Tropic Squall

"Tropic Squall", a seafarer’s love story: unsettling and all things nautical.

Chief Mate Hogue is a recovering alcoholic in a hurry to leave the threat of matrimony behind. He lashes his destiny to an American-owned tramp called the Ophelia, in the bustling port of Miami, scheduled outbound for the islands. Cora Pratt, a woman longing for a family, is cornered into selling technology to the Iranians.   When Cora boards the Ophelia set on making sure her cargo gets to Haiti, Hogue talks her into a salty tryst to while away the hours, but the seas ahead are not calm and both Cora and Hogue are headed for disaster.

This story will strike the readers with critical force. It isn’t pretty or sweet. It doesn’t have a happy ending. Mr. Cherot’s knowledge of the marine industry, use of shipboard knowledge, acquaintance with dock life as well as atmospherics, is spot on. The author magnifies the adventurous spirit of the Ophelia’s crew, brought together on a rust bucket making way for Haiti. Readers will share the stories of the diverse men living a seafarer’s life. Oftentimes, uncomfortable conditions, defects ignored by ship owners, and tense relationships between the ships’ crew, prevail. The journey through this story is arduous and treacherous. The dialogue is stiff, but there is intrigue and action. What the story will leave behind is a memory and hopefully appreciation, for the men who toil with the sea.

(Warning: this story portrays some wicked truths, and there are scenes of rape and pedophilia.)

Natasza Waters