The Gathering Wind

Hurricane Sandy, the Sailing Ship Bounty, and a Courageous Rescue at Sea

By: Gregory A. Freeman

Narrated by: David Drummond

Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

In October 2012, a replica of the famous HMS Bounty, an eighteenth-century tall sailing ship, was on a collision course with a storm that would become the largest hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic - a clash that would prove dramatic, tragic, perplexing, and ultimately one of the most unforgettable stories of Superstorm Sandy.

Crewed by an eclectic team of seafarers, the Bounty was led by Robin Walbridge, their highly respected captain with decades at the helm, whose actions - sometimes questionable - decided the fate of his ship and crew. Departing from Connecticut as the storm raced northward from the Caribbean, Walbridge attempted to outmaneuver Sandy, heading the Bounty southeast. As violent gusts tossed the wooden ship, the crew fought to save their beloved Bounty - and finally to save themselves. When waves, wind, and encroaching water finally overtook the ship in an area known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic, the crew was suddenly tossed into the churning sea. The Bounty was gone, but their fate was still to be determined.

The men and women of a Coast Guard station in North Carolina summoned the courage to fly into hundred-mile-per-hour winds while the residents of the Eastern Seaboard were fleeing or bracing for the hurricane's impact. Through hours of white-knuckle flying, with crew members thrown about their aircraft and rescue swimmers jumping into thirty-foot seas, the Coast Guard accomplished one of its most memorable rescues ever. Based on interviews with Bounty survivors and unfettered access to Coast Guard rescue team members, The Gathering Wind offers not only the first but the most complete account of this heartbreaking, thrilling, and inspirational story.

©2013 Gregory A. Freeman (P)2013 Tantor

gathering wind

well written, just about typical for each person, real life. how sad to have all that information at your hand and not use it because you know better how do people like that end up in charge time after time?

Wow

If you ever wondered what it was like for all those sailors in the days of tall ships to go down at see this is the closes you will get to what it must have been like. I deeply hope that someone builds a replica of the replica bounty and makes a movie of this ordeal.

Great storytelling...

Even though I knew the ending (as most would) long ago, the engrossing way the author tells the story kept me captivated to the end. Thoroughly enjoyable, with no lulls (pun-intended).

Good read/Listen

I remeber reading this in the news. As some one who grew up on and around the water, I was dismayed when this happened and thought "Whyat were they thinking and what went wrong". After listening to the book of what really happened..... you think the Captain and crew were less smart.

Good.

Any additional comments?

This is a good story, well-written and narrated. It is also stretched. You know, a one-hundred page book stretched to two-hundred pages. An enjoyable read, just be ready for a bit of repetitiveness and thinking "Get to the point!" a few times.

The Gathering Wind

An excellent read. Never heard of the story of the second Bounty ship and the hurricane Sandy. Guess living in the west coast cut us off from many of the stories of that storm.

an interesting story and well read

the performance is quite good - as far add i could tell, all the sailing ship terms were announced correctly. the story is entertaining and fairly easy to listen to.

Sad book ..but very good

Start to finish in too sittings.
It nice when you find a book that hold’s your interest.