Michael J. Tougias - Overboard!: A True Blue-Water Odyssey of Disaster and Survival

ALSO BY MICHAEL TOUGIAS

Fatal Forecast:
An Incredible True Tale of Disaster and Survival at Sea

Ten Hours Until Dawn:
The True Story of Heroism and Tragedy Aboard the Can Do

The Finest Hours:
The True Story of the U.S. Coast Guards Most Daring Sea Rescue
(coauthor: Casey Sherman)

Until I Have No Country:
A Novel of King Philips Indian War

King Philips War:
The History and Legacy of Americas Forgotten Conflict
(coauthor: Eric Schultz)

Quabbin:
A History and Explorers Guide

The Blizzard of 78

River Days:
Exploring the Connecticut River from Source to Sea

Exploring the Hidden Charles

Theres a Porcupine in My Outhouse:
Misadventures of a Mountain Man Wannabe

A TRUE BLUE-WATER ODYSSEY OF
DISASTER AND SURVIVAL

MICHAEL J. TOUGIAS

SCRIBNER
A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com

Copyright 2010 by Michael Tougias

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof
in any form whatsoever. For information address Scribner Subsidiary Rights Department,
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

First Scribner hardcover edition March 2010

SCRIBNER and design are registered trademarks of The Gale Group, Inc.,
used under license by Simon & Schuster, Inc., the publisher of this work.

For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-866-506-1949
or business@simonandschuster.com.

The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event.
For more information or to book an event, contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau
at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com.

Manufactured in the United States of America

2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

ISBN 978-1-4391-4574-6

ISBN 978-1-4391-5362-8 (ebook)

Photograph Credits:

Images appear courtesy of the Tighe family.

Images appear courtesy of the Reidy family.

Images appear courtesy of the Burd family.

Image appears courtesy of the Gilchrist family.

Image appears courtesy of the Ferrer family.

Image appears courtesy of the National Weather Service.

Image appears courtesy of the U.S. Coast Guard.

Image appears courtesy of the U.S. Navy.

To the people caught in the storm
and those who tried to rescue them

CONTENTS

PROLOGUE

The Gulf Stream is a moving mass of seawater that flows in a north-northeast trajectory off the eastern coast of the United States. Its warm waters are a result of its origination in the Gulf of Mexico, where the equatorial currents swirl clockwise within the Gulf of Mexico and then shoot northeast through the gap between Cuba and Florida. From here, this river of salt water, approximately a quarter of a mile deep, flows northward along the coast of Florida at approximately five knots. It continues northward along the outer limits of the U.S. continental shelf until it reaches Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, where the Gulf Stream broadens and runs in a more northeasterly progression at a diminishing speed of two to three knots. Along its route this moving mass of water spins out enormous warm-water eddies that vary in size and location. Incredibly, the Gulf Stream crosses the entire North Atlantic all the way to the British Isles, where its warmth is still strong enough to moderate the European climatewhich is why there are palm trees in southern England.

The volume of water in the Gulf Stream is so immense that it has been estimated the flow carries twenty-five times more water than all the rivers in the world combined. Because of this enormous quantity of water the Gulf Stream remains a separate entity and mixes only slightly with the surrounding ocean. On its eastern side is an area of the Atlantic called the Sargasso Sea, where the water temperature is typically in the 70s. Beyond the west-northwest side of the Gulf Stream (often referred to as the North Wall), however, the waters of the continental shelf are much colder, and in May are in the upper 50s. Sailors coming from the west can literally see the temperature rise quite dramatically as they enter the Gulf Stream, watching it climb to 70 degrees in the outer fringes and then into the low 80s toward the center of the current. During calm conditions sailors can actually detect a change in the hue of the ocean from dark blue off the continental shelf to cobalt blue in the Gulf Stream and Sargasso Sea, and the effect can be quite beautiful. In stormy conditions, however, the Gulf Stream can strike terror in a sailor, as the effect of the wind against its current produces enormous waves, often steep and breaking. And sometimes, from out of the blue, a monster wavea rogue waveis formed, which can spell disaster.

In early May of 2005 two sailboats, the Almeisan and the At Ease, were in the Gulf Stream when they were overtaken by a horrific storm. The crews can blame the Gulf Stream for the size of the waves that put them in peril, yet one sailor can credit this moving river of seawater for helping to keep him alive in the terrible hours he struggled within the storm-tossed seas. His incredible survival borders on the miraculous.

PART I

CHAPTER ONE

PREPARATIONS AND A NEW CREW

Tuesday, May 3, 2005

As Chris Ferrer steps aboard the Almeisan, a smile spreads across his face as he thinks how the days of planning and buying gear are behind him, replaced by the trip itself. The Hardin forty-five-foot sailboat will soon carry him on his first lengthy offshore voyagemore than 600 miles of blue-water sailing from Black Rock Harbor in Bridgeport, Connecticut, to Bermuda. The boat doesnt rock as Chris puts his full weight on the deck, and he likes its solid feel, a full seventeen feet longer than his own sailboat. He cant wait to get under way.

Muffled noises rise from below, and Chris steps down the companionway ladder, shouting a hello before he reaches the bottom. Captain Tom Tighe and first mate Lochlin Reidy look up from their chores and walk toward Chris, offering their hands and welcoming him to what will be his temporary, floating home for the next several days. Chris returns the greetings, but his eyes scan the space around him, and he doesnt like what he sees. Gear and supplies lie scattered about, and its clear there are several hours of work to do before the crew embarks. He shakes off his disappointment and asks what he can do to help.

Chris learned of the opportunity to go on this voyage through a service, Offshore Passage Opportunities, which matches interested crew with captains, their boats, and the destination. A crossing to Bermuda was something the thirty-four-year-old molecular biologist and information technology administrator had been wanting to do for a long time, both for the adventure of the trip and the offshore experience to be gained by being an active crewmember rather than just a passenger. He thought that someday he might buy a bigger boat, and he wanted to learn all that he could about blue-water sailing. That was the very reason he chose the Almeisan and Captain Tighe, a skipper who enjoyed sharing his knowledge gained from forty-eight crossings between the United States and Bermuda.