The Ship and the Storm

November 15, 2000
Here's another book about a ship and a great big storm--but it's not a clone of The Perfect Storm. This well-written, absorbing saga easily stands on its own. The storm of the title, Hurricane Mitch, devastated Central America in 1998. The ship is the Windjammer Cruises Line's "party boat," Fantome, which found itself in Mitch's path. Journalist Carrier (West of the Divide) does much more than recount the Fantome's attempts to escape the hurricane. The author introduces not only the crew but also the hurricane forecasters and even the residents of the islands. He deftly recounts the complexities of hurricane prediction, and the difficulties faced by the forecasters becomes a riveting part of the whole story. The struggle of the island residents first to survive and then to recover provides a perspective that rounds out this account of the incredible impact that Hurricane Mitch had on Central America and the western Caribbean. This is a good purchase for any library. (Maps and photos not seen.)--Ann Forister, Roseville P.L., CA

Copyright 2000 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 15, 2000
In October 1998, Hurricane Mitch terrorized the Caribbean and Central America, leaving thousands dead, causing billions of dollars in damage, and crippling countries. In the midst of it struggled Guyan March, captain of the " Fantome," the largest ship owned by Windjammer Barefoot Cruises. Having determined the " Fantome" was too big to seek safe harbor in any of the nearby ports, Windjammer and Captain March made the last-minute decision to take the ship out to sea in an attempt to get out of the storm's path. Carrier's account of this desperate race traces the development and erratic path of the storm as it consistently defied all predictions, relates the communications between Windjammer and the " Fantome" as they ran out of options, and pieces together what must have been the last few minutes of the ship and of the crew's lives. The heart-wrenching testimony of the crew's families, horror stories of survivors on land, and scientific background from the meteorologists provide a thoroughly detailed context in which to view one of the worst hurricanes in recorded history.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2000, American Library Association.)