Mowat's tale of an Atlantic hurricane and the damage it wreaks on men and ships and ambitions. These events pre-date our ability to use satellites and computers to see into the dark corners of climate and the mid Atlantic beyond the range of light ships and weather stations. As such it is a story of another time, but the classic enduring relationship of men and women and the sea is all there, and told very well indeed. Not Mowat's best - to my mind he really excels at the small story on the small stage - but good enough as an entertainment, and an-almost-classic tale of the sea. ( )

There were about 200 SAM-key ships built during WW II. Called SAM- ships because of their origin: Uncle Sam Lend-lease. So each vessel became know as SAM-this or SAM that. They were Liberty ships that were basically identical in design. Barely half survived the war and many disappeared without a trace. There was some speculation it had to do with how the ballast was shipped (between decks rather than lower in the hull) when the ship was empty.

The Leicester was a renamed Samkey ship but the company that bought it after the war became concerned about ballasting and added shifting boards, a carry-over from clipper ship days when loads might shift as the ship heeled under sail. The Leiscester was about to sail into a vicious hurricane. How she survived is told in inimitable style by Farley Mowat.

Mowat is a big fan of the Merchant Marine and especially ocean-going salvage vessels, those specially built vessels designed to save big ships in trouble. (see [book:Grey Seas Under ]) The salvation of the Leicester was the Foundation Josephine who took the Leicester in tow after she developed a pronounced list and towed it out of one hurricane and through another to save the ship.

The Leicester confounded the experts and sailors who could not believe a ship could survive with such a horrifying list - more than 50 degrees and swells would make it even worse. Just connecting the towing line proved to be quite a feat, let alone towing the ship.

Great story well told. ( )

The story of storms at sea and the men who rescue ships caught in those storms. very good, straight-forward reading: though the book is 40-some years old, it's still fresh, and it reminds me of William Langeweische, actually. ( )