A first-hand account and fascinating new details of the 1952 rescue of the SS Pendleton, the true story behind the film The Finest Hours. On February 18, 1952, off the coast of Cape Cod, a fierce nor’easter snapped in half two 503-foot oil tankers, the Pendleton and the Fort Mercer. Human grace and grit, leadership and endurance prevail as Theresa Mitchell Barbo and Captain W. Russell Webster (Ret.) recount the historic, heroic rescue of thirty-two merchant mariners from the sinking Pendleton by four young Coast Guardsmen aboard the 36-foot motor lifeboat CG 36500. A foreword by former Commandant Admiral Thad Allen (Ret.) and an essay by Master Chief John “Jack” Downey (Ret.), a veteran of thousands of modern-day small boat rescues, round out the special third edition of this classic work on Coast Guard history.

The 1952 Coast Guard mission to save the crews of two oil tankers that were torn in half by the force of one of New England's worst nor'easters.

A riveting account of the greatest small-boat rescue in American history.

Most people familiar with the name Bernie Webber associate him with the miraculous rescue of 32 men off of the stern of the Pendleton, made famous in the book and movie The Finest Hours. Rescuing 32 sailors from a sinking ship caught in a ferocious winter storm is a dramatic tale, but what made this mission so special is that the boat Bernie skippered that terrible night was a mere 36 feet in length and the waves were almost twice that size! Bernie and crew received the Coast Guard’s coveted Gold Lifesaving Medal, and what they did on that stormy night is regarded as the greatest small boat rescue in history. In Into A Raging Sea, Bernie tells that story, but the book is so much more than that. In these pages you’ll read about rescue attempts that did not turn out well, stories of fishermen from a time long past, rescues done with the by-gone technique of the “breeches buoy,” humorous anecdotes, and what Cape Cod and its people meant to Bernie. Into a Raging Sea is a story of sacrifice, bravery, disappointment, and challenges. And in the background of Bernie’s journey is one constant, the sea. --from the forward by Michael J. Tougias

Dramatic, compelling, downright unbelievable accounts of the Coast Guard's often unsung heros.

A riveting account of the greatest small-boat rescue in American history.

The three most important people in my life—my husband and our two sons—along with a cherished nephew perished in a horrific boating accident off Charleston in 1997. I thought my life was over the night I received the cryptic phone call from a family pastor in Florida, asking me if I knew if more bodies had been found. From that awkward moment forward, I began to live every mother's and wife's nightmare. This book, so eloquently crafted by Capt. W. Russell Webster, will honor my family and detail the mistakes that were made and ensure that the many positive changes that have come from this tragedy are memorialized appropriately for future sailors and rescuers alike.

On February 18, 1952, off the coast of Cape Cod, a fierce nor'easter snapped in half two 503-foot oil tankers, the Pendleton and the Fort Mercer. Human grace and grit, leadership and endurance prevail as Theresa Mitchell Barbo and Captain W. Russell Webster (Ret.) recount the historic, heroic rescue of thirty-two merchant mariners from the sinking Pendleton by four young Coast Guardsmen aboard the 36-foot motor lifeboat CG36500. A foreword by former Commandant Admiral Thad Allen (Ret.) and an essay by Master Chief John Jack" Downey (Ret.), a veteran of thousands of modern-day small boat rescues, round out the special third edition of this classic work on Coast Guard history."

Was it the captain's fault, as many said? Or did the company, the Coast Guard and the American Bureau of Shipping all have a hand on the helm of the SS El Faro as she steered too close to Hurricane Joaquin? This is an examination of a tragedy that has been well-researched and investigated -- heroically so at times -- by the United States Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board. Three very well-done books have been published. All of these efforts produced detailed recommendations and observations and all are publicly available. I commend them to you. My effort touches on the broad sweep and events of the tragedy and investigation, but if you want the detailed story of the final voyage of the ship, you're better off with the other books. My main goal here is to show how the SS El Faro fit into a larger system and culture -- one that I have been covering off and on as a journalist and author for 38 years. It's this system, I feel, that will result in another SS El Faro someday unless it is reformed. Another note on style. My preference in non-fiction is "narrative." In other words, whenever I can, I tell a story and show what is happening; I prefer that to "telling" the reader, because I think "showing" is more readily absorbed. Humans learn through stories. Story telling rather than a lecture better illustrates the emotions at play here, as well as the moods, culture and vibe of the ship and the industry. This does not mean I take a pure poetic license. The dialogue quoted here is real, not made up. The material is factual.