Author to describe 'daring rescue' at sea

New York Times best-selling author Michael Tougias will visit Springfield next week. His book, “The Finest Hours: The True Story of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Most Daring Sea Rescue” was made into a Disney motion picture which was released last January.

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2016-08-27 / Front Page Author to describe 'daring rescue' at sea Disney motion picture released based on the book By TORY JONES BONENFANT toryb@eagletimes.com Bestselling author Michael Tougias will present a slideshow and book signing on Wednesday, Aug. 31 in Springfield. — COURTESY OF MICHAEL TOUGIAS Bestselling author Michael Tougias will present a slideshow and book signing on Wednesday, Aug. 31 in Springfield. — COURTESY OF MICHAEL TOUGIAS SPRINGFIELD — New York Times best-selling author and Vermont Humanities Council speaker Michael Tougias will visit Springfield next week to present the true tale from his book, “The Finest Hours: The True Story of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Most Daring Sea Rescue.” The book was made into a Disney motion picture and was released in January 2016 in 45 countries. “The inspiration for ‘The Finest Hours’ came from the fact that so few people knew about one of the most amazing rescues ever,” Tougias said in an interview on Thursday, Aug. 25. “I especially liked the fact that the hero of this story was in an unsuccessful rescue a year earlier, and people doubted his skill and courage.” On Feb. 18, 1952, a “ferocious nor’easter” split the Pendleton, a 500-foot long oil tanker, in half approximately one mile off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. “Incredibly, just 20 miles away, a second oil tanker, the Fort Mercer, also split in half,” he said. Crew members were trapped on the severed bows and sterns on both fractured tankers, and all four sections were sinking. “Thus began a life and death drama of survival, heroism, and a series of tragic mistakes. Of the 84 seamen aboard the tankers, 70 would be rescued and 14 would lose their lives,” Tougias said. While working on the story, the co-authors interviewed or wrote about 80 people, including those who died at sea, through information gathered from newspaper articles and the Coast Guard investigation report. Remaining survivors are in their early 80s, but they remember it like yesterday, Tougias said. “The Finest Hours” co-authors Tougias and Casey Sherman, both of Massachusetts, released their hardcover book on May 19, 2009, and paperback in 2010, through the Scribner Book Co. It has been included in the best-sellers’ lists for the Boston Globe and Amazon, among others, Tougias said. A Young Reader’s edition is also available. At the Springfield Library, Tougias will be using slides of the storm, the sinking tankers, the victims, the survivors and heroes, and of the actual rescue “to tell the exciting story of who made it and who didn't, and why,” he said. He plans to especially focus on four young Coast Guardsmen who had to overcome what he called “insurmountable odds” to save the lives of 32 crew members stranded aboard the stern of the Pendleton. Standing between the men and their mission were towering waves, blinding snow, and one of the most dangerous shoals in the world, “the dreaded Chatham Bar,” he said. A survivor from the Fort Mercer, one of two tankers that split in half during a storm, is rescued from the water in 1952 on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. — COURTESY OF U.S. COAST GUARD A survivor from the Fort Mercer, one of two tankers that split in half during a storm, is rescued from the water in 1952 on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. — COURTESY OF U.S. COAST GUARD The waters along the outer arm of Cape Cod are called “the graveyard of the Atlantic” for good reason, yet this rescue defied all odds, according to Tougias. “This event was — and still is — the greatest and most daring sea rescue ever performed by the Coast Guard, and it happened right here off the New England coast. I felt this episode of heroism and tragedy needed to be told in its entirety because it’s an important piece of overlooked history," he said. A book signing will follow the program, and the presentation is suitable for all ages. Tougias lives in Mendon, Massachusetts, and has a cabin in Woodbury, Vermont, where he spends much of his summer, he said. “In fact, I wrote a book about the cabin: ‘There's A Porcupine In My Outhouse: The Vermont Misadventures of a Mountain Man Wanna-be.’ This book won the Independent Publishers’ Best Nature Book of the Year," he said. Tougias said he has been writing for 35 years, and has written and co-written 25 books. Seven of those books are true survival stories. One of them, “Ten Hours Until Dawn: The True Story of Heroism and Tragedy Aboard the Can Do During the Blizzard of ‘78,” received an Editor’s Choice Selection from the American Library Association, which selected it as one of the top books of the year, he said. His latest book is “So Close To Home: The True Story of An American Family's Fight For Survival During WWII.” His other best-sellers include “Overboard,” and “King Philip's War.” Tougias also lectures on each of his book topics. He offers leadership / inspirational programs for business groups, and has spoken to companies and organizations including General Dynamics, Raytheon, Massachusetts School Library Association, and New York University Surgeons Round Table. The Vermont Humanities Council Finest Hours event in Springfield is part of its statewide Vermont Reads program. The slide presentation and book signing for “The Finest Hours” are scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 31 at the First Congregational Church at 77 Main St., three doors down from the library. The event will be free, open to the public, and accessible to people with disabilities. For more information, call the Springfield Town Library at (802) 885-3108 or visit www.michaeltougias.com. Cutlines: Headshot: Bestselling author Michael Tougias will present a slideshow and book signing on Wednesday, Aug. 31 in Springfield. Courtesy Michael Tougias Last man pulled (man in water): A survivor from the Fort Mercer, one of two tankers that split in half during a storm, is rescued from the water in 1952 on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Courtesy U.S. Coast Guard Three men: Three men, including Bernie Webber, left, helped rescue the survivors of the Pendleton. Webber on was played by actor Chris Pine in the 2016 Disney film adapation of the book. NYT bestselling author Michael Tougias to kickoff VT Reads at Springfield Library August 25, 2016 “Finest Hours” author Michael Tougias. Photo Provided “Finest Hours” author Michael Tougias. Photo Provided SPRINGFIELD, Vt. – The Springfield Town Library is delighted to welcome Vermont Humanities Council speaker and New York Times bestselling author, Michael Tougias, on Wednesday, Aug. 31 at 6:30 p.m. Tougias will present the harrowing true tale recounted in his book, “The Finest Hours: The True Story of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Most Daring Sea Rescue,” now a Disney Motion Picture which opened in 45 countries in January 2016. On Feb. 18, 1952 an astonishing maritime event began when a ferocious nor’easter split in half a 500-foot long oil tanker, the Pendleton, approximately one mile off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Incredibly, just twenty miles away, a second oil tanker, the Fort Mercer, also split in half. On both fractured tankers men were trapped on the severed bows and sterns, and all four sections were sinking in 60-foot seas. Thus began a life and death drama of survival, heroism, and a series of tragic mistakes. Of the 84 seamen aboard the tankers, 70 would be rescued and 14 would lose their lives. Michael Tougias, co-author of “The Finest Hours,” will use slides of the storm, the sinking tankers, the rescues, the victims, the survivors, and the heroes to tell the story of this historic event. Tougias will describe the harrowing attempts to rescue the seamen, especially focusing on four young Coast Guardsmen who overcame insurmountable odds to save the lives of 32 crewmen stranded aboard the stern of the Pendleton. Standing between the men and their mission were towering waves that reached 70 feet, blinding snow, and one of the most dangerous shoals in the world, the dreaded Chatham Bar. The waters along the outer arm of Cape Cod are called “the graveyard of the Atlantic” for good reason, yet this rescue defies all odds. Tougias says, “This event was – and still is – the greatest and most daring sea rescue ever performed by the Coast Guard, and it happened right here off the New England coast. I felt this episode of heroism and tragedy needed to be told in its entirety because it’s an important piece of overlooked history.” A book signing will follow the program, and the presentation is suitable for all ages. NY Times bestselling author James Brady (“Flyboys” and “Flags of Our Fathers”) says: “The Finest Hours recounts incredible heroism … A Gripping Read.” The Finest Hours has been the #4 bestselling non-fiction book in New England according to the New England Booksellers Association. Michael Tougias is the author and coauthor of 24 books including “Fatal Forecast: An Incredible True Tale of Disaster and Survival at Sea,” which the Los Angeles Times called “breathtaking…a marvelous and terrifying tale.” Tougias’ previous book “Ten Hours Until Dawn: The True Story of Heroism and Tragedy Aboard the Can Do During the Blizzard of ‘78” received an Editor’s Choice Selection from the American Library Association which selected it as one of the top books of the year. Visit www.michaeltougias.com for more information. This exciting event will kick off the popular statewide Vermont Humanities Council program, Vermont Reads, this fall at the Springfield Town Library. This year’s Vermont Reads book selections are Jennifer Armstrong’s “Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World” and Caroline Alexander’s “The Endurance, Shackleton’s Legendary Antarctic Expedition,” the epic survival story of Ernest Shackleton and his twenty-seven man crew at the dawn of WWI. This fall the Springfield Town Library will be offering a number of programs that complement Shackleton’s incredible true story of adventure and survival. The library has been awarded multiple copies of both books for patrons to borrow and share in our community this fall. To accommodate a larger audience, the Vermont Humanities Council “Finest Hours” event with bestselling author Michael Tougias will be held at the First Congregational Church, located at 77 Main St. in Springfield, just three doors down from the library. This event is free, accessible to people with disabilities, and open to the public. Please call the Springfield Town Library at 802-885-3108 for more information. “A blockbuster account of tragedy at sea.” — The Providence Journal