Into the Raging Sea: Thirty-three mariners, one megastorm and the sinking of El Faro. Rachel Slade

      

      

       Copyright

      4th Estate

      An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers

      1 London Bridge Street

      London SE1 9GF

       www.4thEstate.co.uk

      This eBook first published in Great Britain by 4th Estate in 2018

      Copyright © 2018 by Rachel Slade

      Cover design by Allison Saltzman

      Cover images © Mike Hill/Photographer’s Choice/Getty Images

      Rachel Slade asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

      A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

      All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins

      Source ISBN: 9780008302436

      Ebook Edition © August 2017 ISBN: 9780008302450

      Version: 2018-04-23

       Dedication

      To the families and friends of those lost on El Faro.

       No one should have to endure such sorrow.

       Epigraph

      There is nothing more enticing, disenchanting, and enslaving than the life at sea.

      —LORD JIM, JOSEPH CONRAD

      CONTENTS

       COVER

       TITLE PAGE

COPYRIGHT

DEDICATION

EPIGRAPH

      CAST OF CHARACTERS

      CHAIN OF COMMAND ABOARD EL FARO

      EL FARO PLANS AND CROSS-SECTION

      A NOTE ON THE TEXT

PART I

CHAPTER 1: THE CLOCK IS TICKING

CHAPTER 2: BLOUNT ISLAND

CHAPTER 3: TROPICAL STORM JOAQUIN

CHAPTER 4: THIRD MATE JEREMIE RIEHM

CHAPTER 5: A HURRICANE IS NOT A POINT ON A MAP

CHAPTER 6: SECOND MATE DANIELLE RANDOLPH

CHAPTER 7: COLLISION COURSE

CHAPTER 8: HULL NUMBER 670

       CHAPTER 9: AFTERNOON

       CHAPTER 10: CAPTAIN MICHAEL DAVIDSON

       CHAPTER 11: QUESTION AUTHORITY?

       CHAPTER 12: THE JONES ACT

       CHAPTER 13: EVENING

       CHAPTER 14: NIGHT

       CHAPTER 15: NECESITAMOS LA MERCANCÍA

       CHAPTER 16: DAWN

       CHAPTER 17: THE RAGING SEA

       CHAPTER 18: WE’RE GONNA MAKE IT

       PART II

       CHAPTER 19: WE’VE LOST COMMUNICATION

       CHAPTER 20: SEARCH AND RESCUE

       CHAPTER 21: FLIGHT TO JACKSONVILLE

       CHAPTER 22: SHIPS DON’T JUST DISAPPEAR

       CHAPTER 23: PROFIT AND LOSS

       CHAPTER 24: THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE

       CHAPTER 25: HOW TO SINK A SHIP

       CHAPTER 26: ADMIRAL GREENE CLEARS THE AIR

       CHAPTER 27: PORTRAIT OF INCOMPETENCE

       CHAPTER 28: MISSION NUMBER TWO

       CHAPTER 29: THE PROOF IS IN THE PUDDING

       CHAPTER 30: VOICES

       CHAPTER 31: TWENTY-FOUR MINUTES

      CHAPTER 32: SPIRITS

      EPILOGUE

      CREW LIST

      INDEX

      ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

      A NOTE ON SOURCES

       ABOUT THE AUTHOR

       ABOUT THE PUBLISHER

       CAST OF CHARACTERS

       FEATURED EL FARO OFFICERS AND CREW

       DECK DEPARTMENT

      Michael Davidson, 53, Master

      Steven Shultz, 54, Chief Mate, First Watch

      Danielle Randolph, 34, Second Mate, Second Watch

      Jeremie Riehm, 46, Third Mate, Third Watch

      Frank