50. The Wave. Sophie says that the wave, which she calls “The Wave,” like the one that haunts her in her dreams, had knocked her onto the deck (from the mast) flat on her back. After the wave passed, Uncle Stew, peeking out of the main hatch, grabbed Sophie’s harness and pulled her down the hatch. Sophie writes that both of her legs were in great pain, and she thought for a second that they might be broken. She sees that Mo, Brian, and Stew are also below deck; Brian lets her know that he’s seen Cody and Dock still on board—they’re just up on deck. Cody’s head had been banged up by the wave pretty badly, and Sophie goes up and cleans his wounds and bandages them. Further, she says that the GPS, ham radio, and radar are all seemingly broken after the wave.
The Wave of Sophie’s dream has seemingly appeared in real life—but unlike her dream, this wave ultimately consumes her, crashing down on her and sweeping her onto the deck, slightly injuring her. This Wave is Sophie’s greatest nightmare come true—it’s the violence of the ocean which “pushes” her away, despite the immense “pull” of its vastness and mystery. Further, the fact that all of the navigation equipment stops working contributes to the sense of the ocean as a newly dangerous force, for the crew is now stranded, with no electronics to help orient themselves.