Fastnet Force 10 Rei: The Deadliest Storm in the History of Modern Sailing

A fantastic account of those awful events around the 1979 Fastnet Race. It lead to lots of changes and improvements to offshore yacht racing which I guess is some sort of tribute to the tragic loss of life.

Great detail in terms of not only the technical aspects of what happened but also the human aspect. Take your time in getting to grips with the detail, it’s well worth the read.

Enjoyable but perhaps not as good as 'Left for dead'.

Captivating book with great description of individual yachts experiences as well as rescue services. It depicts the heroic efforts of both yachtsmen and rescue service crew in this unusually strong gale in the western approaches between Ireland and Great Britain. Makes one think twice to set out in bad forecasts.

Poorly written

Looking forward to the read

This book has to be one of the best of its type. Immaculately accurate it conveys in no small measure the absolutely horrifying conditions that the competitors in the Fastnet of that fateful year had to contend with. There can be no doubt that this author lived through a most traumatic event, and along with others in the race who lived to tell the tale he will never forget it. So sad that people died because of horrendous storm conditions in boats which would normally have kept them all safe.

I knew a bit about this Fastnet race as I was in Dunmore East at the time but this book was fascinating. I went back to it several times to check out various details.