On the Edge of Survival: A Shipwreck, a Raging Storm, and the Harrowing Alaskan Rescue That Became a Legend

Written by Spike Walker

Narrated by Robertson Dean

A Malaysian cargo ship on its way from Seattle, Washington, to China ran aground off the coast of western Alaska's Aleutian Islands on December 8, 2004, during a brutal storm, leading to one of the most incredible Coast Guard rescue missions of all time.

Two Coast Guard Jayhawk helicopters lifted off immediately from Air Station Kodiak during the driving storm in an effort to rescue the ship's eighteen crew members before it broke apart and sank in the freezing waters. Nine of the crew were lifted from the ship and dropped aboard a nearby Coast Guard cutter. But during attempts to save the last eight crew members, one of the Jayhawks was engulfed by a rogue wave that broke over the bow of the ship. When its engines flamed out from ingesting water, the Jayhawk crashed into the sea. The seven crew members from the ship who had been hoisted into the aircraft, along with the chopper's three-man crew, plunged into the bitterly cold ocean, where hypothermia immediately began to set in.

Interviewing all the surviving participants of the disaster and given access to documents and photos, acclaimed author Spike Walker has once again crafted a white-knuckle book of survival and death in the unforgiving Alaskan waters.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Oct 12, 2010
• ISBN: 9781400189052

Spike Walker

Spike Walker spent nine seasons as a crewman aboard some of the most successful crab boats in the Alaskan fleet. While "working on the edge," the crewmen's term for laboring in the brutal outer reaches of the Bering Sea, Spike encountered 110-mph winds, rode out one of the worst storms in Alaska's history, worked nonstop for seventy-four hours without sleep, participated in record catches of king crab, saw ships sink, helped rescue their crews, and had close friends die at sea.  In addition to his crab-fishing experience, Spike Walker has worked in the offshore oilfields of Louisiana and Texas; along the Mississippi River as a certified, commercial deep-sea diver; and in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Alaska as a logger. He is the author of several works of nonfiction, including Working on the Edge, Nights of Ice, and Coming Back Alive.

Reviews for On the Edge of Survival

[David Van Dyke · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An excellent read. A book of true heroism and selfless individuals. It makes one realize there are true super-heroes among us. Really, really enjoyed it.

[kristelh_15 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is nonfiction of Malaysian-registered Panamax bulk cargo ship chartered by the IMC Group that ran aground off Unalaska Island in western Alaska's Aleutian Islands on 8 December 2004 after its engine failed and the rescue by the U.S. Coast Guard. It was a disaster that I confess to not knowing about. I enjoyed this quick audio. These pilots and the rescue swimmer did an extraordinary job of rescuing men who were not cooperative in the efforts and they all acknowledged that it was providence that resulted in so few lost life.

[dickcraig · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

When a cargo ship loses power in the Bering Sea the Coast Guard is called out. They try to hold the ship off the rocks, but the lines break. The captain of the ship refuses to cooperate. When the ship drags its anchor and starts to run into the rocks the Guard deploys its helicopter to save the crew. What ensues is high drama. One helicopter crashes with the loss of 6 lives. Two people are trapped on the hull of the ship while 60 foot waves wash over them. This book will keep you riveted until the final page.