Left for Dead: The Untold Story of the Greatest Disaster in Modern Sailing History by Nick Ward and Sinead O'Brien



"In this gripping account, Ward finally breaks his multiyear silence and shares his story of what happened to him on his boat Grimalkin during the storms that beset England's Fastnet sailing race in 1979. The race started off in near-perfect conditions on August 11 for the 303 yachts participating. The yachts left Cowes, England, to round Fastnet Rock off Ireland's southwest coast and sail back to Plymouth. Two days later, a storm of near-hurricane force left 15 dead, caused 24 crews to abandon ship, sank five yachts, and required the rescue of 136 sailors in the largest peacetime sea-and-air operation ever. Ward was on the 30-foot Grimalkin with five other men. After being repeatedly battered by blow-downs (waves that knock over a boat 90 to 180 degrees), most of the crew decided to abandon ship—a controversial decision because Ward and another sailor, Gerry Winks, were left on the Grimalkin, presumed dead. Both, in fact, were alive. Ward survived another 14 hours, resuscitating Winks (who eventually died) before being rescued."



~ Margaret Atwater-Singer, Univ. of Evansville Libs., IN Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.