The 1979 Fastnet Race has gone down in sailing history with only 56 out of 306 yachts finishing the race. A catastrophic and furious storm swept out of nowhere striking the fleet and sinking or disabling 25 of the boats, killing 15 sailors. Force 11 hurricane gales and mountainous waves were the norm in the southern Irish Sea for 24 hours as the largest peacetime rescue operation of all time was put in place.

On board the 'Grimallkin' was Nick Ward, in his first Fastnet Race. The 'Grimalkin' was stuck in the middle of the maelstrom, capsizing repeatedly, losing its mast and its captain was washed away by the furious waves. At some stage during the storm, Ward is washed overboard, he claws his way back on deck but discovers only the unconscious body of one his crew, the remaining three disappeared along with the life raft. The unconscious Gerald Winks passed away on board shortly afterwards but Ward managed to battle the storm with the corpse on board in his battered boat and was the very last sailor rescued from the race The case of the 'Grimalkin' has gained a degree of notoriety in sailing circles. For 28 years, Ward had not spoken publicly about what happened in the Irish Sea. Abandoning ship is always the very last resort and the norm is not to leave a crew member behind. Ward, with the assistance of Irishwoman Sinead O'Brien, doesn't try to offer much insight into his crew mates' motivations . . . he hasn't spoken to most of them since the race. Instead he provides a chilling and evocative account of a man on the verge of death at the mercy of nature yet who showed the will to survive.