Nelson A.

The Gigantic

Did you know that for hundreds of years people have been trying to build a ship? It was no ordinary ship. It was the biggest ship in the world. It could fit up to 10,000 people. When the ship was done, it took many years  to build. The ship was brown and gold, and it said “America” in big bold black letters, but America wasn't the name of the boat. America was where the ship was built. The name of the boat was The Gigantic.

When the ship builders put the boat in the water and started to post ads about it, the ads said you would be able to stay on the boat for five days for only $120! It was a bargain ticket for a cruise from England to New York City. After only a couple weeks, almost 10,00 people had already bought tickets.

Finally it was the day to set sail. Everybody with a ticket got in line to get on the boat. When everyone was on board, people started to yell with happiness to their families. Then the boat started to move. People started to go to their rooms and got ready for dinner. There were over 50 things to eat like shrimp, hot dogs, hamburgers, and pasta. After dinner, everyone went to the deck to dance.

Suddenly, there was a big crash! The Gigantic hit another boat called the U.S. Hammer. The Hammer was sinking! Everyone was screaming in fear, looking at the boat with people in it. Then, five minutes after the boats had collided, The Hammer was underwater and no one survived.

The Gigantic had its own problems. The other boat ripped a hole in the side of the boat.  The loudspeakers turned on and the Captain said, “Water is coming through the hole!”  Everyone panicked. The workers started to pass out life jackets and started to get the rafts down, but people kept bumping into each other and one raft fell off the boat, so there were only 19 rafts instead of 20.

Next, the loud speakers turned on again and this time the Captain said,  “Women and children will go on the rafts first. When there are no more women and children, then we will let men on board.”

When all the children and women were gone, there were no more rafts. The deck of the ship was up in the air and the other half was under water. All you could see was people in the water drowning and you could even see people frozen as an ice cube and as blue as a recycling bin.

Suddenly, the whole ship sunk and only the stuff from the boat could be used as a raft so you wouldn't freeze in the water. More than 9,000 people died in the water. A searching crew looked for anyone alive, but there were only five men who survived the freezing water,  and 100 women and children survived in the rafts. 105 people survived total. This is the story of The Gigantic.