Fatal Forecast An Incredible True Tale of Disaster and Survival at Sea

A true story of catastrophe and survival at sea,Fatal Forecastis a spellbinding moment-by-moment account of seventy-two hours in the lives of eightyoung fishermen, some of whom would never set foot on dry land again.On the morning of November 21, 1980, two small Massachusetts lobster boats set out for Georges Bank, a bountiful but perilous fishing ground 130 miles off thecoast of Cape Cod. The National Weather Service had forecast typical fallweather, and the young, rugged crewmen aboard theSea Feverand theFair Windhad made dozens of similar trips that season. They had no reasonto expect that this trip would be any different.But the only weather buoy on Georges Bank was malfunctioning, and the NationalWeather Service had failed to share this fact with the fishermen who dependedon its forecasts. As the two small boats headed out to sea, a colossal storm wasbrewing to the southeast, a furious maelstrom the National Weather Service didnot accurately locate until the boats were already caught in the storm's grip,trapped in the treacherous waters of Georges Bank.Battered by sixty-foot waves and hurricane-force winds, the crews of theFairWindand theSea Fever(captained by Peter Brown, whose father ownedtheAndrea GailofPerfect Stormfame) struggled heroically to keep their vessels afloat. But the storm soon severely crippled one boat andoverturned the other, trapping its crew inside.Meticulously researched and vividly told,Fatal Forecastis first andforemost a tale of miraculous survival. Most amazing is the story of Ernie Hazzard, who managed to crawl inside a tiny inflatable life raft and then spentmore than fifty terrifying hours adrift on the stormy open sea. By turns tragic,thrilling, and inspiring, Ernie's story deserves a place among the greatestsurvival tales ever told.Equally riveting are the stories of the brave men and women from the Coast Guardand the crew of a nearby fishing boat who imperiled their own lives that day inorder to save the lives of others.As gripping and harrowing asThe Perfect Storm- but with a miracle ending -Fatal Forecastis an unforgettable true story about the collision of two spectacular forces: the brutality of nature and the human willto survive.

Michael J. Tougias is an award-winning author of a number of books, including Ten Hours Until Dawn: The True Story of Heroism and Tragedy Aboard the Can Do. He is a much sought after lecturer and gives more than seventy presentations a year.