The Finest Hours: The True Story of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Most Daring Sea Rescue

Tougias, Michael J. and Casey Sherman. The Finest Hours: The True Story of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Most Daring Sea Rescue. 2009. 205p. ISBN 978-1-4165-6722-6. Available at 910.91 TOU on the library shelves.

The U.S. Coast Guard protects the shorelines of the United States against enemies and helps rescue sailors who run into trouble offshore. On February 12, 1952, a gigantic nor’easter hit the northern Atlantic, from New Jersey all the way to Canada. Out at sea, two oil tankers, the SS Pendleton and the SS Fort Mercer, were unable to avoid the storm and literally broke apart in half.

Built as war transports, the T2 tanker ship was prone to breaking in the middle. The steel was welded instead of riveted, and the entire construction was rushed. Instead of being dismantled after the war, hundreds of these ships were purchased by shipping companies and used as haulers.

With waves of 60 to 70 feet, and blizzard conditions, both ships split in the middle and began drifting. The bridge was located aft of the ship, while most of the crew worked and lived in the stern. Thus, in the span of a few hours four separate parts began drifting and required rescue. At first, the Coast Guard believed there was only one ship, the Mercer, which had radioed its troubles. Aboard the Pendleton, however, the radio operator had been unable to get a message out. An airplane spotted the two halves of the Pendleton drifting, and the Coast Guard was notified that two ships had broken apart.

For the crew of the Chatham Coast Guard station, it meant riding out of the safety of the harbor in the same storm with a 36 foot boat, CG36500. As ships and planes responded, the small 36500, piloted by Bernie Webber, reached the stern of the Pendleton and proceeded to one most daring rescue in the history of the Coast Guard. Retelling the events of that fateful week, this book explores the courage and bravery of the men of the Coast Guard who risked everything to rescue sailors at sea and bring them back safely to land.