Free The Finest Hours by Michael J. Tougias Page A

“We’re with you, coxswain!” a shout came out. It was followed by a loud cheer from the Pendleton crew.
    At least one member of the lifeboat crew was not so optimistic, however. “The worst time for me was when we were going back in,” Richard Livesey recalled. His arms were pinned by the crush of men standing in the well deck in front of the broken windshield. They were now back in gigantic seas, without the protection that had been provided by the sheer mass of the Pendleton stern. The CG 36500 was weighed down by its human cargo as powerful waves continued to crash over its crowded deck. Livesey and the others held their breath as each wave hit, engulfing them in a torrent of ice-cold water. When will this end? Livesey wondered. It felt like an eternity. The lifeboat was riding so low it felt like they were all traveling in a submarine. If she doesn’t come up a bit more, I’m gonna drown right here in the boat , Livesey thought.
    Webber tried the radio once more and was surprised to get through to the Chatham Lifeboat Station. Station commander Cluff seemed even more surprised to hear from him. Webber informed Cluff that they had 32 men from the Pendleton aboard and that they were now trying to make it back, despite having no navigational tools to assist them. The captain of one of the rescue cutters called in and directed Webber to turn around and proceed out to sea toward his location, thinking this would be safer than recrossing Chatham Bar. Bernie heard more squawking over the radio and yet more ideas on how better to pull off this already improbable rescue. But Webber and crew had made up their minds. They were headed to shore. Bernie put the radio down and returned his attention to the challenge in front of him. There was no talking aboard the lifeboat while Bernie attacked the seas ahead.
    As the CG 36500 motored on, the seas began to change. The waves were not as heavy, nor were they spread as far apart, as they had been. The boat moved through shallower waters now. By no means were they out of danger, however. They still had Chatham Bar to navigate. Webber was weighing his options when he noticed what appeared to be a flashing red light in the distance. Could it be a buoy? Could it be the aircraft warning signal from high atop the RCA radio station towers? Bernie rubbed his tired, salt-burned eyes. At one moment, the light seemed to be well over their heads; at another, it appeared to be well below the lifeboat.
    As they continued on, the blinking red light became clearer. The crew realized it was coming from atop the buoy inside Chatham Bar, leading to the entrance into Old Harbor. Bernie looked at the blinking light once more and then shifted his gaze to the stormy skies above. In his heart, he knew that God was bringing them home.

 
    12
    PANDEMONIUM IN CHATHAM
    The CG 36500 was now on a course that would return its crew and the 32 survivors of the Pendleton to the Chatham Fish Pier. They still had to make it over Chatham Bar, where the boat had nearly been sunk hours earlier. This time the vessel would be going with the seas, and as they approached the bar, the crew noticed the crashing surf didn’t seem to be as loud as it had been before. Their weak spotlight shined on the breakers, yet they too seemed smaller.
    Webber gave the boat a little throttle, punched its nose through the foam, and they were over the bar. He then radioed the Chatham Lifeboat Station and told the operator his position. Stunned that they had actually made it back to Old Harbor, the operator immediately sent a dispatch to the other coast guard vessels:
    CG 36500 HAS 32 MEN ABOARD FROM THE STERN SECTION. ALL EXCEPT ONE MAN WHO IS ON THE WATER THAT THEY CANNOT GET. NO OTHER MEN ARE MISSING THAT THEY KNOW OF. THERE SHOULD BE ABOUT SIX MEN ON THE BOW SECTION.…
    An avalanche of instructions followed as the operator tried to guide Webber up the harbor. But Bernie didn’t need instructions. “I