A Storm Too Soon

A True Story of Disaster, Survival, and an Incredible Rescue

By: Michael J. Tougias

Narrated by: Charlie Thurston

A heart-stopping true-life tale of maritime disaster,survival, and daring rescue from a master storyteller.

Seventy-foot waves batter a torn life raft 250 miles out tosea in one of the world's most dangerous places, the Gulf Stream. Hanging on to the raft are three men, a Canadian, a Brit, and their captain, Jean Pierre de Lutz, a dual citizen of America and France. Their capsized forty-seven-foot sailboat has filled with water and disappeared below the tempestuous sea. The giant waves repeatedly toss the men out of their tiny vessel, and JP, with ninebroken ribs, is hypothermic and on the verge of death. The captain, however, is a remarkably tough character, having survived a brutal boyhood, and now he must rely on the same inner strength to outlast the storm.

Trying to reach these survivors before it's too late are four brave coast guardsmen battling hurricane - force winds in their Jayhawk helicopter. They know the waves will be extreme, but when they arrive they are astounded to find that the monstrous seas have waves reaching eighty feet.

Lowering the wind-whipped helicopter to drop a rescue swimmer into such chaos will be extremely dangerous. The pilots wonder if they have a realistic chance of saving the sailors clinging to the broken life raft and if they will be able to even retrieve their own rescue swimmer from the towering seas. Once they commit to the rescue, they find themselves in almost as much trouble as the survivors, facing one life-and-death moment after the next.

Also caught in the storm are three other boats, each one ina Mayday situation. Of the ten people on these boats, only six will ever see land again.

Spellbinding, harrowing, and meticulously researched, A Storm Too Soon is a vivid account of the powerful collision between the forces of nature and the human will to survive. Author Michael J. Tougias, known for his fast-paced writing style and character-driven stories, tells this true saga in the present tense to give the reader a thrilling, edge-of-your-seat immediacy. A Storm Too Soon is Tougias at his masterful best and a heart-pounding narrative of survival, the power of the human spirit, and one of the most incredible rescues ever attempted.

©2013 Michael J. Tougias (P)2014 Blackstone Audio

True Story of Heroism by the Rescuers

Thank God for the copter pilots and their crew. What an amazing job they did of finding a dot in the ocean and sending down the rescue swimmer. Edge of your seat listening once you get to the part where they storm over takes the boat.

Play at 1.25 speed

Narrator speaks so slowly that I played at 1.25 speed to compensate. Otherwise a gripping account of rescues.

a great rescue

It got a bit of a slow start, but once it got going, it was great. A well written account of an amazing rescue. Definitely divine intervention saved these guys, along with the heroism of the coast guard.

United States Coast Guard "Semper Paratus"

Having spent some four years of my life in the United States Coast Guard, I have to say this book made me feel proud of the men that risked all and did their jobs so very well. This book keeps you turning the pages and is a true testament to absolute courage in the face of real adversity.

Good story awful narrator

The narrator is so monotone it’s depressing. He is a nice clear voice but zero emotion.