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3K views 12 replies 7 participants last post by  chef2sail 
#1 ·
Many of you followed the dramatic rescue of my crew and loss of Sean Seamour II in 2007, now best selling author Michael Tougias is about to publish the book!
A Storm Too Soon will be released January 15th​
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If anyone is thinking about the best way to overcome post holiday syndrome, that bleak winter period made worse by festive indulgence, I may have the recipe (not a Bloody Mary, a Bloody Storm), The Kirkus Review on soon released "A Storm Too Soon" is out January 1st and here is what it says:
"The gripping account of three extraordinary 2007 maritime rescues near the treacherous waters of the Gulf Stream.
When JP de Lutz, Rudy Snel and Ben Tye set sail from Florida on the Sean Seamour II, they intended to cross the Atlantic to the Azores, then Gibraltar and finally, Saint-Tropez. The first 48 hours were better than anything the men could have ever expected, but after a few days, the weather suddenly began to change. Two otherwise small and harmless weather systems joined forces "to form one super cell that deepened so rapidly that no meteorologist could have predicted its power." The winds, which forecasters had predicted would top out at 35 knots, increased to more than 80, and the sea became like "the hands of a raging giant" as it tossed and shook the trio's 44-foot sailboat. The force of the waves, which sometimes reached 80 feet in height, gradually ripped the boat apart. Injured and in shock, the men escaped onto a small life raft while an emergency-radio beacon that got swept overboard miraculously sent out a distress call. The Coast Guard Command Center in Portsmouth, Va., received their signal, as well as those from two other ships nearby. A fourth ship went down before help could arrive. Teams of rescue-helicopter pilots and swimmers flew to the scenes of each disaster. By depicting the event from the perspective of both the rescued and the rescuers and focusing only on key moments and details, Tougias (Overboard!: A True Blue-water Odyssey of Disaster and Survival, 2010, etc.) creates a suspenseful, tautly rendered story that leaves readers breathless but well-satisfied. Heart-pounding action for the avid armchair adventurer."

More at www.artseaprovence.com where the video of the rescue can be seen.
 
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#3 ·
Wow! Those are amazing seas. You were really unlucky and lucky. So many sailors say they have sailed thousands of miles on the ocean without encountering real storm conditions and you did. But, you were saved by the coast guard to tell about it.

Why did the boat start to fall apart? Did it sink before you abandoned the boat for the liferaft?
 
#6 ·
WOW - when the helicopter is below the tops of the waves :eek:

It looks like you did everything right and still.....

Ocean sailing is a dangerous pursuit, no doubt about it.
 
#8 ·
Do you benefit at all financially from the sales of this book or are the proceeds
donated to charity or non profit groups?

I know of your story and was very impressed on what I have read.
 
#9 ·
I have just finished reading the Article in Soundings referred to by JamesWilson29 and the description of the conditions is hair raising. I have been in crappy weather with 25 - 30 foot seas which was certainly bad enough for me. I cannot imagine 70 foot plus seas (I get a stomach ache just considering the possibility!). I surely would like to know why/how their drogue failed. The most disturbing thing about the article was the side-bar dealing with the screw-up on the registry of the yacht's EPIRB's by the Rescue Coordination Center staff. That's really chilling and could easily have cost the crew their lives. With that, I am most assuredly going to recheck our registrations--we also carry two-and go through the live transmission test routine the Agency provides as we prepare for our Spring, Summer season. Lesson learned!

FWIW...
 
#12 ·
I have absolutely no financial interest in this book, its inception came from a photo still posted somewhere by Commander Nevada Smith who filmed the rescue, one of his hobbies (he played the role of Lt Krause in Kevin Costner' The Guardian), and of course the never before seen sea state. The Author Michael Tougias saw the incredible photo of this 70' wave with a torn life raft clinging to its side and began investigating. Living abroad he only later contacted me for an interview, one of sixty some i believe. My interest from before there was any book intention has been, see my 2007 posts, to enhance awareness tot he mariner community and the potential threats of faulty or mis registered EPIRBS (see the case of the f/v Lady Mary - (5 out of 6 deaths due ONLY to faulty registration of I digit!) - and by the way, resulting from my investigation NOAA modified its database management process.
 
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