Rescue of the Bounty

Disaster and Survival in Superstorm Sandy

By: Michael J. Tougias, Douglas A. Campbell

Narrated by: Tom Weiner

Length: 7 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

Rescue of the Bounty is the harrowing story of the sinking and rescue of Bounty - the tall ship used in the classic 1962 film Mutiny on the Bounty - which was caught in the path of Hurricane Sandy with 16 aboard.

On Thursday, October 25, 2012, Captain Robin Walbridge made the fateful decision to sail Bounty from New London, Connecticut, to St. Petersburg, Florida. Walbridge was well aware that a hurricane was forecast to travel north from the Caribbean toward the Eastern Seaboard. Yet the captain was determined to sail. As he explained to his crew of 15: A ship is always safer at sea than in port. He intended to sail around the hurricane and told the crew that anyone who did not want to come on the voyage could leave the ship - there would be no hard feelings. As fate would have it, no one took the captain up on his offer.

Four days into the voyage, Superstorm Sandy made an almost direct hit on Bounty. The vessel's failing pumps could not keep up with the incoming water. The ship began to lose power as it was beaten and rocked by hurricane winds that spanned 800 miles. A few hours later, in the dark of night, the ship suddenly overturned 90 miles off the North Carolina coast, in the "Graveyard of the Atlantic", sending the crew tumbling into an ocean filled with towering 30-foot waves. The Coast Guard then launched one of the most complex and massive rescues in its history, flying two Jayhawk helicopter crews into the hurricane and lowering rescue swimmers into the raging seas again and again, despite the danger to their own lives.

In the uproar heard across American media in the days following, a single question persisted: Why did the captain decide to sail?

©2014 Michael J. Tougias and Douglas A. Campbell (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Much heavier focus on sailing than rescue

Any additional comments?

I read this book expected to hear mostly about the storm and the subsequent rescue, but the first 2/3 of the book was about the crew and their background and the ship's history. A little bit of this info is fine, however it felt incredibly dragged out. The section about the storm and rescue was fast paced and exciting to listen to, but I really had to force myself to listen to the first 2/3.

Thanks

I held off on this book for a while. I was afraid of how Robin would be portrayed. I knew Robin he was a friend of mine. I was on The Rose in Quebec when he rebuilt the Detroit Diesel in less then 48 hours. This is a fair depiction of Robin. I did some work on the bounty. Robin had vision for the bounty. He brought it from almost a derelict ship. To a viable sailing training ship.

Three years after this tragedy the El Faro sank in hurricane Jaquine. Both these tragedies come down to the decision to risk out maneuvering a hurricane or avoid a hurricane or weather

These decisions were one in the a career of a good captains that killed people. Hopefully we can learn from their mistakes.

I enjoyed sailing with Robin. The fact that 14 of 16 survived that storm is a testament to his training and leadership. Unfortunately he made a bad decision to sail that day.

Thanks again for your the thorough research.
Hopefully we learn from this.

Always check your bilge pump

It's the very human story of the people who sailed the Bounty. It's a story of the glory and perils of trying to keep a historic ship floating with volunteers and the struggle for capital. In the end a good captain who made the mistake of going out in an unprecedented storm with a damaged ship and an unqualified crew resulted in his death, the death of one of his crew and the loss of the ship. If only they had taken action when the pump pressure was low washing the deck and checked that the fuel filters were correct before leaving port it might have ended differently. Don't judge the captain too harshly, it very nearly worked.

Very thorough

This was a very good book. I have no sailing experience and live far from the ocean, I feel like I had a thorough understanding of what this experience was like. My only complaint is that it’s a little dry and feels like it was Compiled from investigation testimony. The people in the story felt a little one dimensional.

More not always better

A very interesting story but too much detail detracted from the overall experience

I enjoyed hearing about the Fascinating series of events, the unfortunate sequence of decisions and the exciting accounts of the rescues

But the crew’s life stories and the explanations of simple terms/exchanges made this a long project

It would benefit from an abridged version

Or else, it’s just me being impatient

I do recommend this
Enjoy

Great story

This is a great story and the narration is great as well. I recommend this book.

Tall Ship Down

Excellent account of sinking of Bounty. Both detailed and engrossing. The narrative gives clues as to who survived and who did not by including first person after the fact information. Yet this does not take away from the suspense. Readers of tales from the age of sail will enjoy this listen.

Tragedy at Sea

I read a version of this in a magazine years ago. This fills in the blanks without a lot of unnecessary backstory (yes, there was a lot more!). Well written and narrated. Such a terrible loss.... And The Bounty had one more
drama left in her, sadly, during Hurricane Sandy and she didn't stand a chance. Regardless. it was very good to listen to, learn about. In fact, I couldn't stop until it was finished! Thank you!

Everyone should listen

To chapters 26-31 to get a good idea of the bravery, selflessness and necessity of the United States Coast Guard. It is unlike any other government organization and deserves the support of all US citizens in Congress

not enough meat, to much potatoe

went into way to much detail of little things like the owner of the boat, prior trips, the backstory of the captain and whatnot. I wanted the story of it's rescue to be told, and it was, in about an hour versus the 8hr buildup to it.