Wrestling background helps college student through terrifying danger on the high seas
Josi Carlson/USA Wrestling
Ultimate survival, composure and confidence. Wrestling is an ancient sport that has evolved throughout the centuries. But the basic building blocks are still there and can be applied in a variety of situations.
Sterling Davidson has grown up around the sport of wrestling. He competed in high school and at the Cadet and Junior level. Sterling, 20, is currently a national official and a bronze level coach.
Recently, the tools Sterling has acquired through his experiences in wrestling were put to the test in a very real and terrifying situation.
Sterling, a junior at the Univ. of Colorado in Boulder, was one of 50 CU students signed up to spend the spring term circling the globe as part of the Semester at Sea program. The 100-day voyage includes 681 college students, 113 faculty and staff and 196 crew members.
Semester at Sea is a global comparative study-abroad program for undergraduate students with a minimum 2.75 GPA. Students must submit letters of recommendation and an essay about one of the ship’s scheduled ports when applying for the program.
On Jan. 18, the group boarded the 591-foot M/V Explorer research ship in Vancouver, B.C., Canada. The ship was scheduled to arrive at its next port in Pusan, Korea on Jan. 31.
Plagued with bad weather from the start, the ship encountered increasingly worse conditions as it headed north. For almost two days, students spent much of their time in the hallways, avoiding the classrooms with potentially dangerous furniture moving violently.
On Wed., Jan. 26 south of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, amidst heavy rains and over 110 mph winds, a nearly 50-foot wave slapped the front of the ship. With glasses breaking and furniture falling in their cabins, students were given life jackets and moved into the hallways and eventually the fifth deck for safety.
“The scene was pretty much confusion,” Sterling said in an email. “All of the students figured that something was wrong, but we didn’t know what or how serious it was for awhile.”
Glass on the ship’s bridge was shattered and the four engines were disabled after the wave hit. Students were on the decks for four to five hours and according to Sterling, most of that time was spent trying to keep their balance.
“There were pieces of furniture sliding around from time to time, but the crew did a great job of keeping us out of harms way,” Sterling said.
Responding to the situation the best way he knew how, Sterling tried to help those who were nervous and struggling to handle the circumstances to relax and feel comfortable.
“There were some people who were pretty emotional, so I tried to make them feel better about the situation,” Sterling said. “I just figured that there were probably enough people worried about the situation that I didn’t need to.”
Since the ship’s troubles, Sterling’s father, Rusty, has received numerous stories praising his son’s poise during some of the most traumatic moments. Rusty Davidson is USA Wrestling’s state chairperson in New Mexico and a member of the USA Wrestling Board of Directors.
“Apparently he was one of the leaders who stepped in and helped people realize what was going on,” Rusty said. “This stuff doesn’t surprise anybody who knows him, but I’m pretty wowed by it because I’m his dad.”
Rusty is quick to attribute his son’s ability to handle the intense situations to his wrestling background.
“Because he wrestled he is used to dealing with adversity and not panicking,” Rusty said.
About an hour after the wave hit, one of the engines began to work again and Coast Guard units from Alaska and Hawaii responded to help.
On Mon., Jan. 31, the ship arrived in Honolulu for repairs.
Semester at Sea staff gave students activities to do in Hawaii while the Coast Guard, naval architects and Marine engineers inspected the ship.
Starting on Feb. 11, members of the trip began flying out of Hawaii to Shanghai, China where they will resume their scheduled stops in China, Hong Kong and Vietnam. The ship conducted its first sea trials on Feb. 12 and is scheduled to pick up the students in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Despite the Explorer’s recent exploits, Rusty has no qualms about his son continuing his adventures at sea.
“He knew it was going to be an adventure,” Rusty said. “He said to me, ‘If that boat can take that abuse and still get me here, I’ll get back on it’ and that sounds reasonable to me.”
The Semester at Sea ship is scheduled to arrive at its final port in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on April 29. Sterling, a geography major, is studying with plans to teach at the high school level and coach football and wrestling when he graduates. He intends to continue both coaching and officiating for USA Wrestling when he returns.
“I’m a single parent and Sterling was basically raised by people in the wrestling world,” Rusty said. “I think his actions on the boat are a representative of all those people. I think we need to take this opportunity to thank wrestling as a sport.”
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