Tuesday, March 17, 2015

The Forgotten Rescue: The Suevic

The Forgotten Rescue
by Roger Weston




In March of 1907, a ferocious storm raked the gloomy waters off the Cornish coast. Thick fog buried the Lizard peninsula. This treacherous outcrop was the home of many small fishing communities. On this night in the Ides of March, a fisherman’s wife spotted an ominous red glow in the fog. Word spread quickly in the small community. Bearded fishermen leapt into action. It was clear that this red glow was no weather phenomenon. It was the distress flare of a ship. The news could not have been more grim given that the conditions were brutal, and the chances seemed high that some if not all of the mysterious ship’s passengers would die if they were not soon rescued.

The fishermen of the Lizard Peninsula knew the sea like their own mother, but on this night the sea raged out of control. The men knew well the power of storms like they knew the frailty of men in peril. They knew the code of the sea demanded their action. Four crews of men took to the oars of four rescue boats and set out to sea in fog so dense they could see nothing at all. In these eerie conditions, they rode the wild horse of the sea’s towering waves. Huge waves thrust them high in the fog and they could see nothing but the distant red glow. They rose and fell, rose and fell. The men fought with all their might against a powerful south-westerly gale. The rowers pulled with all their might and even then could barely make progress against the adversity of the storm and sea. They were determined, however. Their will was fixed to match that of the sea. So thick was the fog soup that they couldn't see the stricken ship until the rescue boat bumped into her wave-swept hull. 

As the waves swept by the ship, which was run aground on a reef, the rescue boats were lifted high up toward her rails where 524 terrified passengers prayed for their lives. The complement included 85 children. When the rescue boats rose on the crests, men and women dropped their children overboard into the lifeboats. Two of the ship’s own lifeboats had already been launched and were headed for certain doom because they did not know how to pass through the reef. The timely arrival of the local fisherman played a crucial role in their salvation. Another minute and they’d have been lost in the fog, lost to the hungry sea whose appetite is never satisfied.

All night long the men of the local fishing villages risked their lives, running out to the ship and rescuing loads of passengers. Sixty local fishermen took turns at the oars. Every passenger was ferried safely to shore where the wives of the fishermen had lit bonfires to guide their men home and keep the survivors warm. 

These selfless local heroes worked all through the night, fighting a Herculean battle against the weather, making run after run out to the ship. These brave men, guided by the red glow on the waters and the orange glow of fires ashore, these men who knew the ways of survival at sea—they saved everyone on board, brought them all to safety. These men of the Lizard Peninsula were true heroes, and it is only fitting that their heroic deed should be remembered. 

The ship was the Suevic, a 550-foot leviathan, her bow run aground on a reef. She survived the night as it turned out, but after the storm settled, neither her crew nor salvagers could get her to budge.  There was no way to refloat her.

Almost no way. 

There is always a way, and salvagers put forth a highly-risky plan to her owners, the famous White Star Line. What the salvagers proposed was to carefully place numerous explosive charges of dynamite up and down the sides of her bows. They would detonate all the explosives and sever the grounded bow from the rest of the ship. The rear 400 feet was not damaged, so the majority of the ship would be floated back to harbor, her compartments sealed off so that sea water would not flood her holds. 

The explosives were detonated as planned, weakening the steel that connected the bow with the rest of the ship. That weakness gave way as the ship lifted and lowered on the watery swells.  The ship—minus her bow, was sailed back to Southampton under her own power. She was towed by salvage ships, but their role was mostly to guide the ship, since her engines and propellers were in good shape and provided the power for the voyage. 

Back in port, her owners had a new bow built and attached to the ship. She was then in great shape to continue her career on the high seas. In fact, she went on to sail for more than three decades, but was finally sunk by her crew to avoid her falling into the hands of the Nazis. 

One final fact regarding this amazing tale should be mentioned. Two years after the wreck of the Suevic, her owners, the White Star Line, began work on another ship which was destined for a much more tragic shipwreck. That ship was the RMS Titanic


If you enjoyed this story please share it by using one of the links below. To receive shipwreck stories in your inbox sign up to receive my emails. Feel free to comment below.

Roger Weston writes action-packed thrillers with a maritime twistYou can find all of his books at: Roger Weston's Amazon Author Page 








Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Two Ships in a Death Grip: The Story of the USS GRUNION


An Aleutian Showdown

It’s July 29, 1942. Fitted with big deck guns for protection against enemy ships, the Japanese cargo ship KANO MARU arrives at Holtz Bay, Attu Island, Alaska, a remote and foggy Aleutian island that the Japanese have occupied in order to divert US naval resources away from Midway and thereby divide the US Navy. The occupation marks the first time in history that US soil has been occupied by a hostile foreign power. The KANO MARO’s mission is to bring supplies to Japanese troops on both Attu and Kiska Island, both of which are occupied by troops who have dug extensive tunnels and trenches to defend their positions. The captain and crew of the KANO MARO have no idea that this routine re-supply mission will turn out to be anything but routine. 
The KANO MARU takes on cargo and leaves for Kiska Island, escorted by a sub chaser CH-26.  Later that day, contact with the sub chaser is lost in a thick fog of the Bering Sea.

July 30, 1942.  The KANO MARU approaches Kiska Island, but the heavy fog prevents her from entering Kiska Harbor. She drifts far off shore.

As the fog begins to thin out, KANO MARU heads toward Kiska Harbor at 15 knots.

Meanwhile, the American submarine USS GRUNION is on her first war patrol. When she reports anti-submarine activity, she is ordered back to Dutch Harbor.

Then the USS GRUNION surprises the KANO MARU, launching a torpedo that hits the machinery room of the Japanese cargo ship. Two Japanese sailors are killed. The starboard machinery room floods, and the diesel engine shuts down.
The KANO MARU remains afloat although she now lacks engine power. When the Japanese crew spots a periscope, they open fire with their big 40-calibre 3-inch guns. No hits scored.
On the USS GRUNION, LtCdr Mannert L. Abele fires another torpedo, but Mark-14 torpedoes are unreliable. This one passes beneath the KANO MARU. The GRUNION fires two more, scoring two hits, but both torpedoes fail to explode. It is a devastating moment for Abele and his crew.
Faced with the prospect of failure, Abele takes bold and courageous action. He orders the GRUNION to surface, where the crew attempts to sink the disabled KANO MARU with gunfire. 

 

The KANO MARU also has her guns, however. She opens fire on the GRUNION. One shot hits the GRUNION’s conning tower. The GRUNION dives. Abele’s crew loses depth control. GRUNION plunges into the deep.
She exceeds crush depth and implodes in the freezing Bering Sea waters. Sudden death claims every crew member.
Later, sub-chaser CH-26 ISHIZAKI and cable-layer ship UKISHIMA arrive on scene. The crewmen spot debris from the doomed USS GRUNION floating on the surface. A crew from ISHIZAKI boards the KANO MARU to assist with repairs.

A Japanese transport ship attempts to tow the KANO MARU back to the relative safety of Kiska Harbor, but the towing cable breaks. The KANO MARU drifts all night in the dark and stormy Bering Sea.
The next day KANO MARU is towed to Kiska Harbor where her cargo is offloaded. The US aerial bombardment of Kiska Island continues. The day of her arrival, two bombs explode near the wounded ship. She sustains hull damage from a near miss on her port side.
An Aleutian storm drives the KANO MARU against the coast. More than a mile SW of Kiska Harbor, she runs aground at the base of an eighty foot cliff.  She is deemed beyond repair and abandoned.
Back at the Dutch Harbor US Naval Operating Base, the fate of the USS GRUNION is unknown. She has simply disappeared in the vast gray waters around the Aleutian Islands, a chain that stretches a thousand miles from the Alaskan peninsula toward Russia’s Kamchatka.
In 2006, after more than six decades at the bottom of the Bering Sea, the USS GRUNION is found. She is located north of Kiska Island at a depth of more than 2000 feet. The fishing vessel AQUILA, which is towing a sidescan sonar to search for the GRUNION finds her. The search is led by the two sons of the GRUNION’s Commander Mannert Abele.
For more information on the GRUNION, visit http://www.ussgrunion.com/
The shipwreck of the KANO MARU remains on Kiska Island, Alaska.




 




Today, there are many shipwrecks on Kiska Island, which is one of the most remote islands in the world. It is also an official National Historic site, although few people visit. The island has one of the most hostile environments in the world due to frequent Aleutian storms.
If you enjoyed this story please share it by using one of the links below. To receive more shipwreck stories in your inbox sign up to receive my emails. Thank you in advance for your support!  
Side note: After learning about Kiska's unique war time history and discovering that to this day she preserves this forgotten WWII battlefield, I decided to set my novel The Golden Catch on Kiska Island. This action-packed thriller centers around a Japanese shipwreck and it’s mysterious cargo.

You can purchase it here: THE GOLDEN CATCH
 Download to your mobile device:  THE GOLDEN CATCH
                                                       http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004YTI1UY

  
 Roger Weston writes action-packed thrillers with a maritime twist.
You can find all of his books here: Roger Weston's Amazon Author Page 

Sunday, December 28, 2014

The Recruiter joins The Assassin's Wife at Audible.com

THE RECRUITER
 
 
"Excellent novel. It is a real thriller, full of suspense and romance."
 
 


 
"I recently read that to have a successful thriller book you need to show your characters failings and continually ratchet up the misery while keeping the action increasing. Mr. Weston does that in spades with this book." The Indie Evangelist

Now available on audio at:

Audible.com
http://www.audible.com/pd/Mysteries-Thrillers/The-Recruiter-Audiobook/B00R1WCWOW/ref=a_search_c4_1_1_srTtl?qid=1419799196&sr=1-1

itunes
https://itunes.apple.com/us/audiobook/recruiter-chuck-brandt-thriller/id952827641

Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00R506RNW

Saturday, November 1, 2014

The Assassin's Wife is Now Available on Audible.com and iTunes


Are you an audio book listener? If so, The Assassin's Wife is now available in audio format. It's become my preferred method for listening to stories. The wonderful Kitty Hendrix did an amazing job bringing Meg to life.





Listen to a sample and let me know what you think. Authors, if you are looking for a female narrator, look up Kitty Hendrix. She was amazing to work with. I highly recommend her.


Available on:

Audible.com  http://www.audible.com/search/ref=a_mn_mt_ano_tseft__galileo?advsearchKeywords=The+Assassins%27+Wife&x=0&y=0

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/audiobook/assassins-wife-thriller-unabridged/id934269634?ign-mpt=uo%3D4

Friday, August 29, 2014

Review of THE RECRUITER by TW Barton

Friday, July 25, 2014

BRANDT IS BACK!

 
 
BRANDT IS BACK!
 
THE HANDLER: A CHUCK BRANDT THRILLER
 

Book Two in the Brandt Series is now available
 
 
 
 
"Fast moving read and lots of action. I was sorry when I finished it that I didn't have another to read just like it."     
--Customer review for The Recruiter (Brandt Series Book 1)
 
 
Costa Brava, Spain. A race. A girl. A dead ambassador.  One agent missing, another betrayed. Now patriot Chuck Brandt is on his own. Caught up in a conspiracy, on the trail of a deadly enemy-ex-CIA assassin Brandt will not back down. Even if it costs him his life.

 
"Book held my attention beginning to end. Very enjoyable action thriller! I would recommend it to friends."   
--Customer review for The Recruiter (Brandt Series Book 2)

DOWNLOAD HERE:
AMAZON US THE HANDLER 
AMAZON UKTHE HANDLER


 
  
 
 

Monday, February 17, 2014

Now Available on Amazon!



This short story is based on the amazing true tale of castaway Ann Saunders who, in the 1800s, survived one of the most harrowing shipwreck ordeals on record. A fast read of approximately 14 pages.

"An excellent short story of a seaman saved by fortune and blessed by providence with provisions to sustain him through his time upon an island. Well done!" -- Customer review for The True Tale of Castaway Daniel Foss

"An excellent read, and even more impressive as its a true story. Sometimes the truth is better than fiction, as in this case." -- Customer review for The True Tale of Castaway Daniel Foss


                                                       Download here:
                                  Only 99 cents on Kindle

Friday, November 15, 2013

WWII Mystery: The Amber Room

  
                                     Missing Since WWII
                                       The Amber Room




                                           Where is it?
                   Watch this National Geographic Video to learn more:
                                                              http://bit.ly/17Y0E8L

                                Did it go down with the Wilhelm Gustloff?
                                   
                            

                                              
                                                        FATAL RETURN  
                                                  Available exclusively on Amazon