SS EL FARO (AP photo, 2010)
The El Faro, a huge, fast, American freighter, stretching as long as an eighty-story building is tall, manned by an expert crew of 28 US mariners and 5 Polish engineers, equipped with the latest in satellite-linked navigational and weather-forecasting tools, disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle on Oct 1, 2015 without even time to radio a Mayday. How, in this day and age, could such a tragedy occur? What happened to El Faro? What happened to her crew?
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“Make no mistake, Foy is a natural story teller, but what impressed me was his uncommon ability to weave his deep knowledge of the ship, weather systems, and navigation to accelerate the story, instead of slowing it down. Foy is an experienced mariner who clearly knows his stuff, which gives the reader confidence in his account, and allows us to get lost in an amazing story that builds to a wild finish.”
--John U. Bacon, New York Times bestselling author of The Great Halifax Explosion:
A World War I story of Treachery, Tragedy, and Extraordinary Heroism
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"Relying on Coast Guard inquest hearings as well as on numerous interviews, Foy has crafted a brilliant account that brings to life the last voyage of El Faro, from her loading to her shocking demise, a story that lasts only a few days but which grows almost intolerably suspenseful as deep-rooted flaws leading to the disaster inexorably link together and worsen. We see captain, engineers, and crew fight for their lives, and hear their actual words (recorded on the ship's black box) while the hurricane relentlessly tightens its noose around the ship. We watch, minute by minute, all that is happening on board--the ship's mysterious tilt to one side, worried calls to the engine room, ship-to-shore reports, the courage of the men and women as they fight to survive, and the berserk ocean's savage consumption of the massive hull. And through it all, the pain and ultimate resilience of the families of El Faro's crew. Meticulous and absolutely thrilling, Run the Storm is a masterwork of stunning power." (from the back cover)
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