Tag: tragedy at sea

Chasing the Thunder.

Post author By Stanley
Post date 21 March 2023

This book is sure to please fans who can understand French and true stories. “In pursuit of the Thunder – the 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.

Click on the links for other books on the environment, geopolitics, tragedies at sea or controversial issues on my blog.

Title: À la poursuite du Thunder

Authors: Eskil Engdal and Kjetil Saeter

ISBN: 978-2-330-14724-2

Tragedy at sea

Rescue mission by a ferry in Quebec City, January 2018

Post author By Stanley
Post date 12 January 2018

Ferry in icy waters. Quebec City. Winter 2018.

So far, this winter has been especially cold in Quebec City. There have been several weeks where the temperature stayed below -20 C. The STQ ferries, property of the Government of Quebec, must navigate the ice covered St. Lawrence Seaway between Lévis and Quebec City.

Government of Quebec ferry in the icy St. Lawrence Seaway between Lévis and Quebec. Winter 2018.

The ferries Alphonse-Desjardins and Lomer-Gouin, carrying cars and passengers between the two cities, must sometimes completely cancel the service. On three occasions so far, a ferry stayed stuck while trying to cross the ice covered seaway. The passengers had to wait patiently up to four hours for a crossing that normally takes ten minutes.

The picture below was taken from Old Quebec. In the foreground stands the “Le Vendôme” restaurant, which has been for sale for years now. In the distance, a ferry makes its way through ice towards Quebec City.

Ferry approaching Quebec during the winter in 2018

Ocean’s tugboats are also working on the seaway, regardless of the temperature. The picture below shows one of those tugboats enroute to the Jean-Gaulin refinery to help an oil tanker.

Ocean's tugboat on the St. Lawrence Seaway near Quebec City. Winter 2018, by -20 C. — Ocean’s tugboat on the St. Lawrence Seaway near Quebec City. Winter 2018, by -20 C.

The pictures in this article were taken on January 7th 2018 with a Canon 5DSR equipped with a Canon EF 85 mm f/1.2L II USM. The temperature was -18 C.

The next day, a man who had fallen in the icy waters of the St. Lawrence Seaway was luckily spotted by one of the passengers who was standing on the Lomer-Gouin ferry heading to Quebec City. The man suffering from severe hypothermia was saved by the Government of Quebec STQ staff (Société des traversiers). Here is the link to TVA news (in French): Une personne tombe dans le fleuve Saint-Laurent à Québec.

The cold temperature and winds did not stop the Château Frontenac canoeists from training on the icy seaway in preparation for the Quebec Carnival competition. This year, the race will be held on February 4th. The Association des coureurs en canots à glace du Québec (Ice canoeists Association of Quebec) recently faced a tragedy went they lost one of their members in a training session during very harsh weather conditions.

Château Frontenac ice canoe team at work by -18 C on the St. Lawrence Seaway between Lévis and Quebec.

Here is the link to Radio-Canada news (in French): http://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1072906/operation-sauvetage-embarcation-fleuve-saint-laurent

Tragedy at sea

Florence Arthaud’s book : « Cette nuit, la mer est noire »

Post author By Stanley
Post date 4 September 2016

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.

Tags airplane crash, books, Cap Corse, emergency, Florence Arthaud, France, quotes, real life stories, Route du Rhum, sailboat, survival at sea, testimony, tragedy at sea, transatlantic single-handed yacht race