Rescue of the Bounty: Disaster and Survival in Superstorm Sandy
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Most people will remember Robin Walbridge for his disastrous decision to leave port. But we have all made mistakes, and it seems unfair that over a lifetime of difficult choices a person gets labeled for his last one. Coast guard captain Eric Jones explained it this way: “One bad decision does not undo all the positive influence Robin Walbridge had on sailors.” I think he’s right, and almost every crew member who survived Sandy agrees—they almost all spoke highly of Robin’s leadership and training skills.
We also need to remember that Hurricane Sandy was unlike other hurricanes. It was epic—nine hundred miles wide, the largest storm ever recorded in the North Atlantic. Captain Walbridge and all those who followed him as he steered Bounty out of New London, Connecticut, believed they could skirt the storm. Had it been a “typical” hurricane, they might have done just that. But Sandy’s reach was so massive that by the time they realized its magnitude, there was no safe direction to sail.
Still, the captain should have thought of his crew first, and not that “a ship is safer at sea than at port” during a storm.
A critical decision occurs in the opening pages of this book when Captain Walbridge calls the crew together to announce his plans to sail despite the oncoming storm. He told them anyone could leave and he wouldn’t think any less of them or hold it against them. Why, I wondered, did every single crew member agree to remain on the ship? Most said they had confidence in the captain, the ship, and their own training. But I think another, more subtle factor was at work—the group itself. Perhaps no one wanted to be the first to walk off Bounty, appear to be afraid, or be perceived as letting their crewmates down. Remember, most of the crew were under thirty years old, and they felt a loyalty to each other and to the captain without the benefit of decades of sailing. Also, the manner in which Captain Walbridge made this announcement likely influenced the outcome. The crew was forced to make a quick decision, without having the time to check various forecasts themselves. Nor did they have the luxury to sleep on their decision, discuss it with family, or have a private conversation with the captain. Instead, when none spoke up and said they were leaving, the captain ordered them to prepare the ship to get under way.
When I think of Bounty, a cascade of thoughts flows through me. I recall how I went on the ship briefly twenty years ago with my father and my son in Fall River, Massachusetts. I thought she was beautiful. When I was just fifteen years old, I consumed the trilogy of books related to the Bounty written by Charles Nordhoff and James Hall in the 1930s (Mutiny on the Bounty, Men Against the Sea, and Pitcairn’s Island.) They were wonderful stories and likely fueled my future writing career and love of the sea. While I generally think that Hollywood remakes of books fail miserably, I loved the two Mutiny on the Bounty movies. The first was released in 1935 and starred Charles Laughton as Captain William Bligh and Clark Gable as Fletcher Christian. The second movie was a 1962 version starring Marlon Brando and Trevor Howard. Many viewers like myself fell in love with the South Pacific and the graceful ship that saw so much turmoil.
Now when I reflect on Bounty, I feel mostly sadness. My thoughts are of the majestic old ship in its death throes and how Sandy took the lives of two crew members. But what bothers me most is that it didn’t have to happen.
Douglas A. Campbell
Jan Miles, co-captain of the tall ship Pride of Baltimore II, wrote a scalding “open letter” to Captain Robin Walbridge and posted it on the Internet a month after Bounty sank. In that letter, Miles echoed the sentiments of many in the maritime community when he asked:
“Why did you throw all caution away by navigating for a close pass of Hurricane Sandy? I was so surprised to discover that BOUNTY was at sea near Cape Hatteras and close to Hurricane Sandy Sunday night October 28th! That decision of yours was reckless in the extreme!”
Few among the dozens of individuals—other than Bounty crew members—interviewed by Mike Tougias and me disagreed with Miles. One who did was Cliff Bredeson, an occasional volunteer Bounty crew member who had made numerous ocean crossings with Walbridge.
Bredeson said that in his opinion Walbridge’s decision to leave New London was appropriate. Had the pumps not failed, Bounty would have been fine, Bredeson told me.
I am a sailor of small boats and have logged numerous miles offshore—far, far fewer than Robin Walbridge. In that limited experience, I have made my share of decisions to sail that I’ve later regretted. I’ve been lucky. While some of those decisions have led to discomfort, none has led to disaster.
When I heard Bounty’s story in October 2012, I—like most other sailors—wondered why a captain would think his crew would be safer at sea in a hurricane than onshore. To be absolutely clear, the safest way to deal with boats is to stay off them. There are always risks in going to sea, some of which cannot be anticipated. But the ocean floor is littered with the wreckage of ships—particularly old, wooden sailing ships—and the bones of crews that left port and didn’t make it back. There was no question in my mind in October that Walbridge should have anticipated problems with Sandy and that Bounty should have remained at some dock, someplace, and should not have ventured out toward an approaching hurricane.
I was grateful, then, when Mike offered me the opportunity to investigate Bounty’s saga and ask what to me was the critical question: Why did Robin Walbridge take his ship to sea?
I found a handful of individuals who knew Robin Walbridge well and could tell stories that transported him from a caricature that a news story makes of anyone to a real person with unique qualities, passions, and abilities. Those tales showed me why this man could be adored by so many, respected by almost all he met. They also gave shape to an intelligent, driven man who was, in the end, trapped by his own success, almost universally unquestioned, and, perhaps as a result, unaccustomed to being challenged.
I owe a debt of gratitude to these people and hope that in repayment of that debt our work will provide readers with an honest portrait of a man whose enthusiasm for his life touched many, often young, people and no doubt changed their lives in positive ways.
Bounty under sail was a handsome ship.
A view of Bounty’s deck and some of the rigging.
The Great Cabin belowdecks at the stern.
Captain Robin Walbridge, who made the fateful decision to leave New London, aboard Bounty.
On October 25, 2012, the day Bounty set sail on its eventual clash with Hurricane Sandy, Claudene Christian was on deck with the visiting sailors from the submarine Mississippi as they attempted to learn Bounty’s complex and elaborate rigging.
Doug Faunt was the most senior crew member on board.
These seas, encountered during Bounty’s November 2010 voyage to Puerto Rico, were, according to survivors of the final voyage, in the range of those that took her down during Sandy in 2012.
A few hours after Bounty rolled to her side, her masts began to rise as water spread throughout her hull.
The third coast guard helicopter arrived on the scene later in the morning and found Bounty in this position.
Rescue swimmer Daniel Todd was in the second helicopter to arrive on the distress scene.
C-130 pilot Wes McIntosh flew into the hurricane at night. Here he is receiving an award from Commandant of the Coast Guard Robert Papp.
The first helicopter to arrive on the emergency scene was crewed by (left to right) Randy Haba, Steve Cerveny, Jane Peña, and Michael Lufkin.
The second helicopter crew (left to right): Daniel Todd, Jenny Fields, Steve Bonn, and Neil Moulder.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors wish to thank the following people we either interviewed or corresponded with. There were not one or two people who were crucial to this story. Instead, there were dozens, and each was an important piece of the mosaic of this dramatic saga. You were gracious with your time and opened up your hearts.
Kristin Andersen
Marco Angelini
Captain Richard Bailey
Michael Beck
Steve Bonn
Cliff Bredeson
Marc Castells
Steve Cerveny
Dina Christian
Jennifer Clark
Captain Bernard Coffey
Connie DeMarus
Todd Farrell
Doug Faunt
Jenny Fields
Captain Christopher Flansburg
Randy Haba
Darren Hicks
Herb Hilgenberg
Lucille Walbridge Jansen
Peter Jansen
Gary Kannegiesser
Tim Kuklewski
Shirley R. Lawyer
Ned Lightner
Michael Lufkin
Barbara Maggio
Wes McIntosh
Jim McNealy
Captain Jan Miles
Bill Miller
James Mitchell
Neil Moulder
Hal Mueller
Tom Murray
Mike Myers
Barbara J. Neff
Chris Parker
Ryan Parker
Jane Peña
Adam Prokosh
Captain Beth Robinson
Peyton Russell
Jonathan Sageser
Jim Salapatek
Joshua Scornavacchi
Andrew Seguin
Rochelle Smith
Larry Sprague
Ed Sychra
Dan Todd
Captain Eric Van Dormolen
Michelle Wilton
Gerald Zwicker
—Michael J. Tougias and Douglas A. Campbell
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Michael J. Tougias is a versatile author and coauthor of twenty-one books. Two of his previous books, A Storm Too Soon and Overboard! (both written in the present tense), received critical praise because of their fast-paced style and “heart-pounding” narratives. His bestselling book Fatal Forecast: An Incredible True Tale of Disaster and Survival at Sea was praised by the Los Angeles Times as “a breathtaking book . . . [Tougias] spins a marvelous and terrifying yarn.” His earlier book Ten Hours Until Dawn: The True Story of Heroism and Tragedy Aboard the Can Do was praised by Booklist “as the best story of peril at sea since The Perfect Storm.” This book, about a sea rescue during the Blizzard of 1978, was selected by the American Library Association as an Editor’s Choice: “One of the Top Books of the Year.”
Tougias and coauthor Casey Sherman teamed up and wrote a combination history/ocean-rescue story titled The Finest Hours: The True Story of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Most Daring Sea Rescue. This drama occurred in 1952 off the coast of Cape Cod when two oil tankers, in the grip of a nor’easter, were split in half and eighty-four lives were in jeopardy. The Disney Corporation is currently making a movie based on this book.
On a lighter note, Tougias’s award-winning humor book There’s a Porcupine in My Outhouse: Misadventures of a Mountain Man Wannabe was selected by the Independent Book Publishers Association as “The Best Nature Book of the Year.” The author has also written for over two hundred different and diverse publications including the New York Times, Field & Stream, Fine Gardening, and the Boston Globe. He has just coauthored two new books: The Cringe Chronicles and Derek’s Gift: A True Story of Love, Courage, and Lessons Learned.
Tougias has prepared slide lectures for all his books, including Rescue of the Bounty, and his lecture schedule is posted on his website at www.michaeltougias.com. (Interested organizations can contact him at michaeltougias@yahoo.com.) The author also has an archive of maritime rescue articles and personal stories on his blog michaeltougias.wordpress.com, and he has an author page on Facebook at “Michael J. Tougias.”
Through research into dozens of survival stories, Tougias has also prepared an inspirational lecture for businesses and organizations titled “Survival Lessons: Peak Performance & Decision-Making Under Pressure.” Tougias describes this presentation as “an uplifting way to learn some practical strategies and mind-sets for achieving difficult goals from those who have survived against all odds.” He has given the presentation across the country for all types of organizations, including General Dynamics, International Administrative Association, Massachusetts School Library Association, NYU Surgeon’s Roundtable, North Platte Town Lecture Series, Lincoln Financial Services, Raytheon, United States Coast Guard, and many more. Interested organizations can contact him at michaeltougias@yahoo.com. For more details see www.michaeltougias.com.
Douglas A. Campbell, the author of two nonfiction books, The Sea’s Bitter Harvest and Eight Survived, has spent his career in journalism. For twenty-five years, he was a staff writer at the Philadelphia Inquirer, where two of his stories were nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. After retiring from the Inquirer in 2001, he resumed his career as senior writer at Soundings magazine, covering all aspects of recreational boating. His stories for Soundings have won numerous awards from Boating Writers International Inc.
Doug began sailing on the Delaware River in 1979 and still keeps a small boat moored there. He and his wife, Monica, also sail a thirty-two-foot blue-water boat, Robin, with which they’ve competed in the biannual Bermuda 1-2 Race. Doug has placed third out of thirty-nine boats on corrected-time sailing the single-handed leg of the race from Newport, Rhode Island, to Bermuda.
© ALISON O’LEARY
MICHAEL J. TOUGIAS is the author of a number of books, including A Storm Too Soon, Overboard!, The Finest Hours (with Casey Sherman), Fatal Forecast, and Ten Hours Until Dawn. He is a sought-after lecturer who gives more than seventy presentations each year. He lives in Massachusetts.
© MONICA CAMPBELL
DOUGLAS A. CAMPBELL spent three decades in daily journalism and twenty-five years as a staff writer at the Philadelphia Inquirer, where two of his stories were nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. Campbell is the author of The Sea’s Bitter Harvest and Eight Survived.
MEET1 THE AUTHORS, WATCH VIDEOS AND MORE AT
SimonandSchuster.com
authors.simonandschuster.com/Michael-J-Tougias
authors.simonandschuster.com/Douglas-A-Campbell
ALSO BY MICHAEL J. TOUGIAS
A Storm Too Soon
The Finest Hours
(coauthored with Casey Sherman)
Overboard!
Fatal Forecast
Ten Hours Until Dawn
Until I Have No Country
There’s a Porcupine in My Outhouse
The Cringe Chronicles
Derek’s Gift
King Philip’s War
(coauthored with Eric Schultz)
ALSO BY DOUGLAS A. CAMPBELL
The Sea’s Bitter Harvest
Eight Survived
SUMMARIES OF MICHAEL J. TOUGIAS’S LATEST BOOKS, AVAILABLE FROM SCRIBNER AS TRADE PAPERBACKS OR AS E-BOOKS
A Storm Too Soon: The True Story of Disaster, Survival, and an Incredible Rescue
Seventy-foot waves batter a tattered life raft 250 miles out to sea in one of the world’s most dangerous places, the Gulf Stream. Hanging on to the raft are three men, a Canadian, a Brit, and their captain, JP DeLutz, a dual citizen of America and France. The waves repeatedly toss the men out of their tiny vessel, and JP, with nine broken ribs, is hypothermic and on the verge of death. The captain, however, is a tough-minded character, having survived a sadistic, physically abusive father during his boyhood, and now he’s got to rely on those same inner resources to outlast the storm.
Trying to reach these survivors before it’s too late are four coastguardsmen battling hurricane-force winds in their Jayhawk helicopter. They know the waves in the Gulf Stream will be extreme, but when they arrive they are astounded to find crashing seas of seventy feet, with some waves topping eighty feet. To lower the helicopter and then drop a rescue swimmer into such chaos is a high-risk proposition. The pilots wonder if they have a realistic chance of saving the sailors clinging to the broken life raft, and if they will be able to retrieve their own rescue swimmer from the towering seas. Once they commit to the rescue, they find th
emselves in almost as much trouble as the survivors, facing several life-and-death decisions.
Also caught in the storm are three other boats, all in Mayday situations. Of the ten people on those boats, only six will ever see land again.
“By depicting the event from the perspective of both the rescued and the rescuers and focusing only on key moments and details, Tougias creates a suspenseful, tautly rendered story that leaves readers breathless but well-satisfied. Heart-pounding action for the avid armchair adventurer.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“The riveting, meticulously researched A Storm Too Soon tells the true-life tale of an incredible rescue.”
—New York Post
“Tougias deftly switches from heart-pounding details of the rescue to the personal stories of the boat’s crew and those of the rescue team. The result is a well-researched and suspenseful read.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Few American authors—if any—can better evoke the realities that underlie a term such as ‘desperate rescue attempt.’ ”
—Fall River Herald
“Already a maven of maritime books with Overboard! and Fatal Forecast, Tougias cinches that title here. Working in the present tense Tougias lets the story tell itself, and what a story! Anyone reading [A Storm Too Soon] will laud Tougias’ success.”
—Providence Journal
Overboard!:
A True Blue-Water Odyssey of Disaster and Survival
A nerve-racking maritime disaster tale from the masterful author of Fatal Forecast and The Finest Hours. Michael Tougias has left countless readers breathless with his suspense-packed, nail-biting disaster-at-sea narratives. And now one of the survivors of a perilous tale has sought Tougias out to tell his terrifying story, for the first time described in Overboard!