Chapter 7 Summary

This chapter contains has long passages of factual information about the mechanics of how ships go down at sea and the science of human drowning.

About forty years ago, the United States Navy was experimenting with detonating nuclear bombs in the ocean. The experiments were called off because of dangers to undersea landmasses. The Navy conducted experiments to determine how much stress and force their ships could handle before sinking. These were done using model ships.

It was determined that ships can flip over if their bows get caught in the crests of a large enough wave. This is called "pitch-poling." "Floundering" is a series of waves that can drive a ship underwater.

The Andrea Gail probably "pitched-poled" or "floundered" the night of October 28th. If this did not occur, there was a chance that the boat may have survived until dawn. The...