OC HIGH / STUDENT NEWS AND VIEWS : Rough Waters
“The water was everywhere, and I thought the boat was going to tip over. Everyone was frantic, and that made it so much worse,” said Rosary High School junior Diane Spillan, describing what happened after a huge wave knocked out a large window of a Catalina Cruise ship on April 24.
She and about 30 other students from the Fullerton school were returning on the vessel to Long Beach after their annual three-day trip to Catalina Island Marine Institute. About 400 passengers were on board that day when the rough water hit; about 15 passengers were injured. Although they were shaken, the students from Rosary escaped serious injury.
“The trip had been very rough, but we had become used to the swaying of the boat and were dozing,” teacher Josephine Golcher said. “I awoke when I heard the wave hit the side of the boat, and I saw it break over the rail. Several of our girls were knocked onto the deck, and for several moments we could not go to their help.”
Said Spillan after the experience: “I was just glad to step off the boat.”
Christine Monette, junior , Rosary High School
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