Apr. 7/2022: It’s been a long strange trip, my friends—researching, writing, and finding a publisher for this story—but at last it is happening. My third book will be published this coming October by Latah Books.
Faithful WaveTrain riders will recall that I first “rediscovered” Thomas nine years ago, in the spring of 2013, while noodling around the Spanish Virgin Islands on the previous Lunacy. Just a year later he was declared lost at sea, after he disappeared during a solo voyage off the coast of Brazil aboard Oasis, a modified Puerto Rican nativo sloop. He’s been on my mind ever since, so much so I had to dig in and write the story of his life.
He was a boat kid on steroids, steeped in drama, let loose in the “real world.”
It is an amazing tale.
Kudos to Greg Bowl, who provided me with that intro photo up top, which has morphed into the cover of the book. This shows Thomas atop the mortal remains of his 22-foot Itchen Ferry cutter, Melody, which he sailed singlehanded non-stop from Cornwall, England, to Culebra in the year 2000.
I’ll let you know when you can place pre-orders for the book.
I very much enjoyed “The Sea is not Full” so you can bet I’ll order “The Boy Who Fell to Shore” when it’s available.
Yes, I look forward to this book also, having been a sailor, and still look at the sea each day. True stories about the disappearance of famous young people on their heroic quest is one of my favorites (In Search of Michael Rockefeller and the young adventurer Reuss who disappeared back in the 1930’s near the Escalante of Utah. No need for fiction when there are true -life stories out there.