The Finest Hours (2016)

THE FINEST HOURS (2016) http://www.historyvshollywood.com/reelfaces/finest-hours/ Starring Chris Pine, Casey Affleck, Ben Foster, Eric Bana | based on the book 'The Finest Hours' by Michael J. Tougias My God, do they really think a lifeboat and its crew could actually make it that far out to sea in this storm and find the broken ship amid the blinding snow and raging seas with only a compass to guide them? If the crew of the lifeboat didn’t freeze to death first, how would they be able to get the men off the storm-tossed sections of the broken tanker? -Bernard C. Webber, Quote from Chatham, "The Lifeboatmen" QUESTIONING THE STORY: Was the SS Pendleton really unable to send out a distress call? Yes. In fact-checking The Finest Hours movie, we learned that the ship, which had been traveling from Baton Rouge, Louisiana to Boston, Massachusetts, broke apart too quickly and the equipment to send out a distress call was lost. "The seas were breaking in every direction," said the real Ray Sybert (Casey Affleck in the movie) shortly after the ordeal. "The tanker cracked right through No. 8 hold, just forward of midship. Right up to that time we had no warning anything was wrong" (The Southeast Missourian). The only thing that still worked was a little portable radio receiver. The Coast Guard spotted the two sections of the Pendleton on radar and began tracking their locations (CG36500.org). As in the movie (pictured), the tanker Pendleton broke apart before a distress call could be sent out. What cargo was the SS Pendleton carrying? According to The Finest Hours true story, the World War II-era T2 tanker was carrying kerosene and heating oil. The other T2 tanker that broke in half, the SS Fort Mercer, was carrying kerosene. -USCG.mil Did the ship really break apart due to a previous weld that did not hold? No. The SS Pendleton had suffered a three-way fracture the year prior, but it was never repaired. Surprisingly, the hastily built WWII-era ship had still passed its last Coast Guard inspection in January 1952, the month before the disaster. Subpar welding methods used in the ship's construction were mainly to blame. It is also likely that the hull of the ship had been constructed with "dirty steel," which means that it contained too much sulfur and was therefore weaker. As a result, T2 tankers like the Pendleton were sometimes referred to as "Kaiser's coffins" and "serial sinkers." -The Finest Hours book Did some of the Coast Guard members refuse to go out in the storm in such a small boat? Yes. Fearing that the Coast Guard's 36-foot CG-36500 Motor Lifeboat was no match for such treacherous seas, some crew members chose not to partake in the mission and instead made themselves scarce. Three men volunteered to go with Bernard Webber to help the Pendletonsurvivors, Petty Officer 2nd Class Andy Fitzgerald, Seaman Richard Livesey and Seaman Ervin Maske. Other crew members from the Chatham Lifeboat Station had already left in another boat in response to the mayday from the Fort Mercer, the other oil tanker that had broken in half. -USCG.mil How did Bernie meet his wife Miriam? The real Bernie Webber met Miriam Pentinen over the telephone in 1950. His car had broken down when he was on his way to meet a girl for a date. He found a pay phone and called the girl to explain what had happened. Miriam was the telephone operator who put the call through, but apparently not before having a brief conversation with Bernie. Interested, she called the Chatham Lifeboat Station and began enjoying long phone conversations with Bernie, who eventually asked her out. She declined at first, but eventually agreed on the terms that it had to be a double date. Like in the movie, they had enjoyed a number of phone conversations before ever meeting in person and seeing what each other looked like. -The Finest Hours book Did Miriam propose to Bernie? Yes, but in researching The Finest Hours true story, we discovered that unlike the movie, they were already married at the time of the Pendleton rescue. The true story reveals that Bernie Webber's girlfriend Miriam proposed to him after just a few months of dating. It happened while the couple was parked in Bernie's old Plymouth on Nauset Beach (not while dancing). Bernie did initially say, "No," but changed his mind by the end of the date when he dropped Miriam off at her parents' house. "Okay," he said, "I'll marry you." He told her to pick a date and she said July 16 (not April 16). They wed on July 16, 1950 at Bernie's family's home in Milton, Massachusetts, roughly a year and a half prior to the Pendleton rescue (the movie pushes their timeline forward). Bernie's father, a reverend, performed the ceremony. -The Finest Hours book Was Miriam a telephone operator? Yes, Miriam had worked as a telephone operator in nearby Wellfleet. However, after they married, they moved into a rather large cottage near the lifeboat station in Chatham so they could see each other more often (Bernie's job in the Coast Guard had meant that they could spend up to 10 days apart at a time). After the move, Miriam began working at the First National Store, which is where she was employed at the time of the Pendleton rescue. -The Finest Hours book How high were the waves during the rescue? Fact-checking The Finest Hours movie confirmed that nearby cutters observed sea heights anywhere from 40 to 60 feet. -USCG.mil Did senior officer Ray Sybert really cut one of the Pendleton's lifeboats loose to prove that it couldn't handle the rough seas? No. In The Finest Hours movie, Raymond L. Sybert (Casey Affleck), the Pendleton's Chief Engineer and senior officer on board, takes charge after the captain was lost with the bow section. To prove to the crew that lowering the lifeboats was a bad idea, he cuts one loose and they watch it smash against the side of the ship, breaking into pieces. In The Finest Hoursbook, there is no mention of this demonstration taking place. However, the men did have a big discussion about lowering the lifeboats. Eighteen-year-old seaman Charles Bridges told them the idea was nuts, that the lifeboats could not withstand the monstrous waves, which would likely crush them against the hull. None of the lifeboats were ever launched. The real Ray Sybert never used an axe to cut a lifeboat loose in order to demonstrate it wasn't safe. However, the crew did discuss using the lifeboats. Was the Coast Guard's motor lifeboat really thrown into the air and onto its side in the high waves? Yes. The Finest Hours true story confirms that after being smashed by a mountainous wave, the CG-36500 rescue boat was thrown high in the air, landing on its side. The self-righting boat quickly corrected itself and was ready to face the next giant wave. -USCG.mil Did the high seas break the rescue boat's window and compass? Yes. As Bernie Webber and his crew attempted to navigate the wooden motor lifeboat across the Chatham sandbar and out to the SS Pendleton, the high swells wrecked havoc on the boat. One such swell crashed down over the boat, knocking over coxswain Webber. In addition, the windshield on the coxswain flat was shattered into pieces and the compass was torn from its mounts, leaving them with nothing to guide them to the ship or to allow them to find their way back. They were left with only a searchlight to help them locate the Pendleton in the darkness. Like in The Finest Hours movie, the sound of twisting metal alerted them to the broken Pendleton's location. -Coast Guard Compass Like in the movie, the CG-36500 Motor Lifeboat was damaged by the high swells, which tore the boat's compass from its mounts. Did Bernie Webber really not wear a life jacket? Yes. Coxswain Bernie Webber (portrayed by Chris Pine in the movie) decided to not wear a life jacket in order to give himself the best maneuverability to control the motor lifeboat and react to the unpredictable seas. -USCG.mil Did Ray Sybert really try to run the Pendleton aground? No. Unlike what unfolds in The Finest Hours movie, Chief Engineer Ray Sybert actually decided to keep the Pendleton's stern as far offshore as possible, fearing that the ship might further break up in the relentless surf. If the ship got close, Sybert ordered that the propeller be turned to keep the ship offshore in more moderate seas. -MWDC.org Did Miriam really go to the station and plead that Bernie be called back in? No. Bernie's wife Miriam had been at home in bed with the flu at the time. He had not spoken to her in two days (his job could keep them apart for days at a time). As he was getting ready to depart, he told John Stello, a neighbor and local fisherman, to inform Miriam of what was going on. She never showed up at the Chatham Lifeboat Station like in the movie. Bernie phoned Miriam after the rescue was over. -The Finest Hours book Did the motor lifeboat's engine really die out? Yes. Fact-checking The Finest Hours movie revealed that the gigantic waves would roll the boat so far over that the single 90-horsepower gasoline engine would die out because it would lose its prime.

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