In late September 2015, Hurricane Joaquin swept past the Bahamas and swallowed a pair of cargo vessels in its destructive path- El Faro, a 791-foot American behemoth with a crew of 33, and the Minouche, a much smaller ship with a dozen sailors aboard. From the parallel stories of these ships journalist Tristram Korten weaves a remarkable tale of the Coast Guard swimmers--officially known as Aviation Survival Technicians, one of the least known and most extraordinary units in the U.S. military--and the increasingly erratic weather that is making their jobs all the more necessary due in part to climate change.
When the U.S. Coast Guard received word that the Minouche was taking on water on the night of October 1, the servicemen on duty helicoptered through Joaquin to the sinking ship. Rescue swimmer Ben Cournia dropped into the sea--in the middle of a raging category 4 storm, in the dark--and for the next nine hours churned through the massive swells, loading survivors into a rescue basket hanging from the helicopter as its pilot struggled against wind, lightning, and monster waves. In three trips, they hauled all twelve of the Minouche's crew to safety.
Things would not go as well for El Faro. The Coast Guard spent a week searching for crew members, but not a soul survived. The sinking of El Faro became the largest U.S. maritime disaster in decades. As Korten narrates the ships' very different fates, he crafts a moving and propulsive story of men in peril, military courage, and the awesome power of nature.
