A first-hand account and fascinating new details of the 1952 rescue of the SS Pendleton, the true story behind the film The Finest Hours. On February 18, 1952, off the coast of Cape Cod, a fierce nor’easter snapped in half two 503-foot oil tankers, the Pendleton and the Fort Mercer. Human grace and grit, leadership and endurance prevail as Theresa Mitchell Barbo and Captain W. Russell Webster (Ret.) recount the historic, heroic rescue of thirty-two merchant mariners from the sinking Pendleton by four young Coast Guardsmen aboard the 36-foot motor lifeboat CG 36500. A foreword by former Commandant Admiral Thad Allen (Ret.) and an essay by Master Chief John “Jack” Downey (Ret.), a veteran of thousands of modern-day small boat rescues, round out the special third edition of this classic work on Coast Guard history.

The 1952 Coast Guard mission to save the crews of two oil tankers that were torn in half by the force of one of New England's worst nor'easters.

A riveting account of the greatest small-boat rescue in American history.

Most people familiar with the name Bernie Webber associate him with the miraculous rescue of 32 men off of the stern of the Pendleton, made famous in the book and movie The Finest Hours. Rescuing 32 sailors from a sinking ship caught in a ferocious winter storm is a dramatic tale, but what made this mission so special is that the boat Bernie skippered that terrible night was a mere 36 feet in length and the waves were almost twice that size! Bernie and crew received the Coast Guard’s coveted Gold Lifesaving Medal, and what they did on that stormy night is regarded as the greatest small boat rescue in history. In Into A Raging Sea, Bernie tells that story, but the book is so much more than that. In these pages you’ll read about rescue attempts that did not turn out well, stories of fishermen from a time long past, rescues done with the by-gone technique of the “breeches buoy,” humorous anecdotes, and what Cape Cod and its people meant to Bernie. Into a Raging Sea is a story of sacrifice, bravery, disappointment, and challenges. And in the background of Bernie’s journey is one constant, the sea. --from the forward by Michael J. Tougias

Dramatic, compelling, downright unbelievable accounts of the Coast Guard's often unsung heros.

A riveting account of the greatest small-boat rescue in American history.

The three most important people in my life—my husband and our two sons—along with a cherished nephew perished in a horrific boating accident off Charleston in 1997. I thought my life was over the night I received the cryptic phone call from a family pastor in Florida, asking me if I knew if more bodies had been found. From that awkward moment forward, I began to live every mother's and wife's nightmare. This book, so eloquently crafted by Capt. W. Russell Webster, will honor my family and detail the mistakes that were made and ensure that the many positive changes that have come from this tragedy are memorialized appropriately for future sailors and rescuers alike.