• At the Mercy of the Sea

  • The True Story of Three Sailors in a Caribbean Hurricane
  • By: John Kretschmer
  • Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
  • Length: 7 hrs and 53 mins
  • 4.9 out of 5 stars (7 ratings)

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At the Mercy of the Sea  By  cover art

At the Mercy of the Sea

By: John Kretschmer
Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
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Publisher's summary

A "normal" Caribbean hurricane travels from east to west, but Lenny was anything but normal. Spawned south of Cuba in 1999, this late-season storm defied all predictions by moving steadily east toward the Leeward Islands. Eventually building almost to Category 5 strength, Lenny squatted for two days between the Virgin Islands and St. Martin, whipping the ocean with 155 mile-per-hour winds and sixty-foot seas.

In its path in the Anegada Passage were three sailboats and their unfortunate crews: La Vie en Rose, a forty-one-foot sloop captained by ex-army lieutenant colonel Carl Wake; English Braids, a tiny twenty-one-foot racer skippered by would-be elite competitive sailor Steve Rigby; and Frederic-Anne, a sixty-five-foot schooner skippered by ambitious Guillaume Llobregat. None of the men knew each other, yet they converged by fate in a tiny circle of the sea in the midst of a storm no boat could withstand. And even as he battled for survival, Carl Wake lived the crowning hours of his life.

John Kretschmer's At the Mercy of the Sea retraces the journeys of these three sailors through life and across oceans. It is a taut, suspenseful re-creation that seeks to make sense of the improbable intersection of three lives at the height of a storm, and a gripping reconstruction of Carl Wake's search for meaning and, ultimately, for his soul.

©2007, 2008 John Kretschmer (P)2023 McGraw Hill-Ascent Audio

What listeners say about At the Mercy of the Sea

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Scary Story Told Well

This is a story with many moving parts but John is able to keep the listener engaged and on course throughout the tale. Sad story but well told.

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Terrifying account of the storm and its victims

A compelling and horrible story of personal tragedy experienced at sea. Very well worth a listen.

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Tragic

A tragic story but well written. Enjoyed the performance and how the individuals were brought forward in a personal manner.

Enjoyed it very much.

Makes me yearn to buy
My own boat to start my own adventure on the high seas!

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Articulation and story lines are gripping.

Listening to this book kept me up all night. It propels you through empathy for these characters decisions and their hurricane tribulations.

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Adventure and loss at sea

Have read all of Kretschmer's books and this one won't let you down. Also nice seeing John write from a different perspective.

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