Soul of the Hurricane: The Perfect Storm and an Accidental Sailor - Hardcover

by Nelson Simon (Author)

"Soul of the Hurricane is a remarkable debut from a singular storyteller." --David Isay, Peabody Award-winning creator of StoryCorps

Nelson Simon didn't want to sign up as a last-minute crew member to transport a Norwegian schooner from Brooklyn to Bermuda. But one thing led to another, and there he was. He told himself that it would be a sort of pleasure cruise: a week in the Gulf Stream with a gourmet chef on board, some down time on a tropical island, then a quick flight home.

What did it matter that he had practically no sailing experience? The eight other crew members had plenty--they just needed an extra pair of hands. What could possibly go wrong?

It was October 1991, and the ship was Anne Kristine, the oldest continuously sailing vessel in the world. What awaited them was Hurricane Grace, the southern end of what came to be known as the "Perfect Storm."

Soul of the Hurricane tells an unlikely tale that begins with an unexpected invitation and ends in the dead of night somewhere far from home, with a Coast Guard helicopter above and a dark, angry sea below.

Author Biography

Nelson Simonis a writer and performer. In 2006 he led a team of interviewers and facilitators from StoryCorps, the national oral history project, to New Orleans to chronicle the life of the city in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. In 2016 he created The Accidental Sailor, the storytelling performance on which this book is based. He lives in Brooklyn.