No Safe Harbor is featured on Dive News Wire
Author featured in Richmond-Times Dispatch story
"No Safe Harbor" was listed as a "notable pick" in the August BookSense.
http://www.booksense.com/
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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. 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. 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. 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."
--Teresa Mars, wife of Ray Mars
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" A must-read for anyone who gets on any boat-for-hire."
--Bernie Chowdhury, author of The Last Dive
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No Safe Harbor Book Review: Ben Davison, Editor of Undercurrents Magazine
"On October 8, 2001, the biggest tragedy ever hit the sport diving community. Peter Hughes Wave Dancer capsized during Hurricane Iris, killing seventeen divers from the Richmond Virginia Dive club and three local residents. Moored next to the Wave Dancer, the Belize Aggressor, weathered the storm. Aboard the Aggressor was Joe Burnworth, a member of the dive Club. After the tragedy, he spent many months interviewing participants and researching the story, to produce this well written yet chilling account of a tragedy that could have-- and should have -- been prevented.
For many months, the divers aboard had planned their dream vacation aboard a live-aboard dive vessel they presumed was in safe shape and in good hands. When the Wave Dancer leaves Belize City for the barrier reef, a hurricane is brewing at sea. By citing official weather reports, Burnworth details how the storm changes course and builds, how the rookie boat captain Philip Martin dismisses advice from his second captain and ignores local knowledge of the Belizean crew, to continue the cruise. Burnworth knows how to build tension, putting the reader write among his fellow divers on board, blissfully unaware to the threats from the building storm risk. Opportunities arise for the Captain to head to shore, to disembark his passengers, to save his ship, but he dallies too long, his cavalier attitude getting him deeper in trouble. The crew argues, the divers are told not to worry, and eventually the Dancer reaches its last refuge in Big Creek Harbor. Burnworth is at his best describing the fury of the storm and the tragedy itself – the panicking crew, lines ripping from the dock, unsecured heavy equipment sliding across the deck, a 140-mile/hour wind and a 14-foot storm surge ramming the boat, and passengers slammed off walls in the salon. In the dark, the Dancer capsizes, quickly filling with water. People struggle to survive, holding their breaths underwater feeling for a door, an air pocket, anything. Three guests and five crew, including the captain, survived.
There's no end of grief for the families of the dead. The paltry sums dished out from the $5 million dollar insurance policy – which shrinks by more than a million to salvage the Dancer – does little to console the survivors, who can take no further action against a boat operating under a Belize flag.
Saying that such a tragic story is exciting to read seems shameful, but it is an exciting book that builds nearly unbearable tension, even when the outcome is clearly known. Every diver ought to read this book, not just for the story's power, but for the lessons to be learned."
