“An intense, immersive deep dive into a wild, dangerous, and unknown world, written with the pace and appeal of a great thriller. This is nonfiction at its very best.”—Lee ChildThe true story of two doomed ships and a daring search-and-rescue operation that shines a light on the elite Coast Guard swimmers trained for the most dangerous ocean missions In late September 2015, Hurricane Joaquin … September 2015, Hurricane Joaquin swept past the Bahamas and swallowed a pair of cargo vessels in its destructive path: El Faro, a 790-foot American behemoth with a crew of thirty-three, and the Minouche, a 230-foot freighter with a dozen sailors aboard. From the parallel stories of these ships and their final journeys, Tristram Korten weaves a remarkable tale of two veteran sea captains from very different worlds, the harrowing ordeals of their desperate crews, and the Coast Guard’s extraordinary battle against a storm that defied prediction.
When the Coast Guard received word from Captain Renelo Gelera that the Minouche was taking on water on the night of October 1, the servicemen on duty helicoptered through Joaquin to the sinking ship. Rescue swimmer Ben Cournia dropped into the sea—in the middle of a raging tropical cyclone, in the dark—and churned through the monstrous swells, loading survivors into a rescue basket dangling from the helicopter as its pilot struggled against the tempest. With pulsating narrative skill in the tradition of Sebastian Junger and Jon Krakauer, Korten recounts the heroic efforts by Cournia and his fellow guardsmen to haul the Minouche’s crew to safety.
Tragically, things would not go as well for Captain Michael Davidson and El Faro. Despite exhaustive searching by her would-be rescuers, the loss of the vessel became the largest U.S. maritime disaster in decades. As Korten narrates the ships’ fates, with insights drawn from insider access to crew members, Coast Guard teams, and their families, he delivers a moving and propulsive story of men in peril, the international brotherhood of mariners, and the breathtaking power of nature.
Praise for Into the Storm
“The story [Tristram] Korten tells is impressively multifaceted, exploring everything from timely issues such as climate change to timeless themes such as man’s struggle against the ocean’s fury.”—Miami New Times
“Into the Storm is a triumph of reporting and you-are-there writing that becomes a deeper tale—with more implications about our own lives—with every chapter.”—Robert Kurson, New York Times bestselling author of Shadow Divers
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Dates read 4/23-4/24
Into The Storm by Tristram Korten
This is a nail biting, intense read by Tristram Korten, great job by this Author, hard to believe this is his debut novel. Awesome research, interviews, background on two doomed ships. This is about two ships the El Faro carrying 33 and the Minouche carrying several sailors. The El Faro was in route from Jacksonville, Florida to San Juan. Both ships got caught up in Joaquin a category 4 hurricane in the fall of 2015. Also included is the extraordinary search and rescue of the coast guard and rescue swimmer Ben Cournia. We learn from storm tracker Sat-C in text format that the winds went from 60-130 plus quite rapidly, Mr Korten takes us through the history of both ships, their crews, their families, Ben Cournia and the power of nature. It is interesting learning about the ship terms like scuttle board, port list and QI. It’s a shame about the El Faro ship, Captain Michael Davidson is responsible for that crew and didn’t listen about not going near hurricane till too late. It’s also a blessing he didn’t abandon his crew., but still didn’t end well.
My dad was in the Navy many years, this book made me question his history on ships and hurricanes. I am familiar with Camden N.J. as I have worked there and lived in Jacksonville . I love how Mr. Korten gives us the end result of this tragedy in an epilogue way, the last 26 hours recording of the El Faro last moments and follow up with crews family. This would make a great movie and book bestseller.
Thank you Net Gallery, Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine.
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