I am about 1/3 the way thorough The Ship and the Storm: Hurricane Mitch and the Loss of the Fantome
I was prompted to give the book a try by this post by the book’s author at the Hurricane Florence thread
That’s a point not everyone appreciates, the discussion if invaluable for determining forecast uncertainty but without internet access it’s not easily obtained at sea. So, thought I’d give the book a try.
At first didn’t think I was going to like it, more personal information about the crew etc than I care about but its turning out to be a good read. Interesting the way things unfolded between the captain, the owners and the forecasts.
Both the loss of the Fantome and the loss of the El Faro have some key elements in common.
In each case the captain did not fully take into account errors in the forecast. In both cases the captains were trying to resolve competing goals. In both cases each captain attempted to resolve competing goals by taking on more risk.
Some differences as well. Unlike the El Faro the Fantome could not use it’s speed to escape. Another key difference was in the case of the Fantome the company was closely monitoring the weather and the position of the ship. In the case of the El Faro nobody shoreside was aware of the weather situation.
“The Ship and the Storm” is now available as a downloadable Audible audiobook. Twelve hours unabridged. It will haunt you for hours after. Read by Robertson Dean. Free with Audible trial. Here’s the link: