The Skipper

Published to tie in with a BBC1 series starting in July 1993, this is the story of the captain of a deep-sea trawler. Drawing on Roger Nowell's long family involvement in the Cornish fishing industry and his own lifetime of experience, the book provides readers with an account of dramas at sea and at home, with stories both humorous and horrifying. Roger tells of the time he brought up a Ford Escort in his fishing net, and the day a gorilla appeared on his boat. He also reveals his involvement in major sea tragedies such as the wreck of the "Torrey Canyon" oil tanker and the Penlee lifeboat disaster, in which he lost several friends. Roger's beliefs and ideas are often not those which are normally associated with the tough fisherman image. Conservation of the seas and the fish within it is high on his list of priorities, and his belief in the white occult is reflected in day-to-day actions as he faces the dangers and uncertainties of the sea.