 Prologue: STORM OUT OF NOWHERE The sky was turning an ominous blue black, Between bursts of static, the VHF radio already had called out a hurried, "Security, security. Something was coming at me. A warning snap of wind caught my mast, oscillating it in the water. My boat shivered. I looked around. On my port side, Spar Island was a low, wind-swept piece of rocky desolation. No refuge there. To starboard were the notorious open waters of Lake Superior. "Mayday! Mayday!" A new call boomed from the radio. Somewhere north of me, a boat had capsized. People were struggling in the water. The first drops of rain pelted down, heavy and cold. From out of nowhere, something unholy grabbed my mast and shook my whole boat beneath it. A heavy, continuous blast slammed into us -- a solid wall of wind. The boat skittered along the waves, faster and faster. We were headed out into Superior, and, out of control. Anything could happen. With a sudden jolt, the boat slewed sideways in the water, tipped partly upright, and stopped. I was thrown on my side, feet agove my head, a pain circling through my ribs. Above me the starboard portlight turned a vivid green. It was underwater. The boat lay helpless, beam to the wind -- the most dangerous position. The steering no longer worked; the engine racketed insanely, its prop out of the water. We were teetering, balancing on the edge of survival. "Please!" I implored my boat. The wind bulked up behind the hull and Persistence canted further to one side. I could feel the chill of the icy waters on my face. We were turning over, slowly, oh, so slowly. I braced myself. This is it! We're going over! Prologue and illustration excerpted from Wake of the Green Storm: A survivor's tale, by Marlin Bree. Copyright 2001 |
My Books Marlin Bree is an ex-newsman turned author and has written nonfiction books about the North Atlantic and Lake Superior. He built his own boat. Broken Seas
Marlin Bree's new nonfiction book will sweep the reader into the world of incredible adventure and desperate survival. Here are carefully told stories the author has crafted with his mariner's insight into outstanding voyages and memorable boats. "In Broken Seas, veteran journalist and seasoned sailor Marlin Bree has crafted a series of stories that prove the adage that truth is stranger than fiction. A remarkable collection of well-told tales." --Herb McCormick, Editor of Cruising World and Boating Editor of the New York times. (click on title at left to get to Broken Seas page with excerpts and more information). Ordering Books Marlin Bree's books can be ordered through most bookstores and online booksellers. They can also be ordered directly from the publisher by calling 1-800-669-4908. Wake of the Green Storm: A survivor's tale
Click on title to see excerpts from book Roaring out of nowhere on July 4, 1999, a storm with 100 mph. straight-line winds tore onto Lake Superior. Without warning, a lone sailor and his small wooden boat were caught in a wall of wind. Spnning out of control, author Marlin Bree fought to survive "The Storm of the Century." Join Marlin Bree in the cockpit of his small sailboat as he fights to save his boat and find his way back to an island harbor. The author goes on to complete his summer voyage along the picturesque north shore of Lake Superior, an island chain destined to become the world's largest freshwater conservation area. Bree tells the story of others caught in the "Green Storm," as it has come to be known because of the evil-appearing green skies that preceded it. He also relates the tales of the ancient Voyageurs, those seafarers of the 18th century that made their way from New France across the northernmost arc of Superior, as he retraces parts of their voyage by boat. Bree also tells the tale of the loss of the Grampa Woo, and the incredible saga of the sinking of the Guinilda. He relates the tale of a sole survivor of a November gale, who rode out rough waters frozen atop a life raft surrounded by dead bodies. "Equals any oceanic adventure." -- San Diego Log Call of the North Wind
In Call of the North Wind, the author sails the beautiful Apostle Islands and then voyages eastward on the open waters of Superior along the Shipwreck Coast to the head of the lake and into Canada. He meets a storm at midnight, and finds his entryway off the lake is blacked out. As he sails along the Shipwreck Coast, he reconstructs the dramatic stories of doomed vessels and heroic captains. In a special chapter, as he sails near the sunken vessel, he takes a new look at the last hours of the Edmund Fitzgerald. The Shipwreck Coast contains the remains of the Big Lake's first life savering station and as he sails past the rugged coast Bree reconstructs some of the incredible true adventures of the "warriors of the storm." He writes of Hiawatha (yes, there was a Hiawatha on Lake Superior, according to Indian legend), the early "Black Robes" who came to live with tribes, but under unusual hardships, and, the early voyageurs. If you are a sailor, like salty adventure, or are intrigued by Lake Superior's legends, history and folklore, here's a special book that will fascinate and sometimms surprise you. ISBN 0-943400-90-2 / full color cover / 6 x 9 inch size / quality trade paperback / 50 illustrations and maps, 24 photos / 224 pages /Only $16.95 U.S. and $25.95 in Canada. In the Teeth of the Northeaster
For one summer, ex-newsman Marlin Bree sailed alone on Lake Superior in a 20-foot wooden sailboat he had built in his backyard. His journey has been called "Blue Highways" by boat. Beginning in the beautiful Apostle Islands, off Wisconsin's rugged shores, Bree sailed through the islands, tying up by anchor and at waterfront docks. He writes about kind-hearted waterfront people, early voyageurs, shipwrecks, storms, gold, and an island of silver on Superior that was once the world's richest mine. Here is lake lore, history and incredible tales of seafaring on the world's largest freshwater lake. Ultimately, Bree encounters a storm that makes Superior one of the world's most dangerous bodies of water. "His evocative narrative is both an adventure -- he encountered several fierce storms -- an an anecdotal history of the lake, with tidbits on Indians, voyageurs, miners, sea captains and coloruf local inhabitants, as well as tales of wind, weather, icy (and sometimes frozen) water and shipwrecks. An enjoyable ramble for sailing afictionados." -- Booklist Boat Log & Record
Every skipper should have the Boat Log & Record to keep track of voyages and to maintain a permanent record of the vessel and its needs. Now in its third edition, Marlin Bree's Boat Log & Record is the best and most complete book of its kind. Developed by a veteran skipper, this book contains space to record up to 50 cruises, including date and time, sea state, distances and navigational data as well as a skipper's cruising notes. The book also contains equipment and maintenance records, a purchasing organizer and a yearly check list. Here's the important on-board book that has just about everything that a pleasure boater needs and wants. Alone Against the Atlantic
In 1979, Gerry Spiess set sail in his home-built plywood boat, Yankee Girl, on a voyage to England. In a best-selling narrative by Gerry Spiess with Marlin Bree, the teacher-turned-sailor and his tiny boat battle the dangers of the North Atlantic and surive capsizes, monumental storms, and, dangers. |
|
