The three most important people in my life-my husband and our two sons-along with a cherished nephew perished in a horrific boating accident off Charleston in 1997. I thought my life was over the night I received the cryptic phone call from a family pastor in Florida, asking me if I knew if more bodies had been found. From that awkward moment forward, I began to live every mother's and wife's nightmare.

This book, so eloquently crafted by Capt. W. Russell Webster, will honor my family and detail the mistakes that were made and ensure that the many positive changes that have come from this tragedy are memorialized appropriately for future sailors and rescuers alike.