Review: This Is Incredible!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 6, 2012
Kindle and Amazon are now allowing readers to quickly and easily obtain in-depth reporting on almost current events. Usually one has to wait at least a year, then pay an exorbitant price for a book that never should have gone beyond article length.As for the content - very well written, ironically about a voyage that sailed on Friday the 13th with over 4,000 on board. Its captain, Francesco Schettino, had begun naval training as a teenager, and been a captain since 2007.One reporter claims Captain Schettino soon was distracted by an attractive blond former crew member (Domnica Cemortan - not allocated a cabin, unofficially the Captain's lover), and strong wine. Author Hooper, however, is not so certain. What is certain is that Schettino planned a tribute to his ship's maitre (Antonello Tievoli), as well as a salute to a recently retired Costa Cruise captain. The tribute would take the form of passing close by Giglio, where Tievoli had crown up and the retired captain now lived.Traveling at 17-18 mph with Captain Schettino at the helm, the 114,000 ton vessel hit rocks. Water immediately gushed in. The 'good news' is that Schettino turned the Costa Concordia around in a tight loop and brought it rest near another cluster of rocks. The 'bad news' is that he delayed facing reality, telling passengers it was just an 'electrical problem.' The 'really bad news' is that many of the passengers had not undergone a life-boat drill and had no idea what they would need to do. Nonetheless, some intuitively got into lifeboats by themselves; crew members then instructed passengers to return to their cabins.Costa Concordia passengers were not the only ones 'in the dark.' The Italian Cost Guard wasn't immediately aware either, nor top management at Costa Cruises.Finally, over an hour after holing, the 'Abandon Ship' order was given - by that time it was so tilted that most remaining lifeboats could not be launched. The 'very good news' is that somehow, almost 3,900 were safely evacuated. The 'bad news' - some of the earliest evacuees included a local priest and the captain. Author then includes several pages of verbatim dialogue between Captain Schettino and the Coast Guard Commander - the former alleging he accidentally fell into a lifeboat and could not return, the latter demanding that he return, immediately to the ship.There were a few, albeit few, heroes - eg. the Purser who had stayed on board trying to help the evacuation, fallen, and broken his leg in two places. And a bit of comedy provided by two Korean newlyweds who slept through most of the initial drama, and awoke to find themselves almost alone. All three were rescued the next day.Unfortunately, not all were saved. And once again we're reminded that there's still no such thing as an unsinkable ship.