Customer Reviews

No Safe Harbor: The Tragedy of the Dive Ship Wave Dancer

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3 star:		(3)
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My husband, Ray Mars, was one of the victims of the Wave Dancer tragedy, so this book is of particular interest to me. However, I was still able to read it without letting my personal feelings into my opinions and thoughts about the book. I was absolutely amazed by the ability of Joe Burnworth to give the reader the feeling of actually being there, on board the Wave Dancer, with the divers themselves. For over 3 1/2 years, although I knew in my head what had happened, what capsizing meant, I have continued to have a kind of abstract feeling, something that made the entire event unreal, something that no matter how much I read, I just could not really "see" the event in my own mind. This has been troublesome, and I was previously unable to get many specific questions answered. The unknowing, the wondering, was very difficult, as the mind continues to imagine all kinds of things. But, from the very beginning of No Safe Harbor, I felt as though I was right there on the Wave Dancer with Ray, and all the others, most of whom I also knew. I had a visual thing to hold onto, and it gave me a much better understanding of the actual events leading up to the tragedy, what was really going on between the captain and crew, and what information the divers themselves had been given. So many of these questions have been troubling and very disturbing to me over these years. I finally have the answers, thanks to Joe Burnworth, and I can see in my thoughts just what was going on, what information was being given to the divers, who had access to no other information than what the captain told them, and I am finally able to settle my mind around what Ray and all the others really believed. With these facts, I am able to give this event a "face", a real picture in my mind, and I feel as though I was right there, and can see exactly what went on. I can picture the actual capsizing, and the subsequent events. Of course, this does not change what happened, but it does relieve the extreme unrest I have had for so long, when I was unable to get these answers from anyone else.
Every traveler, on a ship of any kind, diving or not, needs to read this book. This book gives every reader the feeling of actually being there, you will feel as though you can see every aspect of the boat itself, giving a clear picture of the events. It also gives a very personal accounting of the victims themselves, making them real people, as they were, not some vague thought of people you do not know. They will become important to you, and they will mean something to you. It is an important read for all, divers or not, and will really open your eyes, and put you right in the middle of the entire event.

While the story is a good one, the book is in need of some editorial work and a little bit of a rewrite. The author spends an inordinate number of pages describing, again and again, how the team was just in Belize to dive and how they were looking forward to the week. Almost every other page has some variation of the sentence "They were all just excited about diving". It makes for some monotonous reading. Unfortunately, this repetitiveness continues throughout most of the book - though what is being repeated changes. At one point, the author says the storm is now visible on Belize radar and they can begin tracking it themselves. Twenty pages later - and several hours later in the story, he repeats the sentence almost verbatim.

The author obviously tried to stay true to the facts - and includes, in their entirety - almost a dozen weather reports - including areas of the report that are of no consequence. Reading two or three pages of dry weather reports six or seven times in the book makes for some dull reading. Worse, the author dedicates almost no space to explaining the true meaning of the report. Phrases such as "Iris has now measured 998mb with 100 to 120kt in center" are scattered throughout - with almost no explanation of what that really means. The author also provides, again and again, latitude and longitude for the storm. While I'm reading, I'm not carrying a map with me - and, in any case, he does not provide the figures for the boats at that time, so it is fairly meaningless anyway. Strangely enough, the author does spend a few pages describing the difference between a Grade 1 and Grade 5 storm - something that most people already have an understanding of but spends no time describing what a millibar measurement truly indicates. Other phrases such as "has a well defined trough and circular motion" are used to distinguish the difference between two kinds of hurricanes. The reader can't help but feel that the author took a textbook definition of hurricanes and simply dropped it in the text - without understanding the meaning himself. Further in the book, the author provides, almost verbatim, a copy of an engineers findings. Again, it's littered with phrases such as "Two refrigerators were found one and three quarters inches from the transversal." When the author tries to explain this, he says "Several items were found away from the transversal of gravity." At best, this is a poor way of rephrasing a sentence.

In my view, these kinds of sources should be provided at the end of the book, with the relevant portions provided to the reader in the text of the book. Where the book fails, the storytelling suceeds. The recount of the actual tragedy itself is well told and will keep you on the edge of your seat.

What is suprisingly missing is a recount of the events on the Agressor boat. Readers hoping to see how the Aggressor and it's crew handled the event will be left, at least somewhat, dissapointed. Though there are a few moments where the Aggressor is discussed, it's not clear whether the Agressor was closer to shelter than the Wave Dancer, left for shore at the same time and just "beat" the Agressor there or if the Wave Dancer stalled in finding safety relative to other boats.

Sadly, there is also suprisingly little discussion of the IMMARBE report - which actually contains a lot of detail that seems to have been missed in the book - some of which seems pretty important. The book implied that the captain may have never actually spoke Charles Vernon in Belize about the decision to run to Big Creek rather than Belize City, but Charles Vernon corroborated this story. The IMMARBE report also states that the Wave Dancer tied 12 to 14 lines down, but the book claims it was less than half this figure. There is also no mention of the claim that the passengers of the Wave Dancer heard Captain Martin and Wouters arguing about the hurricane before they had even set in for Big Creek. The book also says that the boats were 20 to 30ft apart on the dock. Members of the Miss Gayle boat said the distance was more like 6ft. Mary Lou said the distance was 3ft. Obviously, we will never know, but at least mention the discrepancy in the book.

In short, its a good read, but could use a little work.

I would like to congratulate and thank Joe Burnworth for a thorough and candid account of a tragic event. Everyone who blindly trusts the safety practices of someone in an authority position should read this book. Everyone who cares about risk management should read this book. The author does an exceptional job of describing this horrible situation and explaining all the details - taking you there personally in a way that allows you to "live" this disaster first hand. This is a remarkable job for a first time author. When I received my copy of this book in the mail, I trembled with trepidation about reading it. You see, my cousin's husband, Ray Mars, was killed in this tragedy. In many ways, I feared that reading this book was going to make the tragedy too real for me - and it did just that (a credit to the author). The author does a remarkable job of describing the situation thoroughly while setting the context for the tragedy perfectly. I hope this book gets the attention it deserves and that it is widely read by many people. I know I will do my best to recommend it to everyone I know. It is a quick read - and thoroughly engaging while being as clear and instructive as possible.

No Safe Harbor is a true adventure book you simply won't be able to put down. Assembled in Belize for a carefree scuba diving vacation, a group of friends whom you grow to like and admire suddenly find themselves trapped in the path of Hurricane Iris, and as their companions in another boat watch in horror, are swept away by the force of the mighty storm. The book is well written, exciting and suspenseful. The author obviously knows his subject and is able to convey both his love for the sport of diving and his devotion to his diving buddies well. Take No Safe Harbor to the beach with you this summer. But keep your radio tuned to the weather forcasts!
Marilyn Olsen, Bellingham, WA.

Living in Florida one gets to know the ways of a hurricane--Esp. living on the beach and having it come right at you. Joe does a great job keeping you involved in the development of both the storm and the people that will face the storm in a boat of all places. A hurricane is a unique experience and the people that faced this one needed better information than was given to them to protect themselves. A must read for anyone going on an "adventure" vacation--not just a diving experience--because everyone should have the ability to go against bad judgements to keep themselves safe.

This is one of the best books I've ever read. This book is a compelling eyewitness account of the many events that led to the most horrific accident in live-aboard dive history. According to the dictionary, an accident is an unexpected and undesirable event one resulting in damage or harm. It's hard to call this an "accident" given the circumstances. Well researched, this book is a honorable tribute to the people whose lives where abruptly shattered by an egotistic, inexperienced Captain. Much like Krakauer's non-fiction adventure books, No Safe Harbor is an easy read. It can read in less than a day. It was very hard to put down. Joe Burnworth's writing draws the reader into every emotion. You eat, sleep and dive with the characters. This book teaches the reader about recreational diving, atmospheric pressure, absolute pressure, hurricanes, and so much more. The author takes you into the lives of the passengers. If you have ever taken a trip on a live-aboard dive yacht, you are seemingly a passenger. Some of the stories truly made me laugh out loud! There are funny stories about innocent pranks and the passengers were clearly a fun-loving group. I was astounded that such a tragic incident could occur when we know so much about hurricanes. An egotistical, novice boat captain is seemingly responsible for the deaths of 17 people, all of whom were friends and members of the Richmond Dive Club. This tragedy took place onboard Peter Hughes live-aboard dive yacht, the M/V Wave Dancer, less than a month after 9/11. I enjoyed reading this book because it focused more on the lives of the characters than the tragedy itself. I learned a lot from reading this book and I am going to read it again. In 20 years of diving I have always felt invited and safe onboard these yachts. I realize more than ever the value of carrying a weather band radio and an EPIRB with me on every dive trip.

This book is a reminder that if you decide to go out to sea or up in the air, the opportunity for Mother Nature to make you a statistic increases significantly over staying on dry land. The story of the Wave Dancer only serves to remind us that any mistakes, any assumption will once in a while turn out to be deadly.

In retrospect, you can find the mistakes they made, you can establish a policy that says no one stays on board when a hurricane is forecast, but as the people in the path of the tsunami learned, sometime it just isn't enough.

This is the detailed story of the Wave Dancer, told by an eye witness and through interviews with many of the survivors. Beyond that, Mr. Burnworth turned out to be a pretty good writer as well.

This incident didn't kill nearly as many as some others, but that is little consolation to the survivors or relatives. It's a good story, told warmly, and it's true.

Although perhaps overshadowed by the greater tragedy and all the other deaths and destruction that hurricane Iris caused in Belize and other Central American countries, this book gives a personal touch and note to this disaster through the account of a diving vessel many of whose passengers were killed when the boat tore free of it's moorings and flipped over in the harbor, trapping many people below decks. Although this isn't my usual type of reading, it's a thoroughly researched, dramatic, and rivetting account of the tragedy. Using interviews with many of the survivors the author recounts the story of the doomed dive vessel which sank when the 140 mile an hour hurricane struck the harbor. Although the winds only lasted an hour before the storm moved on, 95% of the buildings in the harbor city were destroyed, in addition to the tragedy of the Wave Dancer. A fine book by Mr. Burnworth, who I note is a Vietnam and army vet and who had probably had more than enough excitement in his life already before this happened.

I've been on the boat that is the subject of this book, and the one that has replaced it. The author did a good job of capturing the experience of live aboard dving. Passages vividly recalled my time on both boats.

It was a quick, engrossing read that was for the most part I enjoyed. I did dread turing the page and seeing another page long doubled spaced weather report. I had questions as to HOW this tragedy occured, this book answered all my questions. All in all a worthwhile read for the divers among us...

As a diving aficionado, I remember hearing about the Wavedancer tragedy when it occurred, but never knew the background and details surrounding the event. I stumbled upon this book by accident, bought it on a whim (and based on Theresa Mars's review) and am glad I did.

Joe Burnworth has created a vivid and interesting account of an event that robbed us of so many good people, but the story is faithful to who they were and their lives, although tragically cut short.

It was a page-turner, and one I found almost impossible to put down once I got going. I even held off on another book I had begun reading several weeks earlier because No Safe Harbor was so compelling in its scope.

Although I knew none of the members of the Richmond Diving Club and very little about the events other than what I had seen on the news six years ago, I came away with a much deeper appreciation for what happened and how dangerous and deadly mother nature can be.

Baghdad
10-10-07