Enlarge Photo

Boonchob Vijarnsorn

Every once in a while something unexpected—and unexpectedly good—comes across my desk (or more literally, these days, across my monitor). Limited space in the magazine may make it impossible to share that in print, but unlimited space in the digital world of the web is a different story.

In this case, a freelance writer has spun a good yarn in a well-researched and well-written account of the sinking of a ship named the A.C.E. off the Southern California coast on a black night when the Pacific had whipped itself into a frothing maelstrom. “Double-Crossing Death on the Pacific,” by Scott Marshutz, is the account of the A.C.E.; after he dove on the sunken vessel in 2010, Marshutz “knew there was a much larger story to be told.” His research produced a descriptive account of the dramatic events that took place in November, 2005, revealing how coincidence and timing doomed a ship but also saved its crew.

-- D.O.

Read it: DOUBLE-CROSSING DEATH ON THE PACIFIC