The story is a mix of strange episodes and frightening experiences that included observing a dance of virgins on Atafu, Lowell's playing strip poker with the crew, Lowell's father dissipating a waterspout with rifle shots, near death experience when Lowell and all the crew was stricken with scurvy, and finally, the ship's conflagration and sinking in Australia followed by Lowell's 3 miles swim to the safety of a lighthouse.