Word: clipper
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...NEWPORT, R.I., WHEN SHE was dating Tom Blackaller, a legendary sailor whose boat, Clipper, shared a dock with Ted Turner's Courageous. The adventuresome California blond, who could drive race cars, pilot sailboats and fly airplanes, caught his eye, and that winter Turner invited her to sail with him on the Southern Ocean Racing circuit out of St. Petersburg. Although he did not own an airplane, he hired Ebaugh as a pilot, and she moved to Atlanta in 1981, bringing along a used one she had bought for him. The relationship (and the piloting) lasted until 1986, when she announced...
Follett has assembled quite a quirky cast of characters to inhabit his story. The Clipper list includes: Lord Oxenford, a British fascist fleeing arrest with his family; Carl Hartmann, a distinguished Jewish physicist escaping from the Nazis; Harry Marks, a bold and debonair jewel thief one step ahead of the authorities; Diana Lovesy, a bored and buxom housewife seeking adventure in America; and Tom Luther, a dangerous man with a dark mission (or is it vice versa...
Follett makes less convincing explanations for the coincidences which power the plot than, say, John Le Carre. But once he has contrived to get the characters on board the Clipper, the constricted space and contrasting personalities make for some delightful bonding scenes between the passengers...
...both setting and style, Follett has geared Night Over Water to provide maximum entertainment. Doomed grandeur is always attractive in a book, and placing the action aboard the last flight of a Clipper is an inspired move. Follett's decision to employ multiple points of view also aids the story, especially when the same situation is presented from several perspectives...
Unfortunately, Follett's characters tend to be idealized types or expressions of certain feelings rather than fleshed-out, believable personalities. For example, Eddie Deakin, the Clipper's good-hearted engineer, is introduced thus...