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fiogf49gjkf0d On February 18, 1952, a massive nor’easter struck New England, pummeling towns along the Eastern Seaboard and wreaking havoc on anything caught in its destructive path, including two 500-foot oil tankers. The SS Pendleton and SS Fort Mercer, bound for Boston, Massachusetts and Portland, Maine, respectively, were both ripped in half by the storm, stranding their crews at sea. The senior officer aboard the stern of the Pendleton, chief engineer Raymond Sybert (Casey Affleck), soon realizes it is up to him to take charge of the frightened crew and keep the ship afloat as long as possible.
The Coast Guard station in Chatham, Massachusetts was busy helping local fishermen protect their boats from the storm when they received word that the Fort Mercer was in trouble. Warrant Officer Daniel Cluff (Eric Bana), the recently appointed station chief, immediately dispatches his best men to aid in the larger rescue effort already in progress. When Cluff learns that a second ship, the Pendleton, was also damaged and is now adrift in nearby waters, he orders coxswain Bernie Webber (Chris Pine) to quickly assemble a crew and take out the CG36500 lifeboat to look for survivors.
Webber and three men board the 36-foot motorized, wooden boat and set off on the perilous mission with bleak prospects, at best, and before they even clear the Chatham Harbor, the boat’s windshield and compass are destroyed. Yet the men persevere, and despite hurricane-force winds, 60-foot waves, frigid temperatures and zero visibility, miraculously locate the Pendleton and rescue 32 of its 33 men in the midst of the turbulent storm, returning a total of 36 men home on their battered 12-seat lifeboat.
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