“Grabs hold of you on the first page and won’t let go. Sheldon writes about the temperament and power of the sea as well as anyone I’ve ever read. Adrift was a pleasure to read.” (John Evison, best-selling author of West of Here and Lawn Boy)
“From the first page, Adrift swept me away to an adventure. Anchored in the hands of a great storyteller, the characters come alive on the pages making me care about them, the sea, the future and the past. I read every word. Get on board this truly fine novel!” (Jane Kirkpatrick, best-selling author of All She Left Behind.)
“As a mariner who has spent a bit of time in the Bering Sea, North Pacific Ocean and Northwest Coast of North America I can tell you that Charlie Sheldon captures the essence of the hazards faced by mariners in those waters. His time sailing on large ships provides accuracy that any mariner can envision while reading his works. What I find most engaging is the character development and interaction. Charlie captured not only shipboard human interaction and relationships, but those we witness in everyday life. Adrift is a stand alone sequel to Strong Heart and a very good read. I recommend reading Strong Heart to fully appreciate the back story.” (Steven A. Palmer. Master M/V APL Saipan)
“From descriptions of handling a tug in heavy weather to launching a lifeboat from a burning ship, Charlie Sheldon’s years at sea show through as he recounts life and love, defeat and triumph in this exciting account of a salvage off the west coast of Haida Gwaii. The detailed technical accuracy is equaled by the sensitive descriptions of lives and loves in a small community on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula. All around Adrift is a fine and gripping tale.” (Alan Haig Brown, Canadian author and photographer. Among his books are Fishing for a Living, The Susie A, and The Fraser River)
“Adrift weaves a compelling tale of one ships’ crew having to face an ordeal that all mariners never want to experience. A shipboard fire and subsequent abandoning of their ship turns into an arduous voyage to salvation inside two small, cramped lifeboats in a stormy and unforgiving cold North Pacific. Interspersed with the people ashore who respond to this disaster, this is one compelling novel. Having spent over 40 years working on ships I can honestly say this is very well written mariners tale. It is a definite page-turner.” (Captain Hans W. Amador, Master Mariner)
“As a Merchant Seaman for 44 years, many of them in the brutal, cold Northwest waters and islands, and also a former shipmate of Charlie Sheldon, I can totally relate to this seeming true to life adventure. I’m just glad it didn’t happen to me. A stand alone sequel to Strong Heart, the story flows excitingly from character to character. It is a great, fast paced sea story from the first page to the very last.” (Richard Sanderson, SIU Chief Steward, over 10,000 days at sea.)
Studied at Yale University (American Studies) and the University of Massachusetts (Master’s Degree in Wildlife Biology and Resource Management). Went to sea as a commercial fisherman off New England, fishing for cod, haddock, lobster, red crab, squid, and swordfish. Active in the fight for the 200-mile Fisheries Conservation Zone. Later worked as a consultant for Fishery Management Councils, developing fishery management plans and conducting gear development projects to develop more selective fisheries. Spent 28 years working for seaports (New York, Seattle, and Bellingham) as a project and construction manager and later as an executive. Also worked with Puget Sound Tribes to establish a system whereby tribal fishing could coexist with commercial shipping in Seattle Harbor and Elliot Bay.
Charlie,
Please get in touch. You and I are getting long in the tooth so to speak, and with the passing of my brothers, Tony and Erick, his wife, my mother, father, and Eigil in Norway, only I am left to carry on the Lunde name. My sister has decided I am persona non grata because I divorced my wife and married someone else (who you met!) What else is new. Anyway, I ordered your book and look forward to reading it. The one who will appreciate it also is my step daughter Angelina, 25, who just graduated with a degree in psychology. Elizabeth, from my first marriage, who does talk with me, lives near you in Portland (413-297-2461). She is an attorney in the OR attorney general’s office along with her husband, Andy, and they have a little girl. I am retired, play the guitar a lot, talk to my French Bulldogs a lot, and go to my country house in Bastrop TX every weekend where I read everything in sight and watch the deer wander by the back window. I have ben fighting this alien in the White House with daily missives to the on line Washington Post and New York Times to comment on the arrival of Trumpolini, long lost cousin of Il Duce himself! By the way, would you have a pdf of your father’s memoirs of fighting in WWII in Italy? I would love to read it if possible. I just finished a fabulous biography of Patton by Carlo D’Este “A Genius for War”. I know Billy was at Anzio and other horror places, and that Mark Clark, a sycophant if there ever was one, led that disaster. My father met Patton in Germany, and his descriptions of his pearl handed guns on the hips, girly squeeky voice, and dog still rings.
Peter what is an email address for you?
Charlie,
Will you please send me your US Mail postal address?
Many thanks,
Bob (Robert Michael) Pyle
Hey I just saw this. Mailing address is 2522 North Proctor Street PMB 212 Tacoma WA 98406