Why had I not read this book before now? It’s a harrowing account of sailboats caught in a severe storm. I’ve spend a good deal of time at sea in sailboats myself, delivering boats up and down the East Coast and offshore to the far Caribbean islands. And Lord knows I’ve been in storms. I guess it’s the racing aspect that kept me away. In delivering a boat my priority is safety for my crew, the boat, and myself. In racing you push things to the limit--the boat, the sails, the rigging, the crew--all in the search for speed. You take risks I would never consider on a delivery. So why would I be interested in a story about yachties taking foolish risks for bragging rights?
On a recent visit my brother offered the book to me, and I had a little time so I opened it and started reading. I was quickly drawn in. First, of course, by the photos, black and white and grainy, then by the preface which presents the key facts of the case along with the following quote from the official inquiry: “the sea showed that it can be a deadly enemy and that those who go to sea for pleasure must do so in the full knowledge that they may encounter dangers of the highest order.”
Six men were lost overboard never to be seen again, and nine more died of drowning or hypothermia. Five boats sank, twenty-four more were abandoned by their crews, and 136 sailors were rescued by helicopters or other vessels. Shocking outcomes for a sporting event.
Rousmaniere’s telling is gripping and skillful. He has been an acknowledged authority in the sailing world for decades. He’s the author of The Annapolis Book of Seamanship, which is something of a bible for sailors, and which has occupied a prominent spot on my bookshelf for a long time. His qualifications as an expert positioned him well to write this book. More importantly, he was there...as a competitor on the forty-eight foot sloop Toscana.
The race is a 605 mile course from the southern coast of England to a lighthouse on a rocky outcropping off the southern shore of Ireland known as Fastnet Rock, and back to England. On August 11, 1979, a fleet of 303 boats started the race, with more than two thousand sailors and high hopes aboard. Of those, only 85 boats finished the race; 194 retired (stopped racing and headed for port), 19 were abandoned at sea and later recovered, and 5 sank. Gone.
Rousmaniere related in some detail the experiences of several unfortunate boats, as well as his own experience on Toscana. He describes waking to violent pitching and rolling of the boat as the wind and seas built. “I slid back aft to dress: damp long underwear, damp wool socks, damp green turtleneck jersey, damp gray wool sweater.... With a clownish balancing act, hopping on one foot, I shoved my feet into the damp yellow boots”. This is real. Everything gets wet, and pulling on damp clothes is a struggle in itself complicated by the lurching motion of the boat. He proceeds to tell in detail the harrowing and exhausting process of tying in a third reef in the mainsail and changing jibs. I can feel the intensity of that effort in the dark of night with the boat pitching and rolling deeply. The concentration required is extreme. This part of the story can only be fully appreciated by those who have had similar experiences.
To me Rousmaniere shows his maturity and wisdom in his commentary on the rash statements by the Monday morning quarterbacks. Some claimed it was inexperienced sailors who lost their nerve, or small boats, or lightweight designs, or poor decisions by the race committee, and glib remarks were made like “The storm wasn’t that bad. I’ve seen worse.” One by one Rousmaniere presents data and reasoning that casts doubt on every explanation except the storm itself, and the extreme seas which broke and rolled over the hapless boats. Nearly half reported being knocked down ninety degrees, and a third reported knockdowns beyond ninety degrees (mast in the water) including some that rolled a full 360 degrees. That is well beyond my worst experience, and well beyond anything I hope to encounter.
I guess this book isn’t for everyone, but it’s good reading for anyone who contemplates going to sea in a sailboat.
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