What Would You Do To Survive After a Shipwreck? Following a shipwreck, four survivors are adrift in a leaking dinghy-The Open Boat. The captain is hurt but still able to lead, the cook keeps the boat afloat by bailing, and the correspondent and the oiler-a man whose job it is to oil machinery-take turns rowing. At first, angry at their situation and inclined to bicker, the men ultimately form bonds of empathy and, united, struggle to survive. Based on author Stephen Crane's own experience of shipwreck off the coast of Florida in 1897, "The Open Boat" is considered by many to be his greatest work and the model of literary Naturalism. First published in 1897, it was based on Crane's experience of surviving a shipwreck off the coast of Florida earlier that year while traveling to Cuba to work as a newspaper correspondent. About the Author: Stephen Crane (November 1, 1871 - June 5, 1900) was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer. Get Your Copy Now.