this idea of learning on the job." (21:39)

  • Anne underscores the unpreparedness:

    "It may sound unbelievable, but all those months in Falmouth, not once did Dougal actually teach his children how to sail." (21:58)

7. Narrow Escapes and Perseverance

• Storm and a near collision:
  • The family survives an almost head-on collision with a French fishing vessel thanks to a freak wave (22:32–23:47).
  • The clearing of the storm brings temporary relief and a sense of possibility.

8. Moments of Wonder and Family Dynamics

• Joy in travel:

  • Crossing the Atlantic, the family witnesses marine marvels like swordfish and narwhals. Anne calls the narwhal "one of the most beautiful things" she’s ever seen (25:44).
  • For a time, sailing becomes the grand adventure they hoped for—clear seas, sunsets, reunion with friends in the Caribbean (26:42).

• Underlying tensions remain:

  • Dougal’s old-school, authoritarian style—quick to discipline, demanding obedience—causes resentment and friction, especially with the older children.
  • Quote (Douglas):

    "There's no warning. There was just crack." (27:48)

  • Instances of harsh discipline are remembered with a mix of fear and exasperation.

• Growing up and clashes:

  • Anne and Douglas start seeking more autonomy, clashing with Dougal’s authority.
  • Anne:

    "I was always in the middle." (29:46)

9. Money, Independence, and a Fracturing Family

• Life in Miami:
  • With funds dwindling, the family lands in the wild, hedonistic scene of early-70s Florida.
  • The older children begin to break away, tested by new friends, parties, and relationships; parental authority wanes.
  • Douglas (about independence):

    "It was kids, you know, growing up and leaving the parents and...finding their own way and whether Mum and Dad like that or not, tough luck. It was happening." (31:19)

  • Tensions rise to a breaking point, leading to Anne’s impending shocking decision and an upcoming impossible choice for Douglas.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On trauma and loss:

  "My heart full of hatred. I screamed at the heavens. I would never forgive the Japanese."
  — Dougal Robertson (04:42)

• On gratitude and survival:

  "We're all alive, all looking at each other, scared, in shock. And there we were."
  — Sandy Robertson (10:30)

• On facing reality:

  "Are we going to die?"
  — Lynn Robertson (13:18)

• On hope and resolve:

  "If we only do one thing, Dougal, we must get our boys back to land."
  — Lynn Robertson (12:46)

• On stubbornness vs. safety:

  "Siggy says, I'm not giving it to you, Dougal. I'm giving it to your wife and children."
  — Sandy Robertson (17:52)

• On their lack of seamanship prep:

  "It may sound unbelievable, but all those months in Falmouth, not once did Dougal actually teach his children how to sail."
  — Anne Robertson (21:58)

• On misadventurous discipline:

  "He made Neil eat them. Eat this. Eat it. And oh, my God, did we get disciplined."
  — Douglas Robertson (28:06)

• On family growing up:

  "It was kids, you know, growing up and leaving the parents and...finding their own way and whether Mum and Dad like that or not, tough luck. It was happening."
  — Douglas Robertson (31:19)

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Key Timestamps

• 00:05–05:35 — Dougal’s WWII tragedy, shaping his resilience and leadership
• 05:35–13:35 — The immediate aftermath of the Lucette sinking: shock, rescue, and raw trauma
• 13:35–18:19 — Preparation for their journey: selling everything, acquiring a crucial life raft
• 18:19–24:33 — Departure and first crossings: storms, lack of preparedness, and narrow escapes
• 24:33–27:55 — Wonders at sea, the adventure’s promise, Caribbean interlude
• 27:55–30:42 — Hard realities: Dougal’s discipline, the kids coming of age
• 30:42–32:00 — Arrival in Miami, loss of innocence, and foreshadowing of choices to come

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Tone and Style

The episode maintains a cinematic, immersive tone—blending first-person testimony, recollections, and acted scenes. The language is honest, sometimes raw and unfiltered, particularly around trauma and family tensions. The storytelling moves fluidly between moments of horror, wonder, humor, and family conflict, ensuring listeners feel every high and low.

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This episode documents not just a voyage or a disaster, but a family’s attempt to chase a dream together, and the cracks—old and new—that emerge under extreme pressure. The closing lines hint at growing ruptures within the family, setting the stage for the emotional currents and survival drama yet to play out.

Transcript

[Becky Milligan]

April 1942. Four months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. An old British ship slowly edges through the waters off the coast of modern day Sri Lanka.

[Dougal Robertson]

The SS Sagain, a decrepit old rust bucket eking out a living until the onset of the war, had bought her a reprieve.

[Becky Milligan]

Right up on the bridge of the ship with the best view of everything. Junior third officer, 18 year old Dougal Robertson. He's on lookout.

[Dougal Robertson]

All clear, Captain on board.

[Becky Milligan]

Precious cargo. His girlfriend Jesse and their toddler Duncan. They're on the main deck.

[Dougal Robertson]

I watched as Jesse appeared, carefully holding young Duncan, his golden curls crowning his smiling.

[Becky Milligan]

Families aren't usually allowed on board, but just this once the captain has turned a blind eye.

[Dougal Robertson]

Jessie's bright blue kimono flapped in the wind as she tried to control her long black hair in the blustery sea air. She helped her little boy wave at me. I waved back until they disappeared from.

[Becky Milligan]

View in the depths of the ship. More precious cargo.

[Dougal Robertson]

Fighter aircraft, ammunition, mines for the Allies.

[Becky Milligan]

And that makes them a target for the Japanese.

[Dougal Robertson]

We'd been forced close inshore in a deadly game of cat and mouse.

[Becky Milligan]

Then he spots something through the cloud.

[Dougal Robertson]

Bridge, starboard lookout. Zero fighter aircraft. My blood ran cold as I saw the unmistakable glint of metal in the sky.

[Becky Milligan]

Cover.

[Dougal Robertson]

Take cover. A second later, the sickening whine of Japanese aircraft.

[Becky Milligan]

Dougal is thrown to the deck. The front of the ship has been badly hit.

[Dougal Robertson]

I squinted into the sun just as the first of three aircraft banked sharply to the left and disappeared into the glare. They were coming back to bomb us again. They weren't finished. I had to find Jesse and Duncan. I jumped clear of the bridge as machine gun bullets tore into the ship all around me. The floor was tilting under my feet. I ran to the open decks where I last saw Jesse and Duncan. I crouched low. The planes passed over me, spitting fire with deadly accuracy. Another massive blast deep within the ship where all the explosives were stored. A choking, blinding fog rapidly covered the entire ship. Billowing black clouds of impenetrable, acrid, suffocating smoke. One last frantic dash brought me to the deck.

[Becky Milligan]

A scene of utter devastation.

[Dougal Robertson]

A tower of smoke reaching thousands of feet into the sky. Panic stricken crew poured onto the decks, some with strips of flesh torn from their arms and legs. I gulped the air in shallow, rapid gasps. My greatest fear suddenly a reality. Jessie lay face down. I dropped to my knees, slumping over her lifeless body. Don't leave me, my. I did not want to let her go. But for my sweetheart and the dearest mother of my son. It was already too late. Then my eyes caught sight of a bundle. My son. My son. His white face frozen in his moment of death. His blond curls turned black with blood. In the blink of an eye, my life had been changed forever. I turned my head towards the clouds. My heart full of hatred. I screamed at the heavens. I would never forgive the Japanese.

[Becky Milligan]

This is Adrift, an Apple original podcast produced by Blanchard House. I'm Becky Milligan. SA2 baptism of fire 30 years later, somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, Dougal sits in the life raft and thinks about those events half a lifetime ago, watching that ship go down. And now he's lost another love, another son. Lynn and Douglas are missing, probably dead. Dougal doesn't know if he can go on. I'm so cold.

[Dougal Robertson]

I'm so cold.

[Becky Milligan]

But he has to. For his other kids. The twins, Sandy and Neil. They need him now more than ever.

[Dougal Robertson]

It's gonna be all right, boys.

[Becky Milligan]

He holds them close. He feels their little bodies shaking and shivering. Dougal is shattered, traumatized. His desperate swim to the raft has taken every last ounce of his strength.

[Dougal Robertson]

It's all right, my boys. I struggled to bring myself under control. Wave after wave of sickening fear gripped my soul.

[Sandy Robertson]

My dad was in shock.

[Douglas Robertson]

He was lost for words.

[Becky Milligan]

Just sitting there, Dougal's thinking, what next? They're lost in the middle of the Pacific Ocean in a tiny life raft. Dougal also managed to salvage a three person fiberglass dinghy, which he attaches to the raft.

[Dougal Robertson]

My watch would tell us the time, but apart from that, we had no compass, no charts, no instruments of any kind.

[Becky Milligan]

He will have to rely on his skills as a master mariner, using the stars, the sun, the winds and the sea currents. That's all he has. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, Dougal sees something moving in the water. Dougal pulls the twins away from the edge of the raft.

[Dougal Robertson]

Finally, the whales had returned to finish us off.

[Becky Milligan]

But it's not the killer whales.

[Dougal Robertson]

Like a glorious miracle, Lyn suddenly burst through the surface of the water right in front of my eyes.

[Becky Milligan]

Dougal clutches his wife's hands.

[Dougal Robertson]

I was not going to risk losing her again.

[Becky Milligan]

He hauls Lyn into the raft, hugging.

[Dougal Robertson]

And kissing her, grateful beyond words that she was alone.

[Becky Milligan]

On Lynn's neck and chest. Cuts and terrible bruising. She was only wearing her nightie when they sank. Now it's torn to shreds. She looks around.

[Lynn Robertson]

Where's Douglas?

[Becky Milligan]

They don't know. And the wind is carrying the raft away from where the Lucet went down, carrying it further from where Douglas disappeared. Dougal is steeling himself to tell the twins that Douglas is gone. Douglas.

[Dougal Robertson]

Oh, my son. Oh, my son.

[Becky Milligan]

Dougal grabs hold of his arms and drags him into the raft.

[Sandy Robertson]

My mum was so pleased to see me. She said, dougie. Douglas, my boy. And she hugged me, my beautiful boy. I still got my legs. I hadn't been attacked by the killer whales. I was so grateful to be lying inside that raft.

[Becky Milligan]

He looks up at all the faces looking down at him.

[Sandy Robertson]

The twins are there. My dad's there. My mum's there. We're all alive, all looking at each other, scared, in shock. And there we were.

[Becky Milligan]

The first moment of calm since the horror of the attack. They've all survived for now.

[Sandy Robertson]

We started to recount our stories, trying to piece together what had happened.

[Becky Milligan]

Douglas tells them how he'd been waiting to be eaten by the killer whales. But when he saw the raft, he just swam for it. Swam for his life. Lynn, shivering, hugging the twins, says when her nightie got caught on part of the lucette, she was trapped, tethered to a sinking ship.

[Sandy Robertson]

She was going down with the boat.

[Becky Milligan]

She was dragged deeper and deeper under.

[Sandy Robertson]

The waves and she was holding her breath and holding her breath and holding her breath.

[Becky Milligan]

Lynn was frantic. She pulled again and again on her nighty and then it ripped.

[Sandy Robertson]

And she broke free.

[Becky Milligan]

But the joy of being alive, of being together, is short lived.

[Sandy Robertson]

You're cast adrift in a raft in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and you haven't got a chance in hell.

[Becky Milligan]

What's gonna happen to us, dad? Remember Neil crying Lynn stares at her husband, who is still barely able to speak.

[Lynn Robertson]

The burden of guilt, remorse and responsibility must have been unbearable for him. He looked gray and utterly exhausted.

[Becky Milligan]

Lynn is blaming herself too. She shouldn't have given in to Dougal's absurd dream.

[Lynn Robertson]

But I loved Dougal. That's why I was here. I put him before our children's lives, putting them at risk. And now I was gonna pay.

[Becky Milligan]

She holds Dougal's hand and says quietly.

[Lynn Robertson]

If we only do one thing, Dougal, we must get our boys back to land.

[Becky Milligan]

But Dougal knows the truth. The life raft is old and it's already leaking. A storm could flip it over in seconds.

[Douglas Robertson]

Remember how cold it was?

[Becky Milligan]

And beneath them, predators are circling.

[Sandy Robertson]

My mum said, dougal, tell us the truth.

[Lynn Robertson]

Are we going to die?

[Becky Milligan]

October 1970. A year and a half earlier.

[Dougal Robertson]

Sunday. Hand me the boat. Talk, Douglas. Don't just stand there. Go up and give me a Hand.

[Douglas Robertson]

Probably one of the saddest days of my life. To actually move away from the place.

[Becky Milligan]

You loved, that must have been really hard.

[Sandy Robertson]

It was.

[Douglas Robertson]

It was terrible because that was our life. There was no outside interference. That was our life.

[Becky Milligan]

The Robertsons have sold the farm and everything they own and they've had to give away their dog.

[Sandy Robertson]

That dog knew. And he wimped and howled. He knew. He knew.

[Becky Milligan]

11 year old Sandy watches from the back window of the car as his old life disappears. The Lucette, the family's new home, is anchored in Falmouth harbour in the southwest of England. It's an aging wooden boat. It feels tiny after the space and free freedom of Meadows farm. Douglas is 16.

[Sandy Robertson]

It was cramped.

[Becky Milligan]

And daughter Anne is 17.

[Anne Robertson]

It was bloody uncomfortable.

[Sandy Robertson]

You banged your head on the bloody doorway. We had to duck underneath the boom.

[Anne Robertson]

Tiny. Tiny.

[Douglas Robertson]

No escape.

[Sandy Robertson]

A completely different way of living. I was not impressed, I've gotta say.

[Becky Milligan]

But this is it. This. This is their new home. And they're going to have to get used to it. They're ready to go, but the only thing stopping them is the weather.

[Sandy Robertson]

October, November, December. Living on this boat.

[Becky Milligan]

And it's driving them crazy.

[Sandy Robertson]

We hadn't sailed an inch yet.

[Becky Milligan]

One day the Robertson children notice a large boat moored up from Iceland. And they spot some other kids the same ages. They start playing together. Come on over to our boat. Our boat's better than your boat. And they soon discovered they have something in common.

[Douglas Robertson]

We're going to sail around the world.

[Sandy Robertson]

Yeah.

[Becky Milligan]

Yeah.

[Douglas Robertson]

So are we. We're going around the world.

[Becky Milligan]

Let's play hide and seek.

[Anne Robertson]

Let's play hide and seek.

[Sandy Robertson]

Suddenly, here was another family as crazy as we were. We struck up a friendship. We were like one big family.

[Becky Milligan]

That's. Siggy gets on well with Dougal.

[Sandy Robertson]

Despite their differences, Siggy was a nice, kind man. Quite a contrast to my dad, who was a rough and ready, ferocious, fearsome man.

[Dougal Robertson]

You're liking our drum of whiskey here, pass me a.

[Lynn Robertson]

Boys don't eat all the potatoes.

[Becky Milligan]

And while they wait for better weather, the families spend long evenings over dinner swapping stories.

[Dougal Robertson]

Envy, Siggy. We just got into port in Hong Kong. What an amazing place. I loved it. That's where I met Lin.

[Lynn Robertson]

It was gorgeous. Then those were the days, eh?

[Dougal Robertson]

Alrighty.

[Becky Milligan]

Siggy and his wife Etta have noticed something the Lucette is missing. A crucial bit of kit. A life raft. As luck would have it, they have a spare one. So they offer it to Dougal, but he's adamant he doesn't need it.

[Dougal Robertson]

Dougal said the best lifeboat we've got is the Lucette itself. I mean, the boat's not gonna actually sink.

[Sandy Robertson]

Siggy says, I'm not giving it to you, Dougal. I'm giving it to your wife and children.

[Becky Milligan]

What did your dad say then?

[Sandy Robertson]

He had no choice. He had to take it.

[Becky Milligan]

What did your mum say?

[Sandy Robertson]

My mum was very grateful. I think my mum knew the frailty of life.

[Becky Milligan]

27Th of January, 1972. Finally, after months of waiting, the wind turned.

[Anne Robertson]

The tide was right.

[Sandy Robertson]

The wind was right and Dougal decided it was now or never.

[Becky Milligan]

They've got all their supplies and Dougal smuggles some luxury items on board.

[Sandy Robertson]

A couple of bottles of whiskey for medicinal purposes. We were told by Doug the moment of truth had arrived.

[Dougal Robertson]

Cast off.

[Sandy Robertson]

We'Re off.

[Anne Robertson]

Gone.

[Sandy Robertson]

And there was Dougal stamping on the deck, shouting and pumping the air with his fist. And I thought, so you did do it for yourself after all. The children were just an excuse, you know. This was Dougal's dream.

[Becky Milligan]

A few miles out in the Bay of Biscay, the winds pick up.

[Sandy Robertson]

Luceptic adept and the first wave came over the bow. The spray hit us. Cold, wet spray hits it in the face.

[Becky Milligan]

It's now blowing a gale and the sky darkens to an inky black.

[Sandy Robertson]

The wind in the rigging was shrill. It was scary just listening to that. These waves are getting big.

[Douglas Robertson]

Great white, snotty rollers blowing down on top of Lucette.

[Sandy Robertson]

Mountainous waves coming from the north. They weren't 20 foot. Now they were 30 foot, maybe even 40 foot. Oh, it was firing to us.

[Becky Milligan]

And Sandy doesn't feel prepared.

[Douglas Robertson]

Mom and dad never said anything about this.

[Sandy Robertson]

I remember my mother saying, we're in trouble here. I was terrified. This was a world I didn't know.

[Becky Milligan]

These rookie sailors have never seen anything like it. Water is seeping in through the cabin.

[Douglas Robertson]

Floors and suddenly I was feeling seasick.

[Anne Robertson]

Everyone was sick.

[Sandy Robertson]

Ah, I really felt.

[Anne Robertson]

Even my father was sick.

[Becky Milligan]

Below deck, it's a mess. Douglas, up on deck, Dougal is yelling at his kids, telling them what to do.

[Dougal Robertson]

Douglas.

[Becky Milligan]

Douglas, come and take the wheel. Douglas has never steered a boat in his life. Now he's expected to stay on course in the middle of a storm. The boat makes a sudden turn.

[Sandy Robertson]

And Dougal turns around to me, what you doing? And I said, I've got no idea what I'm doing. Dougal had this idea of learning on the job.

[Douglas Robertson]

We'd never done anything like how to.

[Anne Robertson]

Tie knots and how to stand up when the Boat's moving.

[Becky Milligan]

It may sound unbelievable, but all those months in Falmouth, not once did Dougal actually teach his children how to sail.

[Sandy Robertson]

We could have just sailed round the bay, couldn't we?

[Douglas Robertson]

We hadn't done a thing.

[Sandy Robertson]

Couldn't we have just put the sails up and steered the boat a little?

[Becky Milligan]

The storm rages for two days, two long days.

[Sandy Robertson]

The sheer misery of it.

[Becky Milligan]

Douglas has been at the wheel for hours. His sister Anne takes over and suddenly she shouts, There's a boat, a big French fishing ship, much bigger than the Lucette, heading straight for them. Less than 100 yards away and getting closer by the second. Dougal SOUNDS the horn. It's pointless. The blast is lost in the storm. It's going to be a head on collision. Then the fishing ship is somehow carried upwards on a huge freak wave. Incredibly, as the Lucette plunges down to the bottom of the wave, the other vessel sweeps over them on the top of the same wave.

[Sandy Robertson]

I don't know how we missed it.

[Douglas Robertson]

At last, all those big waves had gone, disappeared.

[Sandy Robertson]

The sun came out. The spell of misery had been broken.

[Becky Milligan]

Dougal has the map laid out on the table. Planning their journey. Their first port of call, Lisbon in Portugal. Then it's on to the Canary Islands, about 600 miles to the south. After that, the long trip across the Atlantic to the West Indies. For the first time, the family have a chance to take in the joy of the open seas.

[Douglas Robertson]

The water is so clear. Absolutely beautiful. This big swordfish came along. Oh, look at this. It's a prehistoric animal. This is something we'd never seen before. We used to cows and sheep and pigs and suddenly we got a glimpse of what this trip was really going to be like.

[Becky Milligan]

Can we stay on the loose set forever? 1971, late March. It's a smooth trip across the Atlantic. 32 days of mostly placid sea, clear blue waters and steady breezes. One afternoon, Anne's on deck as the sun is setting. The sky turning from blue to a pale, shimmering pink.

[Anne Robertson]

A narwhal came up out of the water. A whale, all white, with a very long horn.

[Becky Milligan]

They're called the unicorns of the sea.

[Anne Robertson]

And then it went down again and was gone. So, so magical. One of the most beautiful things.

[Becky Milligan]

Sandy is getting used to life on board Lucette very quickly.

[Douglas Robertson]

We're forgetting about Medis Farm. All that went disappeared and we were now focused on Lucett.

[Becky Milligan]

The trip is finally turning into the adventure the family had hoped for. Late April, they reach the Caribbean and Barbados. Crystal clear waters, swimming and snorkeling and exploring the island. They're reunited with their friends, the Icelanders, who've arrived ahead of them.

[Sandy Robertson]

Time seems to be suspended. You don't know even what month it is, never mind what day it is.

[Anne Robertson]

Sunrises and sunsets and night skies. It is a wonderful life to live.

[Becky Milligan]

May 1971. They head north to the island of Bequia and then cruise by St. Vincent Crescent, St. Lucia and Martinique to the lush volcanic island of Dominica.

[Douglas Robertson]

Such magical days. More magical than anything.

[Becky Milligan]

Then, in June, the Bahamas. Magical but hard work.

[Douglas Robertson]

Routine, routine, routine. Life at seas. Routine. Everybody had their job to do and.

[Becky Milligan]

Dougal runs a tight ship. If you step out of line or.

[Douglas Robertson]

Mess up, what do you think you're doing? Crack.

[Becky Milligan]

That's a whack round the ear from their dad.

[Douglas Robertson]

There's no warning. There's no warning. It was just crack.

[Becky Milligan]

The kids quickly learn. There was this one time back at the farm when Neil stole his dad's cigarettes and Dougal just lost it.

[Douglas Robertson]

He made Neil eat them. Eat this. Eat it. And oh, my God, did we get disciplined.

[Becky Milligan]

Then what happened?

[Douglas Robertson]

Took his slipper off, bent us over the chair and gave us six of the best.

[Becky Milligan]

Six of the best. Six hard whacks on the backside.

[Sandy Robertson]

We won't be doing that again.

[Becky Milligan]

But teenagers, they answer back. And Douglas.

[Douglas Robertson]

Douglas was a big lad.

[Sandy Robertson]

I was a farmer's son and very strong.

[Douglas Robertson]

He did all the work, pulling sails up and down and pulling the anchor up by hand. And he was a physical lad.

[Sandy Robertson]

Douglas was very physical.

[Anne Robertson]

He's growing up. Douglas was growing up. He's becoming a man and he had a very confined space to do it in.

[Becky Milligan]

And he's clashing with his dad.

[Douglas Robertson]

Douglas would lose his temper because Douglas had a temper and he'd lose his temper with my dad because that's the only person he could lose his temper with.

[Becky Milligan]

Dougal and Lynn are also arguing.

[Dougal Robertson]

What do you mean? Carry on the trip. You're joking, aren't you? We're broke, we've got nothing.

[Lynn Robertson]

But I could always find some work.

[Dougal Robertson]

Don't be stupid.

[Lynn Robertson]

Well, that's a bit uncalled for. I could do some nursing and Douglas could pick up some work. He's a strong lad.

[Dougal Robertson]

Forget it. We'll have to go home.

[Lynn Robertson]

Don't be ridiculous. You better be like a 3 year old.

[Dougal Robertson]

I'm not being ridiculous, I'm being bloody realistic, unlike you.

[Becky Milligan]

Calm down.

[Dougal Robertson]

Do tell me to calm down. And don't patronize.

[Becky Milligan]

It's Anne as the eldest who plays peacemaker.

[Anne Robertson]

I was always in the middle. I was the one relaying the message. I was always standing between them. I sort of got used to being in the middle.

[Becky Milligan]

So maybe it's a relief for all the family when they take a break from their trip and drop anchor. Somehow, a year and a half has slipped by, but now the money has run out and they're running very low on supplies. They sold everything to go on this family adventure. So if they want to continue, they've got to make some cash. July 1971. From the magical world of dolphins and swordfish, sunsets and storms to Miami, Florida.

[Sandy Robertson]

We were in a crazy world. Posh cars, big parties, piles of marijuana on the table. The crazy world.

[Anne Robertson]

Yeah, it was crazy.

[Sandy Robertson]

Me and Anne were just thinking, bloody.

[Douglas Robertson]

Hell, they were growing up.

[Becky Milligan]

Did your parents know what you were doing, all these parties?

[Anne Robertson]

No, of course they didn't know.

[Douglas Robertson]

Anne's got a new boyfriend.

[Anne Robertson]

I was 18, you know, my mind was elsewhere.

[Becky Milligan]

And Douglas is making new friends, too. A whole new life is opening up to them and it's hard to resist.

[Douglas Robertson]

It was kids, you know, growing up and leaving the parents and. And finding their own way and whether Mum and Dad like that or not, tough luck. It was happening.

[Becky Milligan]

And Anne is about to make a decision. Decision that will shock them all. The family dynamic is changing and Douglas continues to clash with his father. Very soon, his dad will present him with an impossible choice.

[Sandy Robertson]

We'll all die. If I do that, we're all going to die.

[Becky Milligan]

You've been listening to Adrift, an Apple original podcast produced by Blanchard House and hosted by me, Becky Milligan. Adrift is written and produced by Ben Crichton and me, Becky Milligan. The series is based on the book the Last Voyage of the Lucette by Douglas Robertson. Original score by Daniel Lloyd Evans, Louis Nankmanel and Toby Matimal. Sound design by Volkan Kiziltug and Daniel Lloyd Evans, with dialogue editing by Toby Matimal. The lead sound engineer is Volkan Kizletook. The part of Dougal Robertson is played by Mark Bonner and Lynn Robertson is played by Anne Marie Duff. Their words are adapted from Dougal and Lynn's own accounts of their story. The young Robertson twins are played by Rocco Hamill and Dexter Hutton. Other parts are played by Mark Gillis. The managing producer is Amica Shortino Nolan. The creative director of Blanchard House is Rosie Pye. The executive producer and head of content at Blanchard House is Lawrence Grisel Sa.