As the three push each other in their workouts, friendships develops. Cooper owns a fishing boat and hopes to establish his own charter business after his professional football career ends. Shortly before he is to leave for training camp on the west coast, Cooper invited Smith and Schuyler on a fishing trip with him. With Cooper's permission, Schuyler invited former University of South Florida football player and Schuyler's best friend Will Bleakley to join them.
Unfortunately, their day of fun and relaxation turns into a nightmare when a tragic mistake causes their boat to capsize. The four men find themselves with no food or water, no emergency beacon, no cell phone service, no way to alert anyone to their situation. They cling to each other and to the hull of the boat as they fight hypothermia, hallucinations, hunger, dehydration, and a raging storm. After forty-three hours in the water, only Schuyler survives. This is story about courage, resolve, and friendship.
Author Interview: Nick Schuyler Sets the Record Straight
If you enjoy nonfiction stories about shipwrecks, I suggest you check out the following books in the TA library:
- 29 Missing: The True and Tragic Story of the Disappearance of the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald by Andrew Kantar
- Black November: The Carl D. Bradley Tragedy by Andrew Kantar
- So Terrible a Storm: A Tale of Fury on Lake Superior by Curt Brown
- A Night to Remember by Walter Lord
- Explosion of the Steamboat Saluda by William G. Hartley
- Iceberg Right Ahead: The Tragedy of the Titanic by Stephanie Sammartino McPherson
- In Harm's Way: The Sinking of the USS Indianapolis and the Extraordinary Story of Its Survivors by Doug Stantion
- Out of the Depths: An Unforgettable WW II Story of Survival, Courage , and the Sinking of The USS Indianapolis by Edgar Harrell, USMC with David Harrell
- Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World: The Extraordinary True Story of Shackleton by Jennifer Armstrong
- Titanic: Legacy of the World's Greatest Ocean Liner by Susan Wels and William F. Buckley, Jr.
- Titanic: Voices from the Disaster by Deborah Hopkins