Overboard!: A True Blue-water Odyssey of Disaster and Survival

My son loves action in military, but doesn’t like to read. This is one of his favorite books. He has been listening to it as an audiobook, but one of the paperback version for Christmas.

All the reviews of this book are right... this book appeals to sailors and non-sailors and captures the essence of sailing in heavy weather. My heart goes out to the crew and families for the loss of Captain Tom Tigne who any sailor can relate to.While I would give this book my highest rating, if part of the objectives was to educate subsequent sailors to make better decisions I think the book leaves a couple questions I would have loved to know. As a sailor who has made this trip several times I would have like to have known 1) What weather service they were relying on and more about how the decision was made to continue and not turn around on day 1 or 2. Why did they only make 100 or less nautical miles the first two days and not average 130 or more miles per day in an effort to reach the Western side of gulf stream and open ocean. My other take aways were to always carry a sea drogue and I wonder if having wet suits donned before trying to ditch would have helped. (not trying to judge or be critical but trying to learn from the expereince)What this book did accomplish, aside from the bravery of the Captain and crew, was a continued confirmation that the addage "always step up to the life raft" is almost always true. I also think the technology has advanced in the last couple years which is added comfort for us sailors (Personal EPIRBS, smaller portable "ditch" size VHF's, hand held lasers) such that the odds of survival in the water would now be slightly higher. Thank you so much for sharing this tragic story of very courageous and great people. Loch is the luckiest person in the world...

Bought for beach vacation read. Didn't disappoint. I read it in a few nights-didnt want to put down. Fast paced, scary, and TRUE. If you're into sailing/boating or just the ocean, you'll be mesmerized by this tale of human survival and learn quite a few things in the process. Highly recommend.

I've sailed in relatively small boats back and forth between New England and Bermuda, waited out weather windows and been in the Gulf Stream when it was not in a good mood. I took a deep interest in this story. The scary thing about it is that is all true and could have happened to anyone. There is no hyperbole. A knowledgeable, careful and competent skipper with an equally competent first mate and three "novices" that were not unfamiliar with sailing and boats (two of them owned cruising class sailboats of their own)were aboard a well found and well-maintained vessel (a Hardin 46 ketch)that embarked on a voyage from Connecticut to Bermuda. They were overtaken by a violent storm system that rapidly reduced their vessel to an unnavigable floating piece of rubble. Then the Captain and first mate are lost overboard, leaving the three less experienced sailors on a sinking boat being beaten up by high winds and heavy breaking seas. The side drama is the plight of another sailboat also with two very experienced ocean sailors aboard also caught in the same storm. They experienced a harrowing rescue by a Coast Guard helicopter in conditions that also put the helicopter and her crew in extreme peril as well. And there is the story of the lost captain and first mate. T Details about Coast Guard procedures and Search and Rescue operations are carefully researched, accurate and threaded into the story. This book is a very readable tour-de-force and a gripping story. I couldn't put it down. At the end, I said to myself: This could have been me, Thank God it wasn't. And would I have done anything different in their situations? Probably not. And that's scary.

OK, I'm half way through and I have to leave the house to go over and pick up my mom for Sunday dinner and I am stalling her as I cannot stop reading this book!I am a pretty sophisticated reader of non-fiction and I had only medium hopes for this book but it has far surpassed them. I will say that if you know nothing about the ocean or sailing and have zero understanding of the technical terms, you *might* be less enthralled than other readers, but even then, a graphic description of someone bobbling alone in the ocean being smashed by 40 foot seas is probably going to be get your attention. :)I at first questioned the author's technique of describing the action in the present tense and I wondered if it would annoy me, but then I realized he has to jump back and forth in time so frequently he wants to you be able to distinguish between what is happening * right now* and what happened before. It actually works pretty well and keeps the action occurring at different times and places from getting confusing.My 16 year old son's life goal is become a Coast Guard rescue swimmer. Naturally this book terrifies me, but he is going to love it. :)Great read.

Overboard is a well written book, and it is hard to put down. It is so gripping, so full of interesting details, I read it twice in a row and enjoyed it more the second time.My only complaint is the author goes out of his way to avoid criticizing anyone involved in the stories. The fact is that the captain of one ship made the decision to abandon his ship, which resulted in his death, and only by a miracle was his first mate rescued while swimming in the middle of the ocean in a hurricane. The crew members who were unable to abandon ship were far safer and were rescued by more conventional means. Some of the narrative hints at the circumstances that led to the decision to abandon ship, but does not tackle the issue head-on.In retrospect, the decision to abandon ship was shown by events to be a fatal mistake. I can understand a desire not to second guess how people react in a crisis, and sensitivity towards surviving family. But the bottom line is, I felt the story as told was incomplete.

It's hard to be critical of such a harrowing tale and indeed I'm not being but the writing of it produced a book that went on and on page after page with the same descriptions of crashing waves, gasps for breath and the hope for salvation it became tedious and whilst delighted four people managed to survive you just wanted the book to end.

Incredible.

A fabulous read of human strength, determination and loyalty. As a sailor myself with over 100,000 sea miles I can relate to their preparations prior to ocean cruising and can only imagine what they had to deal with when the storm hit so relentlessly.

The inner strength of the human soul just amazes me....another awesome true saga from Michael Tougias!

I enjoyed this novel. It's fast-paced and interesting. Sad at times, but it's a disaster at sea novel so to be expected.