The 22-year-old dancer told of her night helping passengers, staff and herself off the stricken Costa Concordia with a poise and understatement that suggests she has rather more strings to her bow than dancing in front of European cruisers – if that’s what you call floating round the med in a town that sounds like a coffee shop.
I was particularly taken by the gag she had written as her farewell note to her Mum and Dad had she not survive. Apparently she had been parted from her luggage for a month after her flight out to the cruise. Her parting note would have read
Ironic that I am returning without the luggage
Tragic as the events on this boat are, the sinking of this Euro superliner on the very night of the downgrading of the Euro zone may be remembered more for the parallels between the two than for the human suffering involved.
Watch out for the jokes on “mock the week” and “have I got news” and remember we dissed them here first.
However, amidst all the recriminations that are bound to follow the massive ineptitude of those managing the boat’s navigation, Rose Metcalf will be remembered – at least on this blog – as a sound , witty and self-deprecating seafarer who put her passengers, fellow-staff and family first.
Rose Metcalf- we salute you! And here’s a rather more flattering photo of you than the one published in the Daily Mail this morning!
Update ***Update***Update***Update
Whooah! Now we discover Rose is a Dorset girl from Wimborne where my relations are the funeral directors (you can step down lads).
The fine rag “the Bournmouth Echo have celarly doorstepped Mr and Mrs Metcalf and got this great interview from their brave daughter.
“It wa
s very dramatic,” Rose said. “Men came down in harnesses and took us off.
“The worse thing was the thought of jumping into the cold water in the dark.”
All her personal possessions, including passport and money were left on board.
Rose called home at 3am on Saturday morning to tell her parents she was safe.
Dad Philip picked up Rose’s phone message a few seconds after she left it but had no way of getting back to her immediately.
Rose was having a coffee when she heard a loud bang and then the lights went out.
At first they were told it was an electrical fault.
Rose said: “It was about nine o’clock and I was in the restaurant having a cappuccino when there was a huge bang.
“Water started coming in and the lights went off and everybody was running around not knowing what to do.
“I was still in my dance clothes and I dashed off to my cabin where I had a hangar of dry clothes and I put them on with a life jacket.
“Then I had to go to a station point because I was staff. The ship was listing almost immediately.
“When I got to the station point they said it was an electrical problem and told me to go back and put my dress on, but I said no way.
“I then went off to help calm the passengers and helped do a roll call. People then started getting into the boats and by this time it was quite full of water.”
Related articles
- Rose Metcalf- dancing seafarer to the rescue. (henrytapper.com)
- Cruise captain ‘overrode computer’ (independent.co.uk)
- National News: Passengers recount cruise sinking (coventrytelegraph.net)
- Costa Concordia: British passengers tell of escape (guardian.co.uk)
- Cruise ship rescue ‘like Titanic’ (bbc.co.uk)
- Dad, I am alive… just. I think I was the last one off: How a British dancer clung to fire hose to stop herself falling overboard (dailymail.co.uk)
- Glamorous troupe of British dancers was onboard sinking cruise ship Costa Concordia (mirror.co.uk)
- Survivors Describe Italian Cruise Ship Terror (news.sky.com)
- Cruise liner captain faces accusations of ‘significant error’ (independent.co.uk)
- VIDEO: Cruise ship dancer: ‘Absolute panic’ (bbc.co.uk)