Captains’ Corner |

The recent holidays were ordinary for some and extraordinary for others. On Saturday 23 June, far away in Thailand, Peerapat "Night" Sompiangjai turned 17 and his family had prepared a bright yellow SpongeBob SquarePants birthday cake and several colourfully wrapped presents at their home in a rural village in the Mae Sai district. But Night wasn't rushing home that day. He was out with his friends, the other members of local youth football team the Wild Boars, and their assistant coach. When their football practice ended, they raced through the rice paddies on their bicycles and up into the forested hills that lately had been blanketed in rain. Their destination: the Tham Luang cave, a favourite haunt for the boys, who loved exploring the nooks and crannies of the mountain range towering over Mae Sai. Once at the mouth of Tham Luang, they stashed their bikes, bags and boots, ready to celebrate Night's birthday. In high spirits, they clambered into the cave with just their torches. They didn't need much else - after all, they were only planning to be there for an hour. They would not emerge until two weeks later. Back at Night's home, his family began to worry, and the birthday cake sat untouched.

Where were the Wild Boars?

Aware they had visited the cave, the parents travelled straight there to discover their belongings outside. Immediately, the alarm was raised. The Wild Boars were in trouble, their exit route blocked by rising water levels from torrential rain. Forced to retreat further into the cave, they eventually found themselves marooned on a small rocky shelf about 4km from the cave entrance. Swallowed up by an unforgiving mountain and surrounded by darkness, the boys lost all sense of time. Fear, perhaps even terror, would no doubt have crept in.

Meanwhile, a full-blown rescue operation was quickly unfolding, and this was where the magic happened. On Thursday 28 June, the ‘cavalry’ arrived, with military personnel, cave divers and doctors from the US, UK, Belgium, Australia, Scandinavia, and many other countries. Over the next few days, they and the Thai Navy SEALs would fight a constant battle with the elements. On Monday 2 July, two British cave divers made an incredible discovery. John Volanthen and Rick Stanton had been braving Tham Luang's narrow, murky passageways for several days, searching for any sign of life. Surfacing in an air pocket, the light from John's torch illuminated an electrifying sight - the boys emerged from the darkness, coming down the ledge towards him.

The lost Wild Boars had been found, alive and well, a staggering ten days after entering the cave. The hardest part was yet to come, extraction. I was listening to a news story the other night, and those involved in the rescue operation believed there to be a 60 - 70% chance of success. In other words, several boys would likely die. Against all odds, the Thai led multinational effort was successful, and on Tuesday 10 July, the final two boys were removed safe and sound. 

Through this epic tale, we see Shoulder to Shoulder at its very core. The two British divers who stood Shoulder to Shoulder with the boys. The foreign groups who stood Shoulder to Shoulder with the Thai Navy SEALs. The countries who stood Shoulder to Shoulder with Thailand. Standing Shoulder to Shoulder with one another is the only way forward, the only way we will succeed. So, strive to support those around you; and this can be as simple as saying “g’day” to that person you may not be familiar with, buying a Kolega Coffee, having a genuine conversation with a struggling mate, watching our 1st  V and 1st  VX play at BBC this Saturday, and just in general, doing the little things. Shoulder to Shoulder, we are unstoppable.

A photo released by the Thai Navy SEAL Facebook page on Sunday 8 July captioned, “we, Thai and international teams, join forces to bring the young Wild Boars home.”