Daily News Channel
For four days, an American sea captain and four Somali pirates rode the waves of the Indian Ocean in an enclosed lifeboat, far out of sight of most of the world. But for those four days, they were on the minds of people around the globe, from the captain’s hometown in Vermont, to the White House, to port cities and anywhere that families send their loved ones off to sea.
A former crew member on the American ship attacked by pirates off Africa said the ship’s captain is exactly the kind of person who would offer himself in exchange for the crew’s safety. “I was amazed when I heard that he offered himself up to the pirates, but he’s definitely the kind of person to make that sacrifice,” the former crew member of the Maersk Alabama, who asked not to be identified, said of Capt.