Into the Storm

A compendium of true stories of storm survival at sea from the 1960s onwards, collected together for the first time in one volume by solo sailing legend Pete Goss.

In 1967 renowned yachtsman K Adlard Coles published a ground-breaking collection of extraordinary first-hand accounts of sailors experiencing the worst the sea could throw at them and surviving: they included capsizes, Force 12 gales, waterspouts and 100ft waves. Each new edition of his book (which became the classic Heavy Weather Sailing) included new stories, leaving in its wake a unique archive of compelling accounts of survival, just as relevant today as they were 50 years ago.

In this new book, Pete Goss MBE (sailing legend, adventurer and author of Close to the Wind) and Martin Thomas (the current editor of Heavy Weather Sailing) bring together the very best of these accounts: they show how to cope when everything goes wrong, and how to improve your chances of making it through the other side. They are as practical as they are hair-raising, with added commentary explaining survival techniques that require knowledge and confidence as much as experience.

Into the Storm is the perfect read for anyone drawn to the most extreme ocean conditions, the incredible tenacity of the skippers and crew, and the lessons they learned in the eye of the storm.

About the Author

A West Countryman and former Royal Marine, Pete Goss is no stranger to adventure and is perhaps best known for his heroic rescue in horrendous conditions of a fellow competitor in the 1996/7 Vendee Globe round the world race. Pete's adventures not only include numerous seafaring challenges, having previously competed in six transatlantic and two Round-the-World races, but other challenges such as polar exploration and kayaking. Pete is the author of the best-selling book about his yachting adventures, Close to the Wind (Headline), where Pete shares his adventures, thoughts, hardships and philosophy during and throughout the ten years of preparation for the 1996 Vendee Globe.

Martin Thomas is the former Commodore of the Ocean Cruising Club, and is currently the Vice-Commodore of the Royal London Yacht Club. He was previously the Watch Officer on board the sail training schooner Sir Winston Churchill. A distinguished surgeon, he has written on topics of emergencies at sea and medical treatment for yachtsmen.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
  Pete Goss
• 1 North Sea Gale (1925)
  Adlard Coles
• 2 Pooped for the First Time (1945)
  Adlard Coles
• 3 Gale Off the Casquets (1946)
  Adlard Coles
• 4 Santander Race Storm (1948)
  Adlard Coles
• 5 Gulf Stream Storm (1950)
  Adlard Coles
• 6 Pooped in the Atlantic (1950)
  Adlard Coles
• 7 Survival Storms (1952–1967)
  Adlard Coles
• 8 Storm in the English Channel (1956)
  Adlard Coles
• 9 Bermuda Race Gales (1960)
  Adlard Coles
• 10 Biscay Gales (1960, 1964)
  Adlard Coles
• 11 Twice Rolled Over (1964)
  Adlard Coles
• 12 September Hurricane (1964)
  Adlard Coles
• 13 Mediterranean Mistral (1966)
  Adlard Coles
• 14 The Fastnet Storm (1979)
  Peter Bruce
• 15 South African Storm (1984)
  Dudley Norman
• 16 At Sea in the Great Storm (1987)
  Peter Bruce
• 17 Force 12 in the North Atlantic (1989)
  Robin Knox-Johnston
• 18 The Queen's Birthday Storm (1994)
  Peter Bruce
• 19 Black Velvet's Return from Iceland (2001)
  Ewen Southby-Tailyour
• 20 'Bombed' in the Tasman Sea (2004)
  Peter Cook
• 21 Berrimilla in the South Atlantic (2005)
  Alex Whitworth
• 22 Uhuru's Survival Storm (2011)
  Steve Powell