Interviewing Charles Dougherty, The Story, Part 2 of 3

My interview with Charles Dougherty, author of the Bluewater Thrillers, part 2.

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THE STORY

What is the worst thing you’ve experienced on your boat?

We were three days out of Miami and were finishing a rough trip north up the Gulf  Stream when we entered Beaufort Inlet in North Carolina.  It was 3 a.m., and we were tired.  Offshore passages are a 24-hour per day commitment; there are no rest areas at sea.  My wife and I alternate 4 hour watches, so we get some sleep, but it takes us longer than 3 days to get into the rhythm.  We had been under sail for the entire time until we left the ocean, at which point we dropped the sails and started our auxiliary engine to make our way to an anchorage a few miles north of Beaufort on the Waterway.  Just inside the inlet, our engine died.  That’s not unusual after an extended period in rough weather; all sorts of stuff gets churned up from the bottom of the fuel tank, and the filters clog when you start the engine.

We were still in the ship channel, and Beaufort is a busy place, with lots of commercial traffic even at 3 a.m.  We were in a hurry to get out of the channel to clean the fuel filters, so my wife took the helm and steered us outside the danger area while the boat was still coasting.  I went forward and dropped the anchor, not realizing how fast we were moving, and I got both hands caught in the anchor chain, pinching my fingers between the chain and the roller as 30,000 pounds of boat pulled the chain over them relentlessly.  My first thought was that when we reached the end of the chain and it stopped, it would cut my fingers off.  Before that could happen, I gritted my teeth and fell backwards, pulling my hands free.  My wife still says that’s the only time she’s heard me scream.  I engaged the chain clutch and got the anchor set, thinking that my days of playing classical guitar were finished.

I had several broken fingers, and lost a good deal of flesh.  It took a long time to recover, but I still play classical guitar.

Did/will you use it in a book?

I had not considered it before you asked; maybe I will someday.  Mostly I think of it as a dumb mistake, and I’m thankful that I eventually recovered the full use of my hands.

Which comes first, characters or plot?

I always have a few characters in mind when I start writing a book.  To me, the plot is secondary; it’s a vehicle to show off the characters.

At Amazon

Plotter, pantser, or in between?

I guess I’m in between.  I usually have a loose idea of plot when I start writing, but as the characters develop, they drive the plot.  I think it’s important to keep the characters’ behavior consistent with their personalities as they react to one another and their environment, so the plot has to be flexible.

Which part of the story is usually the most difficult to write?

For me, the transition from exposition to development is always the hardest part.  I usually struggle for days before I figure out that I’m stuck there, and it’s time to get on with the story.  Once I get past that point, everything else falls into place.

Can you quote a favorite line from one of your books?

“I’m hung over and in jail, somewhere in the Caribbean,” he said aloud. “It’s Sunday.  I need water and food.”   From Bluewater Killer.

FINDING CHARLES DOUGHERTY

Website:  www.clrdougherty.com 

Sailing blog about life afloat: http://voyagesoftheplayactor.blogspot.com

Books for Sailors and Dreamers (Non-fiction) : http://www.clrdougherty.com/p/books-for-sailors-dreamers.html

The Bluewater Thrillers : http://www.clrdougherty.com/p/bluewater-thrillers.html

Twitter: @clrdougherty.com

Interview with Charles Dougherty, Part 1 of 3

Where to find the book

My guest this week is Charles Dougherty, author and sailor. I found him an interesting interview. It turned out to be longer than expected, so I've divided it into three parts, to be posted Dec 28, Dec 30, and Jan 1. This one is mostly about life on his boat, but the next two are about his writing. Check back!

GENERAL

How did you decide to live on your boat?

Living on a boat was a dream from my childhood. I grew up around the water and some of my earliest memories are of watching boats come and go. I had been away from boats for several years when my wife and I got married. She had no exposure to boats before she met me, although she liked the outdoors. A few years after we were married, we bought a 30 foot sailboat on Lake Michigan, and she quickly got hooked on sailing. Once she began to talk about living aboard and cruising, my old dream became a possibility. One cold November weekend on the Chesapeake in 1988, she said, “You know, if we’re going to take off and do this full-time someday, maybe we should go ahead and get the boat for it. That’ll give us time to get it fixed up the way we want it and learn its quirks.” Two weeks later, we owned the boat that we still call home. It was our weekend and vacation getaway for 12 years before we were finally ready to cut our ties to the shore.

Do you miss having space to spread out?

No. That’s a reasonable question, but we find living in a small, well-organized space to be pleasant; everything we need and care about is close at hand. Since we sail in warm, pleasant places, we sit out on deck and enjoy the ever-changing scenery, so there’s no sense of being confined. We spent an extended period ashore this summer with my in-laws, who have a very large house with beautiful gardens outside. We felt more closed in there than aboard our boat, and as pretty as it was, the scenery didn’t change. We found ourselves yearning to return to the boat and the islands.

Do you have access to the Internet or do you have to go ashore?

When we’re actually at sea, we don’t have Internet access. We can send email via a ham radio system, but it’s very slow. We use it primarily for obtaining offshore weather forecasts and letting family know we’re all right. Most of the time when we’re in port, it’s possible to get Wifi access on the boat using a long-range Wifi adapter. In some places like St. Martin, where we are now, I’m able to get mobile high speed access on the boat for a reasonable price.

Is there an author you particularly admire or who has influenced/inspired you?

I’ve always been a voracious reader. I usually read a book a day, so that’s a tough question for me to answer. If I look back to my youth, I was a great fan of William Faulkner. Ernest Hemingway and T.E. Lawrence were also favorites of mine back then, and I’m sure there are influences from many others that have made their way into my writing.

WHERE TO FIND CHARLES

Website: www.clrdougherty.com

Sailing blog about life afloat: http://voyagesoftheplayactor.blogspot.com

Books for Sailors and Dreamers (Non-fiction) : http://www.clrdougherty.com/p/books-for-sailors-dreamers.html

The Bluewater Thrillers : http://www.clrdougherty.com/p/bluewater-thrillers.html

Twitter: @clrdougherty.com