The tang of the sea

Press, 4 November 1978, Page 17

The tang of the sea

Desolation Island. By Patrick O'Brian. Collins. 276 pp. $13.75. Death of a Supertanker. By Antony Trew. Collins. 220 pp. $11.95. Blowdown. By Charles Mac Hardy. Collins. 279 pp. $12.95. (Reviews by Ted Glasgow) The Royal Navy, just before and after the end of the eighteenth century, seems to have become a popular subject for novelists, and publishers’ blurbs have claimed that some of the characters in “Desolation Island” are the equal of C. S. Forester’s Captain Hornblower; some even dare to say his superior. One such contender is Jack Aubrey, in this story captain of H.M.S. Leopard, bound from England to the East Indies by way of Australia. The ship’s surgeon' is an Irishman, Stephen Maturin, a old friend and shipmate of the captain. For the first part of the voyage the Leopard is playing an unusual role for a warship: ferrying convicts to Australia, there to serve their sentences of deportation. Maturin is not only a ship's surgeon. He is also a wily member of the naval intelligence unit. One Of the prisoners being transported is a most attractive woman, suspected, among other things, of being a member of the American intelligence service. Those are some of the elements in this fascinating story, told very competently by a master of his craft. Patrick O’Brian shows an astonishing knowledge of the warships of that era, their rigging, construction and sail plans, and the methods of sailing and fighting them. Captain Aubrey is an exemplary naval officer. He is, perhaps, sometimes foolish on land, but at sea he is superb. His vast knowledge and long experience enable him to meet every emergency. Which is just as well, because the' Leopard gets into some desperate situations. The description of the Leopard’s escape front a superior Dutch warship during a great gale in the roaring forties is a magnificent and compelling piece of writing. Captain Aubrey shows great skill, determination and knowledge in bringing his ship through her predicaments. But in this reviewer’s judgment he is still not the equal of Captain Hornblower. For instance. Hornblower would never have allowed his ship to be holed by an iceberg. No, Hornblower still stands supreme, as a man who has reached the royal yard while his pursuers are still scrambling through the futtock shrouds.

Antony Trew will certainly enhance his reputation as a writer of maritime thrillers with “Death of a Supertanker” — the story of the wreck and total loss of the Ocean Mammoth, a supertanker, or very large crude carrier, (V.L.C.C.). The bottom has dropped out of the tanker market, and the owners of the Ocean Mammoth are hard pressed. When she breaks down and has to be towed to Durban for repairs a valuable cargo goes to a competitor. What are those mysterious meetings in Zurich about? Are the owners really planning to wreck her? It seems possible, but they could hardly have contrived a fog off Cape Agulhas at the right time. And who sabotaged the electronic navigation aids and tore pages out of the log? That Coloured steward who signed on in Durban seemed to be up to no good. And captain? One of the old school. His integrity is unimpeachable and his authority is unchallenged. But his eyesight is failing: he cleverly uses one of the cadets as his eyes; if the impairment is as serious as he fears this may well be his last voyage in command. The first and second officers dislike one another intensely The second has his wife aboard, and the first officer fancies her. She is an attractive piece, and might just sleep around. Her husband suspects her. After the stranding these two officers do some fast buck passing in their efforts to shift the blame. These are some of the strands which Antony Trew has woven into a fascinating story. As an old sailor he writes of the sea and ships with authority and he builds up the tension with masterly touches. The answers come as the story of the loss of the Ocean Mammoth is unfolded before a magisterial inquiry. It provides a dramatic finish to a splendid story. . North Sea oil and the lives of the divers, tool-pushers and others who work on the massive rigs form the background of “Blowdown.” The diving scenes and crises are well described and provide some pages of absorbing reading. Here Mr Mac Hardy appears to be well informed and so writes with authority.

Unfortunately, the story which connects these incidents is ” thin and predictable, and the characters’ conversation is for the most part trite. Attempts to portray tough, driving American oilmen who demand that their deadlines be met, come hell or high water, do not come off; indeed, the impression left is of men of absurd stupidity. Surely in real life they do not behave in such fashion?