November 2003 BOOK REVIEW - by Carol Standish
In 1994, Strong was promoted to the rank of captain, in command of the Cherry Valley, the 688-foot oil tanker on which he had been serving as chief mate. At 32 years old, Strong was “thrilled to be so entrusted.” In Peril (The Lyons Press, $22.95, 254pp) is Captain Strong’s own account (with Twain Braden) of his most extraordinary experience as the captain of a this enormous vessel. On Strong’s second trip as captain of the Cherry Valley, his job was to supervise the loading of 237,000 barrels of heavy viscous Number 6 crude oil at two different ports on the Mississippi River and guide the fully loaded tanker down river, across the Gulf of Mexico, around Florida to the delivery port, Jacksonville, where the cargo was to be discharged. It was a routine trip. Had the trip continued to be routine, Strong’s account would be well worth reading because his life aboard is strange, even exotic to most of us. However, that particular voyage was anything but routine. The heart-thumping action of the book is the story of Strong’s successful rescue of a tug (and barge) with engine trouble and the five crew members. On route Early in the book the size and maneuverability of the Cherry Valley is vividly established. At 44,000 tons dead weight, she “has the shapeliness of a city block. Maneuvering a ship like this is like driving on ice; you always need to prepare for what might be happening ahead of you. When the ship is fully loaded it takes us eight and a half minutes and almost a mile to go from full ahead to dead in the water.” Her draft, loaded is 35 feet. What But as soon as the tug was secured to the Cherry Valley and saved from surely wrecking on the beach, the lawyers begin to wrangle. The federal government (NASA) emphatically refused to pay salvage rights. The book quickly turns from a daring do or die sea adventure to a suspenseful courtroom drama. Salvage As a general rule of thumb the persons rendering assistance are entitled to one-fifth of the value of the property saved. Needless to say, the reader is rooting for the daring Captain Strong and his skillful and deserving crew. |
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