Product Description

In June 1994, a dangerous "bomb" storm caught dozens of cruising sailors by surprise as they voyaged north from New Zealand. This is the true story of how nine yachts struggled to survive the hurricane-like conditions. Boats were battered by fierce winds and capsized by seas towering well over 50 feet high. Masts collapsed, rudders broke, and sailors lost steering control when they needed it most. This book details the story of the heroic men and women on the yachts, in the planes, on the ships, and on land who took part in this sea drama - find out what really happened and what it was like out there. This is both a shock course in survival for bluewater voyagers and a riveting human drama for sailors and nonsailors alike."If you're cruising now, clear a space on your boat's bookshelf: the lessons here can help pull you through even a nightmare of a storm." - "SAIL". " ...a dramatic story of life, death, and the epic struggle of man against the forces of nature ...gripping ...compelling ...a story as spellbinding and harrowing as any novel." - "Multihulls". " ...gripping reading...Farrington's account of the skippers' attempts to secure their boats against the storm will be invaluable to blue water sailors. ..You don't have to know much about sailing to find this book fascinating. It is a story of human endeavour, endurance, courage, and frailty, and the accounts of the rescues are particularly exciting." - "The Evening Post" (Wellington, New Zealand)."[a]book you will want to read from cover to cover." - "Boating NZ". "Tony Farrington tells a remarkable rescue story...If you enjoy the water, I suggest that you read this volume." - "The Ensign". "The human spirit...is the best survival tool there is. That is one of the lessons of this valuable, enthralling book." - John Rousmaniere, author of "Fastnet, Force 10".

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #111808 in Books
• Published on: 1998-04-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

From the Back Cover

In June 1994 a dangerous "bomb" storm caught dozens of cruising sailors by surprise as they voyaged north from New Zealand. This is the true story of how nine yachts struggled to survive the hurricane-like conditions. Boats were battered by fierce winds and capsized by seas towering well over 50 feet high.

Masts collapsed, rudders broke, and sailors lost steering control when they needed it most.

This book details the story of the heroic men and women on the yachts, in the planes, on the ships, and on land who took part in this sea drama--find out what really happened and what it was like out there.

This is both a shock course in survival for bluewater voyagers and a riveting human drama for sailors and nonsailors alike.

"If you're cruising now, clear a space on your boat's bookshelf: The lessons here can help pull you through even a nightmare of a storm."--SAIL

" . . . a dramatic story of life, death, and the epic struggle of man against the forces of nature . . . gripping . . . compelling . . . a story as spellbinding and harrowing as any novel."--Multihulls

" . . . gripping reading. . . . Farrington's account of the skippers' attempts to secure their boats against the storm will be invaluable to blue water sailors. . . . You don't have to know much about sailing to find this book fascinating. It is a story of human endeavor, endurance, courage, and frailty, and the accounts of the rescues are particularly exciting."--The Evening Post (Wellington, New Zealand)

"[a]book you will want to read from cover to cover."--Boating NZ

"Tony Farrington tells a remarkable rescue story. . . . If you enjoy the water, I suggest that you read this volume."--The Ensign

"The human spirit . . . is the best survival tool there is. That is one of the lessons of this valuable, enthralling book."--John Rousmaniere, author of Fastnet, Force 10

About the Author
Tony Farrington (Auckland, New Zealand) has been around the sea and boats most of his life. Only a last-minute business commitment prevented him from putting to sea unwittingly into the jaws of this storm. An experienced journalist and television reporter, he also runs a successful public relations and advertising company that has worked with two of his country's America's Cup challenges. Tony is currently planning a world circumnavigation.

Customer Reviews

I did not understand it!!
I think the only person that should read this is a person that loves or knows a lot about sailing. Even though the decreption was good I got really comfusid in the good parts of the book. Anyone that doesnt like or has no clue about sailing should not read this book!!

Very gripping, somewhat hard to follow at times.
Great subject, good book, gripping at times with alot of action. However, I recommend reading the book over a short period of time. The auther did a nice job following the dozen or so boats involved in the storm "but" It was not easy to return to the book and recall your place following a short absence from reading it. I am a novice boater and was confused at some of the sailing terminology.

Chilling and thought provoking, excellent journalism.
If you liked The Perfect Storm, this one will haunt your dreams with its first-hand accounts of terror, tragedy, bravery, heroism, determination, good luck, bad luck, bad planning, and bad judgment. Mr. Farrington made me care about all these real people and their little boats out on a big ocean. It was all I could do not to flip ahead to find out what happened to them all, even though this all happened years ago. You may never take your own safety for granted again. Most of us are desperately unprepared for a real storm at sea. I found this book to be a riveting wake-up call. I'm on a mission to know a lot more about weather, radio, safety gear and emergency procedures. Both I and my 38-foot ketch are already better fitted for survival than we used to be.