Robert Graves Holed Their Lifeboat

Before Graves' disease carried his name, Anglo-Irish surgeon Robert James Graves faced a deadly storm while sailing from Genoa to Sicily. The ship sprang a leak, its bilge pumps failed, and the mutinous crew attempted to abandon the vessel. Graves seized an axe and holed their only lifeboat, declaring, "Let us all be drowned together, it is a pity to part good company." He then repaired the pumps with leather cut from his own shoes, saving the ship and everyone aboard.

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