Sinking cruise ship a 'fluke'

The 12 Marina High School students and their six adult supervisors who took a teacher-organized spring break trip to Greece never expected to end up part of international news the day after touring the island of Crete. And they never expected to fear for their lives as they awaited rescue on a sinking cruise ship.

But after a nerve-wracking experience Friday when their ship, the Sea Diamond, collided with volcanic rocks off the island of Santorini and sank, they're all back home safe and sound. And despite harrowing adventure, many say they already look forward to next year. Parents and faculty praised the kids, the ACIS Educational Travel company that arranged the trip, and even some crew members on the boat.

"They're amazing trips," said parent and chaperone Jan Eastes, whose daughters, Bridget and Alex, were also on the ship. "It just helps them to become so well-rounded. This is truly a fluke."

When disaster struck, the teens pulled together and never panicked, English teacher Don Hume said.

Some with foreign-language skills even started translating announcements for Spanish-speakers aboard.

"The kids were great," he said. "I can't say enough about how well they handled it. There was no question they were going to do what needed to be done."

The crash itself took a few minutes to sink in, Hume said. All he noticed at first was the boat tilting to the side.

"I didn't hear any bang," he said. "None of us heard any loud noise. It felt to me like they dropped the anchor before the boat stopped moving. I thought the boat would right itself, but it didn't."

Instead, it was the beginning of almost three hours of evacuations, though women and children left earlier on life boats, Eastes said.

Hume said he certainly wants to know what happened, especially since the captain will be tried on charges of negligence. But he said the main focus was on the future.

"The kids were still talking about going next year, even after this happened," Hume said.

Eastes said she had no problem with sending her still-eligible younger daughter on the trip next year.

"I would send my daughter again in a heartbeat," Eastes said. "You have a better chance losing your life walking across the street than on something like this."