Soul of The Hurricane: Perfect Storm and an Accidental Sailor

” — , Peabody Award–winning creator of StoryCorps Nelson Simon didn’t to sign up as a last-minute crew member to transport a Norwegian schooner from Brooklyn to Bermuda. But one thing led to another, and there he was. He told himself that it would be a sort of pleasure cruise: a week in the Gulf Stream with a gourmet chef on board, some down time on a tropical island, then a quick flight home. What did it matter that he had practically no sailing experience? The eight other crew members had plenty—they just needed an extra pair of hands. What could possibly go wrong?   It was October 1991, and the ship was , the oldest continuously sailing vessel in the world. What awaited them was Hurricane Grace, the southern end of what came to be known as the “Perfect Storm.”