In
December
2004
I
had
just
become
a
professional
and
was
working
on
a
project
about
communities
who
live
on
the
sea
,
known
as
sea
nomads
.
I
was
living
with
members
of
the
Chao
-
Ley
tribe
on
a
small
island
within
the
Tarutao
National
Marine
Park
in
southern
Thailand
.
I
had
a
beach
bungalow
and
spent
a
month
getting
to
know
the
nomads
.
We
didn
?
t
share
a
language
,
and
relied
on
sign
and
body
language
to
.
I
went
out
to
sea
with
them
regularly
.
The
view
was
paradise
.
There
was
the
bright
blue
sea
,
and
dotted
on
the
horizon
were
small
islands
that
you
could
see
clearly
,
even
though
they
were
15km
away
.
On
the
morning
of
26
,
I
was
due
to
set
out
with
a
group
of
six
Chao
-
Ley
fishermen
in
a
small
long
-
tail
boat
.
It
was
about
8am
,
and
the
sea
looked
different
;
sterile
and
tinged
with
a
grey
-
silver
colour
.
The
water
was
totally
still
.
I
could
tell
from
the
way
the
fishermen
were
behaving
that
something
wasn
?
t
right
.
They
seemed
to
be
whether
or
not
we
should
set
off
,
but
the
eldest
,
who
operated
the
boat
,
gave
the
go
-
ahead
.
About
20
minutes
after
our
departure
and
a
few
miles
out
in
the
open
sea
,
one
of
the
pointed
to
a
small
white
spot
far
in
the
distance
.
We
kept
an
eye
on
it
.
It
looked
like
a
football
.
It
was
getting
bigger
and
bigger
very
quickly
.
We
had
no
idea
that
this
was
a
tsunami
wave
speeding
through
the
ocean
like
a
tornado
.
With
a
big
wave
,
you
would
usually
try
to
get
as
far
out
as
possible
into
the
open
sea
.
The
deeper
the
water
,
the
weaker
the
wave
.
But
we
weren
?
t
far
enough
out
to
be
safe
,
nor
close
enough
to
the
shore
to
make
it
back
before
the
wave
would
hit
the
land
.
We
were
stuck
.
When
I
realized
that
the
nomads
were
afraid
,
I
began
to
feel
really
.
These
men
were
effectively
born
on
the
sea
.
At
some
point
the
elder
,
the
captain
,
took
control
.
No
one
or
screamed
,
but
they
moved
quickly
.
The
captain
told
the
six
of
us
where
to
sit
,
based
on
our
weight
and
height
,
so
we
would
out
the
boat
.
He
asked
us
to
hold
on
tight
.
My
camera
was
in
my
rucksack
.
With
the
wave
just
a
few
hundred
metres
behind
us
,
I
wanted
to
the
scene
,
but
I
couldn
?
t
.
Any
movement
would
imbalance
the
boat
,
but
I
also
felt
paralyzed
by
the
thought
of
imminent
death
.
I
thought
,
"
What
?
s
the
point
in
taking
a
picture
if
we
are
about
to
be
washed
overboard
?
"
I
was
sitting
on
one
of
the
benches
in
the
middle
,
with
my
back
facing
the
five
-
to
-
seven
-
metre
-
high
.
I
took
one
last
look
over
my
shoulder
at
this
monster
that
was
about
to
hit
.
I
took
a
very
firm
grip
of
my
seat
,
closed
my
eyes
,
clenched
my
teeth
and
in
my
mind
said
goodbye
to
the
world
,
my
family
and
friends
.
Suddenly
there
was
a
huge
noise
and
a
jolt
.
The
wave
had
hit
the
boat
,
but
in
the
split
second
of
impact
,
the
incredibly
skilled
captain
got
it
right
.
He
managed
to
swerve
us
up
and
on
to
the
wave
.
We
were
surfing
it
for
a
few
seconds
.
Then
the
boat
glided
from
the
tip
of
the
wave
down
behind
it
,
into
safe
waters
.
Astonishingly
,
no
water
splashed
into
the
boat
,
and
no
one
went
overboard
.
He
had
saved
us
all
.
The
shooting
through
my
veins
made
me
feel
completely
insane
.
Our
eyes
and
mouths
were
wide
open
and
everyone
let
out
heavy
sighs
.
We
stayed
at
sea
for
another
hour
or
so
and
then
made
our
way
back
to
the
shore
.
On
the
we
could
see
some
damage
,
but
nothing
compared
with
what
we
later
saw
had
happened
in
other
parts
of
south
-
east
Asia
.
Surviving
gave
me
a
deep
of
how
short
life
can
be
.
I
?
ve
been
going
back
to
south
-
east
Asia
almost
every
year
.
The
project
has
become
a
homage
and
thank
you
to
the
people
who
saved
my
life
.
The
picture
I
wanted
to
take
on
the
boat
remains
"
the
one
that
got
away
"
?
I
think
every
photographer
has
one
.
But
mine
changed
my
life
.
Créer jeu