They were only about 15 to 20 feet. Radio consultation among Tamaroa, Satori, and the District Operations Center in Boston determined that Tamaroa would launch a small boat, to transfer cold weather survival clothing to Satori. Tamaroa has long been a fixture on Georges Bank and other parts of the busy Northeast fishing grounds, and so launched its small boats literally thousands of times. But as Amidon and every single one of his shipmates knew, all bets are off when the weather wills it. The trip did not begin auspiciously.
Small boat launching at sea is fraught with hazard enough.
In the storm things were far trickier. On its own, the little Hurricane scurried between the creaming peaks of the gray waves, delivering survival suits to Satori. The impact ruptured one of our pontoons. From that point, Amidon needed all his skill and experience just to keep the Hurricane oriented to wind and weather in a way that kept it from being swamped. Picking up the Satori crew was now out of the question.