Book Release Party

The untold true story of one of the largest search and rescue operations in Coast Guard history.

Nicknamed ‘The Grey Lady’ for its frequent blankets of fog, Nantucket Island is no stranger to maritime disaster. The waters surrounding the island are home to over 700 shipwrecks, and this ‘Graveyard of the Atlantic’ has its eyes set on one more vessel.

Borrowing a small boat for one last shot at the blues, the Carlton siblings, along with two of their spouses, depart Nantucket Island in search of bluefish in the vicinity of Old Man Shoal. Navigating by compass, they enter a fog bank that blankets the island for eight days, persistent even by Nantucket standards.

Making some critical mistakes, the family runs out of gas as they attempt to return to the island. As the Coast Guard mounts a search that ultimately covers over twenty-five thousand square miles and reaches nearly three-quarters of the way to Nova Scotia, the family can hear their would-be rescuers but are helpless to do anything about it.

A nudge from the White House helps extend the search from 48 to 72 hours, and a newly fixed transistor radio alerts the family that the end of the search will coincide with a brewing storm.

With less than two hours to spare and waves pounding against their hull, a Coast Guard Helicopter on the last leg of the last search of the day spots the missing boaters.

Using Coast Guard Logs and eyewitness accounts, Sean Carlton recreates the harrowing 1973 journey and rescue that reunited him with his missing parents.