A Speck in the Sea
A Story of Survival and Rescue
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Narrated by:
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Robert Fass
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Fred Berman
About this listen
The harrowing adventure-at-sea memoir recounting the heroic search-and-rescue mission for lost Montauk fisherman John Aldridge, which Daniel James Brown calls "A terrific read".
I am floating in the middle of the night, and nobody in the world even knows I am missing. Nobody is looking for me. You can't get more alone than that. You can't be more lost. I've got too many people who love me. There's no way I'm dying like this.
In the dead of night on July 24, 2013, John Aldridge was thrown off the back of the Anna Mary while his fishing partner, Anthony Sosinski, slept below. As desperate hours ticked by, Sosinski, the families, the local fishing community, and the US Coast Guard in three states mobilized in an unprecedented search effort that culminated in a rare and exhilarating success. A tale of survival, perseverance, and community, A Speck in the Sea tells of one man's struggle to survive as friends and strangers work to bring him home.
Aldridge's wrenching first-person account intertwines with the narrative of the massive, constantly evolving rescue operation designed to save him.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
©2017 John Aldridge and Anthony Sosinski (P)2017 Hachette AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Prior to his untimely death, in 2010, Captain Phil Harris was a star of Discovery Channel's Deadliest Catch, the hit show that follows the exhilarating lives of Alaskan crab fishermen as they brave the vicious Bering Sea. He led his crew through hurricane-force winds and four-story-high waves, hauling in millions of pounds of crab and raking in millions of dollars. Phil worked hard, but he played even harder....
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Almost cried again!
- By The Girls on 09-12-16
By: Josh Harris, and others
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Until the Sea Shall Free Them
- By: Robert Frump
- Narrated by: Luke Smith
- Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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The men on the SS Marine Electric sailed into a storm in February 1983 not knowing that they would make history - at a great cost in lives. Just three men survived the wreck of the Marine Electric off the shores of Virginia and they found that their struggle had just begun once they got back to shore. Blamed for the wreck, they fought back and broke a code of silence that had covered up sloppy ship inspections for decades and revealed the flaws in old World War II rust buckets that were still at sea long past their functional lifetime.
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Interesting, but not a great listen
- By Eric on 02-22-13
By: Robert Frump
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The Finest Hours
- The True Story of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Most Daring Sea Rescue
- By: Michael J. Tougias, Casey Sherman
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 5 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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In the winter of 1952, New England was battered by the most brutal nor’easter in years. As the weather wreaked havoc on land, the freezing Atlantic became a wind-whipped zone of peril, setting the stage for one of the most heroic rescue stories ever lived. On February 18, while the storm raged, two oil tankers, the Pendleton and the Fort Mercer, were in the same horrifying predicament. Built with “dirty steel,” and not prepared to withstand such ferocious seas, both tankers split in two, leaving the dozens of men on board utterly at the Atlantic’s mercy.
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Two Times Terrific!
- By Carole T. on 01-31-16
By: Michael J. Tougias, and others
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Black Wave
- A Family's Adventure at Sea and the Disaster That Saved Them
- By: John Silverwood, Jean Silverwood
- Narrated by: Carrington MacDuffie, Joe Barrett
- Length: 7 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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When John and Jean Silverwood, both experienced sailors, decided to give their four children a taste of life on the high seas, they hoped the trip would offer important learning experiences - not only about the natural world but about the beauty of human life stripped down to its essence, far from civilization. But the adventure that awaited them would surpass anything they could have imagined.
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What Wave
- By James on 09-03-08
By: John Silverwood, and others
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One Breath
- Freediving, Death, and the Quest to Shatter Human Limits
- By: Adam Skolnick
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 12 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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One Breath is a gripping and powerful exploration of the strange and fascinating sport of freediving, and of the tragic, untimely death of America's greatest freediver Competitive freediving - a sport built on diving as deep as possible on a single breath - tests the limits of human ability in the most hostile environment on earth.
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It just drags
- By Jesse Mecham on 06-17-16
By: Adam Skolnick
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Coming Back Alive
- The True Story of the Most Harrowing Search and Rescue Mission Ever Attempted on Alaska's High Seas
- By: Spike Walker
- Narrated by: Paul Heitsch
- Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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When the fishing vessel La Conte sinks suddenly at night in 100-mile-per-hour winds and record 90-foot seas during a savage storm in January 1998, her five crewmen are left to drift without a life raft in the freezing Alaskan waters and survive as best they can. One hundred fifty miles away, in Sitka, Alaska, an H-60 Jayhawk helicopter lifts off from America's most remote Coast Guard base in the hopes of tracking down an anonymous Mayday signal. A fisherman's worst nightmare has become a Coast Guard crew's desperate mission.
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Outstanding Story and Performance
- By Stephen Bowlby on 05-22-18
By: Spike Walker
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Ghost Wave
- The Discovery of Cortes Bank and the Biggest Wave on Earth
- By: Chris Dixon
- Narrated by: Chris Dixon
- Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Rising from the depths of the North Pacific lies a fabled island, now submerged just 15 feet below the surface of the ocean. Rumors and warnings about Cortes Bank abound, but among big wave surfers, this legendary rock is famous for one simple (and massive) reason: this is the home of the biggest rideable wave on the face of the earth.
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A Surfing Classic of Monster Waves
- By Susie on 01-03-13
By: Chris Dixon
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Deep Descent
- Adventure and Death Diving the Andrea Doria
- By: Kevin F. McMurray
- Narrated by: P. J. Ochlan
- Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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On a foggy July evening in 1956, the Italian cruise liner Andrea Doria, bound for New York, was struck broadside by another vessel. In eleven hours, she would sink nearly 250 feet to the murky Atlantic Ocean floor. Thanks to a daring rescue operation, only 51 of more than 1,700 people died in the tragedy. But the Andrea Doria is still taking lives. Considered the Mt. Everest of diving, the Andrea Doria is the ultimate deepwater wreck challenge.
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A must read for every deep diver
- By DocYinYang on 10-20-19
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The Lobster Chronicles
- Life on a Very Small Island
- By: Linda Greenlaw
- Narrated by: Linda Greenlaw
- Length: 5 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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After 17 years at sea, Linda Greenlaw figured it was time to take a break from her career as a swordboat captain. She felt she needed to return to Isle au Haut - a tiny island seven miles from the Maine coast with a population of 70 year-round residents, 30 of whom were her relatives. She would pursue a simpler life; move back in with her parents and get to know them again; become a professional lobsterman; and find a guy, build a house, have kids, and settle down. But all doesn't go as planned.
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Was this narration sped up?
- By Linda Vanaman on 10-12-15
By: Linda Greenlaw
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The Gathering Wind
- Hurricane Sandy, the Sailing Ship Bounty, and a Courageous Rescue at Sea
- By: Gregory A. Freeman
- Narrated by: David Drummond
- Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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In October 2012, a replica of the famous HMS Bounty, an eighteenth-century tall sailing ship, was on a collision course with a storm that would become the largest hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic - a clash that would prove dramatic, tragic, perplexing, and ultimately one of the most unforgettable stories of Superstorm Sandy. Crewed by an eclectic team of seafarers, the Bounty was led by Robin Walbridge, their highly respected captain with decades at the helm, whose actions - sometimes questionable - decided the fate of his ship and crew.
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Good.
- By Dan on 08-06-15
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Stop Drifting, Start Rowing
- One Woman's Search for Happiness and Meaning Alone on the Pacific
- By: Roz Savage
- Narrated by: Roz Savage
- Length: 7 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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In 2007, Roz Savage set out to row 8,000 miles across the Pacific Ocean—alone. Despite having successfully rowed across the Atlantic the previous year, the Pacific presented the former office worker with unprecedented challenges and overpowering currents—both in the water and within herself. Crossing Earth’s largest ocean alone might seem a long way removed from everyday life, yet the lessons Roz learned about the inner journey, the ocean, and the world are relevant to all of us.
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I only listened to 1/3, so maybe it gets better?
- By Brandin on 05-14-14
By: Roz Savage
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Not Without Hope
- By: Nick Schuyler, Jere Longman
- Narrated by: Ramon De Ocampo
- Length: 6 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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A witness to incredible heroism and unspeakable tragedy, Nick remained at sea for more than 40 hours, holding on, hoping against hope and clinging to the thought that he couldn’t bear to have his mother attend his funeral. Not Without Hope is much more than a story of survival. It is an inspiring story of friendship, resolve, and courage.
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Gripping
- By Barb on 03-06-10
By: Nick Schuyler, and others
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Into the Raging Sea
- Thirty-Three Mariners, One Megastorm, and the Sinking of the El Faro
- By: Rachel Slade
- Narrated by: Erin Bennett
- Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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On October 1, 2015, Hurricane Joaquin barreled into the Bermuda Triangle and swallowed the container ship El Faro whole, resulting in the worst American shipping disaster in 35 years. No one could fathom how a vessel equipped with satellite communications and a sophisticated navigation system could suddenly vanish - until now. Relying on hundreds of exclusive interviews with family members and maritime experts, as well as the words of the crew members themselves - whose conversations were captured by the ship’s data recorder - journalist Rachel Slade unravels the mystery.
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This Book is Tragic for More Than Just its Story
- By John A. Tucker on 10-23-19
By: Rachel Slade
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The Last Dive
- A Father and Son's Fatal Descent into the Ocean's Depths
- By: Bernie Chowdhury
- Narrated by: L. J. Ganser
- Length: 16 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Chris and Chrissy Rouse, an experienced father-and-son scuba diving team, hoped to achieve widespread recognition for their outstanding but controversial diving skills. Obsessed and ambitious, they sought to solve the secrets of a mysterious, undocumented World War II German U-boat that lay under 230 feet of water, only a half day's mission from New York Harbor. In doing so they paid the ultimate price in their quest for fame.
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This book is terrible
- By Will O. on 08-21-18
By: Bernie Chowdhury
What listeners say about A Speck in the Sea
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Chris
- 12-17-22
Amazing read
Great book. As someone who grew up in montauk as a kid and jumped on commercial fishing boats every chance I found this book to be an amazing read!
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- Jean
- 09-01-17
A Fascinating Survival Story
On July 24, 2013, John Aldridge of Montauk, New York fell overboard from the back of the lobster boat, Anna Mary. His partner Anthony Sosinski and a crew member were asleep below. In the morning, they discovered Aldridge missing and called the Coast Guard. A large sea rescue search and rescue began.
Part of the story is told by John Aldridge about his ordeal of survival. The other part of the story is told by Anthony Sosinski or third person narrator and covers the search and rescue. It was amazing to read about the support of the fishing community (Montauk, New York) for both of the men.
This is a well written memoir about survival in the North Atlantic. The book is highly readable. Aldridge was in good physical shape when he went overboard. The story clearly demonstrates that he survived because of his skill as a seaman and the rescue was successful because of the seamanship of fellow fishermen and the excellent knowledge and skills of the Coast Guard. This is a remarkable uplifting story about beating the odds of survival.
The book is six and a half hours long. There are two narrators for this book. Robert Fass does an excellent job narrating his section of the book. The two narrators had different styles of reading which turned out appropriate for the story. Fass is an Audie-winning narrator. Fred Berman also does a great job narrating the book. Berman is a voice-over artist and award-winning audiobook narrator.
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8 people found this helpful
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- Arabella
- 05-24-20
Extraordinary courage and resilience of man in sea
True story; riveting parts are of the fisherman's recollections of how to save himself when lost overboard in The Atlantic.
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- jer361
- 05-29-17
A great story with an even greater ending.
A Speck in the Sea is well written and suspenseful. The multiple narrators do an amazing job of pulling you into the story. It's amazing to see how the two communities that John was apart of rallied when they heard that he was missing. Both his fellow fishermen and the people of the small town where he grew up were they to offer any assistance they could. A big thanks to the men and women of the USCG for coordinating such a valiant effort to bring John home.
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3 people found this helpful
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- maxine cappel mayreis
- 06-19-23
There is a God!
Miraculous story of perseverance, survival and of rescue. Shed tears of doom and joy listening. I’m deeply touched.
- MCM Glen Cove LI
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- Lauren C.
- 06-07-21
Beautiful story and look into the life of Montauk Locals
Really love this book, beautiful written and amazing story of the real heart of the Montauk community often overlooked.
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1 person found this helpful
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- sha_ir
- 10-01-21
Short but intense
Starts out with a wide breadth but the story focuses quickly and reels you in well
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1 person found this helpful
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- Susan McKenna
- 06-07-17
Montauk
If you could sum up A Speck in the Sea in three words, what would they be?
Will to live
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
Found! Chapter 13
Any additional comments?
Anyone interested in Montauk should read this book. It describes the unique commercial fishing industry of Montauk and the community surrounding it. A Spec in the Sea goes deeply into the love for the fishing industry, the love of a tight-knit community, and the sharp coordination and professionalism of the US Coast Guard. The cooperative effort of everyone involved, and John Aldridge’s will to live, shows how miracles can happen. A nice summer read while visiting Montauk for sure.
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3 people found this helpful
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- JoshHeath
- 06-09-17
just a speck
loved it great survival story!! well written. i would read the book again for sure!
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2 people found this helpful
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- Rob From Bellport
- 04-26-23
Long Island native enjoys heartwarming story
Great ending to an unbelievable story. I can totally see how this could happen on any type of boat. Thank God for the fast response from all the volunteers and US Coast Guard bravo Zulu.
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