(CNN) -- Sailing the Atlantic on a perfect blue-sky day, HMS Bounty survivor Jessica Hewitt knew this would have been a beautiful moment to share with Claudene Christian. She looked down from the deck of the 125-foot Liberty Clipper to see dozens of playful dolphins swimming alongside the tall-masted sailing ship as it cut through the waves off North Carolina. As the 26-year-old held a glass bottle filled with pictures and handwritten notes, Hewitt's eyes moved across the southeast horizon toward a painful spot she knew was about 25 miles away. She couldn't help but picture what happened there aboard the HMS Bounty exactly a year ago Tuesday. The leaking, aging ship sailed into what would become the largest hurricane in generations. As the Category 1 storm churned about 100 miles off Cape Hatteras, Hurricane Sandy's battering winds and towering waves flipped the 180-foot ship sideways, spilling Hewitt and her shipmates into the water.
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Survivor reveals yearlong struggle after tall ship Bounty sank in Hurricane Sandy
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Although her passion for sailing has dimmed, tragedy spurs her to help others
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She holds message-in-a-bottle ceremony near site of deadly sinking
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Settlement talks under way involving the deaths of Claudene Christian and ship's captain
"Even now, I can't really form any words other than those," Hewitt said Friday from aboard the @placeholder.