Tragedy at sea

Chasing the Thunder

French version of Chasing the Thunder: "À la poursuite du Thunder".
French version of Chasing the Thunder: “À la poursuite du Thunder”.

This book is sure to please fans who can understand French and true stories. “In pursuit of the Thunderthe story of the longest naval chase of all time” quickly hooks us, especially since it is a first in maritime history. The authors of this investigative story are two experienced journalists by the name of Eskil Engdal and Kjetil Saeter.

The information they were able to collect through multiple interviews around the world allows the reader to better understand what hides behind the theft of fishery resources in Antarctica.

This illegal fishing is a big business where the mafia, especially Spanish, does not hesitate to order the cutting of fishing nets or simply to sink a trawler to prevent the obtaining of evidence. Click on the link for a video of this maritime accident.

The chase takes place in inhospitable waters and spans several months and over 15,000 kilometers as we follow the stories of several members of the chase team as well as the illegal fishermen.

The authors discuss the squandering of resources, the lax legislation regarding illegal fishing in international waters, the methods that criminals use to remove a boat’s registration from the registers, the lack of political courage at the international level, the omerta that reigns in the villages where illegal fishermen operate, money laundering and modern slavery.

The Thunder’s captain does everything in his power to escape the pursuers. This escape leads him to sail in very risky areas through passages almost blocked by ice, hoping that the smaller pursuing ship will not dare to venture on the same route. He also steers his trawler into areas where strong waves risk sinking the pursuing ship.

Captain Peter Hammerstedt of the pursuit ship Bob Barker does not back down from any obstacle that stands in his way during the chase. He shows a determination that infuriates the Thunder’s crew and lead them to make mistakes.

The ecological thriller Chasing the Thunder was screened in 2019 at the World Biodiversity Conference.

In March 2023, more than 100 countries signed a treaty on high seas diversity, after 15 years of effort. Greenpeace welcomed the treaty, but demands that it be translated into action…

Reading this book alone will awaken the reader to many previously under-reported aspects of illegal fishing on the high seas, all in the context of a hunt unique in the history of maritime shipping.

Title: À la poursuite du Thunder

Authors: Eskil Engdal and Kjetil Saeter

© Actes Sud, 2021 for the French translation

ISBN: 978-2-330-14724-2

The human will to survive

Front cover of the Florence Arthaud's book: "Cette nuit, la mer est noire".
Front cover of the Florence Arthaud’s book: “Cette nuit, la mer est noire”.

Florence Arthaud is the only woman to have won the Route du Rhum transatlantic single-handed yacht race, one of the most prestigious races in the world. She achieved her feat in 1990.

In 2011, as she was navigating alone aboard her sailboat, Florence fell into the water, off the Cap Corse coast. She shares her thoughts with us as she is convinced that in few hours, exhausted, she will lose her life at sea.

The book starts like this: “I went overboard in a fraction of a second. I am in the water. It is night, and pitch black outside. I am alone […]. In a few moments, the sea, my reason for living, will become my grave”.

Back cover of the book: "Cette nuit, la mer est noire".
Back cover of the book: “Cette nuit, la mer est noire”.

Here are few other translated quotes to give you an idea of the intensity of the story:

“I must move my legs to avoid drowning. Swim, swim. Fight against that fear that would like to paralyze me. I will die, that is for sure, but when? In how much time? To which miracle can I hang to? I try not to think”.

“I am fifteen miles off the coast; not a sign of life around me. The fear I am feeling has nothing to do with the one I encounter when I am racing”.

“The only thing now missing would be sharks. I chase away this childish fear of my spirit”.

But due to several little miracles, Florence will finally be saved.

An excellent book about the human will to survive.

Note: Florence Arthaud died four years later in an airplane crash.

Title: Cette nuit, la mer est noire
Author: Florence Arthaud
©2015
Edition: Flammarion, Paris
ISBN: 978-2-0813-3361-1

The mysterious story of the Bugaled Breizh

Bilingual readers who appreciate real life stories about the sea will love: “On l’appelait Bugaled Breizh“. This is the story of a trawler that sinks with all crew and equipment, while fishing in the Cornouailles region. Experienced sailors were on board and the weather was fair. Other trawlers were present in the area and their captains were maintaining contact with each other by radio. Suddenly, the Bugaled Breizh’s captain mayday call was received. Just a few words, not even enough time to complete his sentence.

Yann Queffélec - On l'appelait Bugaled Breizh
Yann Queffélec – On l’appelait Bugaled Breizh

We soon discover that the trawlers were not alone in the area. There were also nuclear submarines on an exercise in shallow waters. And there is a possibility that a submarine from an uninvited country could have also been watching the manoeuvers, well protected in the obscurity and silence.

The book raises the possibility that a fast moving submarine could have been entangled in the Bugaled Breizh’s fishing net, thus destabilizing the trawler and sinking it, without giving the captain any time to react. As for keeping the truth hidden about the accident,it is believed that if the facts were openly revealed to the general public, it would create strong political tensions due to admitting that an undetected submarine was closely watching the military exercise. The book enumerates possible reasons explaining the presence of the foreign submarine in the area.

The enquiry, or shall I say inquiries, have been stalled for over ten years now. But as questions have been asked over the years to a vast network of interested parties, a better idea of what could have been the causes behind that drama has emerged.

This is a really interesting book, signed by the reknowned writer Yann Queffélec (Goncourt prize 1985 for Les Noces barbares) also helped by Pascal Bodéré, a journalist known as one of the best connaisseur of the Bugaled Breizh affair.

Éditions du Rocher / L’Archipel, 2014.

ISBN 978-2-8098-1378-4

 

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