Tale of terror and survival at sea - Entertainment, Books - Navy Times

Tale of terror and survival at sea

“Overboard!” is every sailor’s nightmare — being swept out to sea in a storm and left to battle the full fury of the open ocean.

The book recounts a true story of a tragic trip to Bermuda in May 2005 that killed the captain of a five-person crew. Author Michael Tougias provides a gripping account by interviewing survivors, the Coast Guard, and other sailors who were trapped by the high seas.

The book follows Capt. Tom Tighe and his first mate Loch Reidy on a five-day chartered trip from Connecticut to Bermuda with three passengers — Kathy Gilchrist, Ron Burd and Chris Ferrer.

The three aren’t beginners, but this is their first blue-water sail, and they are hoping to learn skills they can take elsewhere. Tighe’s job is to deliver them to Bermuda and then pick up another crew of inexperienced passengers for a return trip to Connecticut, where he teaches a sailing class.

But Tighe misjudges the track of a monster storm system, putting the 45-foot sailboat Almeisan directly in the storm’s path about 300 nautical miles offshore, halfway between the U.S. and Bermuda.

The story is compelling when it focuses on the crew battling 40-foot waves that are tossing the boat — and later Reidy and Tighe — around like a toy.

The Coast Guard is the hero in this story, but the chapters that outline the service’s heroics get too procedural and drag down the narrative. Reidy’s harrowing 32 hours in the unforgiving sea keep the pages turning quickly.

Tougias, who has written 18 books, is no stranger to storm-tossed survivor stories; his last three books — “The Finest Hours: The U.S. Coast Guard’s Most Daring Sea Rescue” (which Tougias co-wrote), “Fatal Forecast” and “Ten Hours Until Dawn” —- have mined that genre.

In his latest book’s acknowledgements, Tougias writes that he doesn’t want to be pigeonholed as the author of “weather-related disaster books.”

He said he likes to “document ordinary people thrust into incredibly difficult situations where they have to rise to the challenge, persevere and fight against long odds.” In his defense, this story chose him — Burd, one of the survivors, sought out Tougias to tell the story after meeting him at a book presentation.

Burd was drawn to Tougias’ talent at weaving a tale of terror — and survival — at sea. Even if this book is similar to previous ones in subject, it’s well worth the read.