I remember reading Paul Gallico's original version of "The Poseidon Adventure" and being impressed by the lengths he went to in explaining why the ship turned over. It made his subsequent ignorance of the basic physics that the pressure of the air inside the ship must be greater than the atmosphere outside it all the more surprising. I couldn't believe that so experienced and effective a writer would overlook the dramatic consequence that would force the survivors into blocking off the escape route by closing the watertight door at the shaft tunnel entrance and turning the space into an air lock.
(We can draw a polite veil of silence over the subsequent film versions, and the most recent rendering of the "Titanic" disaster was painful to watch.)
In the last month or so, the intervention of friends has brought "Coasting" to the attention of former shipmates, fellow seafarers whose opinions I respect and men who were at sea in the period it covers (the mid 1970s). They have been unanimous in their praise of the story-telling and the accuracy with which I have captured the sea-going era we shared. They are all looking forward to the release of "The Sapphire Sea" in August.
Their good opinion validates my writing in a way no other group could achieve, especially as many stood on the opposite side in past battles.
David Andrews (who learned to write well as Amy Gallow)