Adrift
Dive into the captivating story behind one of Brian's most well known photographs: "Gulf Stream Wave." Imagine being several hundred miles offshore, your sailboat disabled in a northerly gale, waiting for the Coast Guard. "Adrift" is a gripping account of one such moment—rudderless yet resilient—a true testament to the ocean's immense power and the fleeting beauty found even in the heart of a storm.
Read more about Brian's harrowing journey aboard Zulu in Nantucket Magazine here.
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
On Thursday, November 7th, a voice crackled over the Salty Dawg’s VHF radio transmission.
“Is there an emergency?” the operator inquired.
“Roger, has anyone heard from Zulu this afternoon?”
“Don’t think I see Zulu. St. Jude, can you tell me where they are and what they need? Over.”
“Roger. I just got a phone call from the wife of the crewmember on board. They have lost their rudder and lost their steering.”
One hundred twenty-five miles off the coast of North Carolina, Brian Sager was busy stuffing survival gear and small personal effects into ditch bags in the Zulu’s cabin.
If they had to abandon ship, Sager could only take what personal belongings he could fit in the pockets of his foul weather gear. He double-bagged his passport, his camera’s memory cards, a small Swiss Army knife and his lucky baseball cap.
Suddenly a wave slammed the boat, launching all six-feet six-inches of him into a mounted armchair in the saloon, snapping it at the base. Zulu had been rag dolling like this ever since its crew watched in horror as their rudder inexplicably snapped off and floated away in their wake.
Controlling the boat by sail proved futile in the worsening sea state, and with no way to steer, the three men were now at the mercy of Mother Nature.
Adrift: USCG Offshore Rescue Footage
