The Tornado Crew

Not Without Hope

This flow follows the cutter’s crew from routine patrol through dangerous transit and successful rescue.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

Routine Patrol Routine Patrol from "Not Without Hope". Orders Change Ordinary Mission USCGC Tornado is patrolling near the Dry Tortugas, focused on law enforcement rather than rescue.

Routine Patrol from "Not Without Hope". Orders Change Ordinary Mission USCGC Tornado is patrolling near the Dry Tortugas, focused on law enforcement rather than rescue.

Orders Change Ordinary Mission USCGC Tornado is patrolling near the Dry Tortugas, focused on law enforcement rather than rescue. The crew learns through new orders that it must travel north toward Tampa. The mission shifts without preparation for the emotional scale of the disaster. A Distant Emergency The missing boaters are initially known only as a news story about football players. The crew’s abstract assignment will soon become a direct encounter with one survivor.

Storm Transit Storm Transit from "Not Without Hope". Crossing the Gulf Weather Shipboard Violence The cutter encounters thirty-five-mile-per-hour winds and twelve-foot swells.

Storm Transit from "Not Without Hope". Crossing the Gulf Weather Shipboard Violence The cutter encounters thirty-five-mile-per-hour winds and twelve-foot swells.

Crossing the Gulf Weather Shipboard Violence The cutter encounters thirty-five-mile-per-hour winds and twelve-foot swells. Equipment breaks loose, crew members become seasick, and speed must be reduced. Even a large Coast Guard vessel feels vulnerable in the storm. Perspective on Survival The crew’s discomfort clarifies the scale of Nick’s ordeal. If a 179-foot cutter struggles, a twenty-one-foot overturned boat is nearly impossible to detect and endure.

Rescue Boat Launch Rescue Boat Launch from "Not Without Hope". The Final Approach Contact at Sea After Michael Briner spots Nick, the cutter launches a rescue boat.

Rescue Boat Launch from "Not Without Hope". The Final Approach Contact at Sea After Michael Briner spots Nick, the cutter launches a rescue boat.

The Final Approach Contact at Sea After Michael Briner spots Nick, the cutter launches a rescue boat. David Earles enters the water with a harness and flotation device. The first approach is aborted because the waves make the transfer dangerous. Controlled Extraction Earles tells Nick not to move and reels him toward the rescue boat. Twelve minutes after detection, Nick is aboard and the search becomes a medical emergency.

March 1, 2009 at 2:40 p.m.

March 1 through March 2, 2009 overnight

March 2, 2009 shortly after 11:43 a.m.