Fastnet Force 10

Rousmaniere, John

ISBN 10: 0245535748 / ISBN 13: 9780245535741

Published by Nautical Publishing, Lymington, 1980

About this Item

Copy in black cloth on boards in unclipped D/J. Previous owners inscription on FFE. Clean text with b/w plates.

Seller Inventory # 033081

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Fastnet Force 10
• Publisher: Nautical Publishing, Lymington
• Publication Date: 1980
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0245535748
• ISBN 13: 9780245535741
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: First Edition
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good
• Seller catalogs:
  • Maritime

About this title

Synopsis

In August 1979, 303 yachts began the 600-mile Fastnet Race from the Isle of Wight off the southwest coast of England to Fastnet Rock off the Irish coast and back.
It began in fine weather, then suddenly became a terrifying ordeal. A Force 10, sixty-knot storm swept across the North Atlantic with a speed that confounded forecasters, slamming into the fleet with epic fury. For twenty hours, 2,500 men and women were smashed by forty-foot breaking waves, while rescue helicopters and lifeboats struggled to save them. By the time the race was over, fifteen people had died, twenty-four crews had abandoned ship, five yachts had sunk, 136 sailors had been rescued, and only 85 boats had finished the race. John Rousmaniere was there, and he tells the tragic story of the greatest disaster in the history of yachting as only one who has sailed through the teeth of a killer storm can. With a new introduction by the author.

About the Author

John Rousmaniere has sailed in over 35,000 miles of offshore voyaging and racing. He crewed on the 48-foot Toscana in the fateful Fastnet Race of 1979.