Simple Courage -
A True Story of Peril on the Sea
Frank
Delaney
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In late December 1951, laden with passengers
and nearly forty metric tons of cargo, the freighter S.S. Flying Enterprise
steamed westward from Europe toward America. A few days into the voyage, she
hit the eye of a ferocious storm. Force 12 winds tossed men about like
playthings and turned drops of freezing Atlantic foam into icy missiles.
When, in the space of twenty-eight hours, the ship was slammed by two rogue
waves–solid walls of water more than sixty feet high–the impacts cracked the
decks and hull almost down to the waterline, threw the vessel over on her
side, and thrust all on board into terror.
Flying Enterprise’s captain, Kurt Carlsen, a seaman of rare ability and
valor, mustered all hands to patch the cracks and then try to right the
ship. When these efforts came to naught, he helped transfer, across waves
forty feet high, the passengers and the entire crew to lifeboats sent from
nearby ships. Then, for reasons both professional and intensely personal,
and to the amazement of the world, Carlsen defied all requests and
entreaties to abandon ship. Instead, for the next two weeks, he fought to
bring Flying Enterprise and her cargo to port. His heroic endeavor became
the world’s biggest news.
In a narrative as dramatic as the ocean’s fury, acclaimed bestselling author
Frank Delaney tells, for the first time, the full story of this unmatched
bravery and endurance at sea. We meet the devoted family whose well-being
and safety impelled Carlsen to stay with his ship. And we read of Flying
Enterprise’s buccaneering owner, the fearless and unorthodox Hans
Isbrandtsen, who played a crucial role in Kurt Carlsen’s fate.
Drawing on historical documents and contemporary accounts and on exclusive
interviews with Carlsen’s family, Delaney opens a window into the world of
the merchant marine. With deep affection–and respect–for the weather and all
that goes with it, he places us in the heart of the storm, a “biblical
tempest” of unimaginable power. He illuminates the bravery and ingenuity of
Carlsen and the extraordinary courage that the thirty-seven-year-old captain
inspired in his stalwart crew. This is a gripping, absorbing narrative that
highlights one man’s outstanding fortitude and heroic sense of duty.
HC, 300pp. $24.95 T6088 |
