 Crane was reunited with his partner , Cora , several days after the ordeal , and quickly wrote his initial report of the sinking while waiting in Jacksonville for another ship . Desperate for work , he soon left for New York to secure a job covering the impending Greco @-@ Turkish War . Crane completed the story that would become " The Open Boat " a few weeks later , in mid @-@ February . According to fellow correspondent Ralph D. Paine , Crane had the opportunity to show the first draft of the short story to Murphy when Crane again passed through Jacksonville . When Crane asked his opinion , Murphy allegedly replied , " You 've got it , Steve ... That is just how it happened , and how we felt . Read me some more of it " . 
