Wellpark Reunion 2013 - London
News and Information About the 2013 Reunion
Publication:Orange County Register; Date:Sept. 30, 2008; Section:Life etc.; Page Number:1 Life, etc.
A RESCUE REMEMBERED
A recent reunion celebrated the dramatic day 30 years ago when 346 Vietnamese were saved from a sinking ship.
By KRISTINE NGHIA VU SPECIAL TO THE REGISTER
EDITOR’S NOTE: Wednesday marks the 30th anniversary of the day a cargo ship, the Wellpark, plucked 346 Vietnamese men, women and children off a sinking boat in the stormy South China Sea.
The man who led the rescue boats, Andrew Griffin – then the Wellpark’s second mate – died three years ago of cancer at age 55. He lived in Scotland.
But many of the people rescued by Griffin and others on the Wellpark live – and thrive – in Orange County. Those survivors and their relatives, plus people connected to the Wellpark, held a reunion recently in Garden Grove. Below is an edited version of Kristine Vu’s account of the rescue. To read her full, unedited story, and to see more pictures of the reunion, go to ocregister.com/life.
Once we set foot on the boat to leave Vietnam, we were exasperated from the seemingly endless and strenuous journey. …
We were packed like a can of sardines at the bottom of the boat. … There was no room to move or breathe. We were forced to lie on a damp floor, and the stench of the dripping sweat from the person next to you was wildly nauseating. We had to endure noxious living situations along with the smell of diesel gas and sea water, all mixed with vomit. … We were exposed to the foul odors for days as the boat rocked back and forth relentlessly.
As the sun was setting, we became frightened as the blackness of the night consumed the horizon. The only sounds that could be heard were the waves crashing against our boat. Darkness did not come alone; it was accompanied by other unfortunate challenges. The compass began to malfunction, and the steering wheel was damaged. The sea water was slowly leaking into our boat. The water pumper was useless and, as a result, we had to manually dump it out.
We were no longer in control of this vessel. We stood helplessly as the ocean determined our fate.
On the fourth evening, underneath the heavens, a storm was quickly making its way toward us. The atmosphere and attitudes dramatically changed. Not only was the ship damaged, our resolve and morale were damaged as well. Our worst fears were becoming reality. The only thing that awaited us was death.
Just as misfortune seemed apparent, a small bird resembling a sparrow appeared out of nowhere and planted itself on top of the sail.
It perched itself without a care in the world. Even with a raging storm stalking us, the bird was there to assure we saw the light through this dimly lit tunnel. All it took was a bird to calm everyone down and give them hope. Everyone believed that the bird was a sign of a predestined fate because as soon as it appeared, a miracle happened. The Wellpark was our savior, and came just in the nick of time. Four hundred lives were saved and the reality of how fragile life was was on full display that fateful day.
After we were rescued, the Wellpark continued its course with 346 new and relieved passengers on board.
Thirty years have passed, and every time I reminisce about my life, I … remember my journey to Wellpark; the captain, crew members. … Thank you for giving all of us a future.
HONORS: Pat Griffin, of Newcastle, Scotland, above, is supported by daughter Carmel Fenton as she faces the people her late husband, Andrew Griffin, saved. At left, Nga Trinh and Chi Pham at the reunion.
JEBB HARRIS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER REUNITED: Chi Pham gets a hug from Hector Connell, who was captain of the Wellpark when it rescued Pham, one of 346 Vietnamese boat people, in 1 978. Connell was among a handful of Wellpark crew and family who came to the reunion.
A recent reunion celebrated the dramatic day 30 years ago when 346 Vietnamese were saved from a sinking ship.
By KRISTINE NGHIA VU SPECIAL TO THE REGISTER
EDITOR’S NOTE: Wednesday marks the 30th anniversary of the day a cargo ship, the Wellpark, plucked 346 Vietnamese men, women and children off a sinking boat in the stormy South China Sea.
The man who led the rescue boats, Andrew Griffin – then the Wellpark’s second mate – died three years ago of cancer at age 55. He lived in Scotland.
But many of the people rescued by Griffin and others on the Wellpark live – and thrive – in Orange County. Those survivors and their relatives, plus people connected to the Wellpark, held a reunion recently in Garden Grove. Below is an edited version of Kristine Vu’s account of the rescue. To read her full, unedited story, and to see more pictures of the reunion, go to ocregister.com/life.
Once we set foot on the boat to leave Vietnam, we were exasperated from the seemingly endless and strenuous journey. …
We were packed like a can of sardines at the bottom of the boat. … There was no room to move or breathe. We were forced to lie on a damp floor, and the stench of the dripping sweat from the person next to you was wildly nauseating. We had to endure noxious living situations along with the smell of diesel gas and sea water, all mixed with vomit. … We were exposed to the foul odors for days as the boat rocked back and forth relentlessly.
As the sun was setting, we became frightened as the blackness of the night consumed the horizon. The only sounds that could be heard were the waves crashing against our boat. Darkness did not come alone; it was accompanied by other unfortunate challenges. The compass began to malfunction, and the steering wheel was damaged. The sea water was slowly leaking into our boat. The water pumper was useless and, as a result, we had to manually dump it out.
We were no longer in control of this vessel. We stood helplessly as the ocean determined our fate.
On the fourth evening, underneath the heavens, a storm was quickly making its way toward us. The atmosphere and attitudes dramatically changed. Not only was the ship damaged, our resolve and morale were damaged as well. Our worst fears were becoming reality. The only thing that awaited us was death.
Just as misfortune seemed apparent, a small bird resembling a sparrow appeared out of nowhere and planted itself on top of the sail.
It perched itself without a care in the world. Even with a raging storm stalking us, the bird was there to assure we saw the light through this dimly lit tunnel. All it took was a bird to calm everyone down and give them hope. Everyone believed that the bird was a sign of a predestined fate because as soon as it appeared, a miracle happened. The Wellpark was our savior, and came just in the nick of time. Four hundred lives were saved and the reality of how fragile life was was on full display that fateful day.
After we were rescued, the Wellpark continued its course with 346 new and relieved passengers on board.
Thirty years have passed, and every time I reminisce about my life, I … remember my journey to Wellpark; the captain, crew members. … Thank you for giving all of us a future.
HONORS: Pat Griffin, of Newcastle, Scotland, above, is supported by daughter Carmel Fenton as she faces the people her late husband, Andrew Griffin, saved. At left, Nga Trinh and Chi Pham at the reunion.
JEBB HARRIS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER REUNITED: Chi Pham gets a hug from Hector Connell, who was captain of the Wellpark when it rescued Pham, one of 346 Vietnamese boat people, in 1 978. Connell was among a handful of Wellpark crew and family who came to the reunion.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Chi Pham on
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To view the pictures please click on the following link:
http://epaper.ocregister.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=T3JhbmdlLzIwMDgv...
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Permalink Reply by Jo on
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That's a nice article and lovely photos. In the interviews I filmed many people talked about the little bird too....
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Permalink Reply by Thuy Pham AKA Bich Thuy on
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http://www.ocregister.com/articles/wellpark-boat-journey-2170914-ne...
This is a better link and it has more pictures. Enjoy!
Thuy
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My aunt Nghia Vu wrote the story and her son William Vi who just turned 25 in April helped translate to English. William was the handsome man played the piano at the reunion party. Well done both of you for a wonderfull story!
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Permalink Reply by Mike Newton on
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I remember someone mentioning the little bird 30 years ago. But I did not believe it. I thought it must be just a figment of their imagination, halucination....something to glamorise the tale. It was like the story out of the Bible, the story of the dove that brought a leaf to Moses on the Ark after the earth's surface was covered by floods.
But now having heard this from others and repeated by Christine I begin to believe it was true, another amazing detail to the story of your journey.
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Permalink Reply by Lauren Truong/aka: Van Bich Pham on
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The little white "Dove" that a lot of people saw the night of the rescue is not unheard of among the boat people. Depending on the person's religious belief the "Dove" was referenced as the Lady Budha or Mother Mary or an Angel.
I can recall seeing a glimpse of the bird hovering high above when I was pulled up to the ship by a rope. Some of us still spot it once in a while on 1 of the crane. I didn't know that it was unusual to have birds aboard and had asked our aunt about it. She said "That's the Lady Budha". Afterward, I remembered some people mentioned that they saw it flew away when we were getting close to the shore of Taiwan.
I'm sure if we have a survey about this it would be interesting to learn what people had to say.
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Permalink Reply by Huy Nguyen on
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I remember the bird well, it was a seagull. It stayed at the front of the boat, people kept chasing it away but it kept coming back. It heard someone said it was a sight of Lady Budha. Don't remember seeing one on the Wellpark. I think the poor bird was just tired with the stormy weather and want somewhere to rest
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