Potluck

by Jack Rudloe

Jack Rudloe is a independent insider on the Gulf Coast of the Florida Panhandle, one of the last great places to get the total assault of Disneyfication. Rudloe is a renowned nature writer, an owner of a marine institute and an effective, longterm fighter for conservation. He had set out to write the first nonfiction book about small family shrimping, a bellweather trade for the region. What he discovered instead prompted him to write his first novel.


Rudloe found that as family fishing is forced into extinction due to greedy realtors, some die-hards refuse to give up their boats and shoreline property and turn instead to making the dangerous "run" to smuggle drugs in a desperate attempt to save their families. What resulted is his amazing tale, which goes like this...
Preston Barfield was an upstanding small-family commercial shrimper whose way of life pressures him into accepting an offer he can't refuse.


When Preston gets a panicked call from his brother-in-law Lupino that his boat is on fire, he turns his shrimp trawler offshore to the rescue, only to find Lupino's burning boat filled with smugglers and marijuana. Hard times and desperation force his hand into adventures that he never imagined.


The "Forgotten Coast" is forgotten no longer in this riveting novel of plain folks on the edge. A major inside story of this culturally rich area is finally told.

274 pages, Paperback

First published March 17, 2003

Reviews

[Jeff Lyon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been a licensed boat captain for 30 years and found Jack Rudloe's characterization of Captain Preston Barfield's love for his boat and the sea spot on. Potluck's portrayal of captains eking out a living in the dying shrimp harvesting business, while desperately trying to support their families and crew members, rings true. It's easy to see why even captains with the best of integrity fall prey to the big money offered in the dope hauling business.

This book will keep the saltiest of sailors on the edge of their seats as Preston battles pirates, thieves, double-crossing dope peddlers, mechanical failures, foul weather, and unfamiliar waters to earn a huge payoff. If you like constant tension in your seafaring adventures, Potluck delivers.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy to read, interesting view of life as shrimpers and drug runners. Factual descriptions of the big bend coastal areas and boating life in general.

[Aldo Schipper · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was an interesting book that read kind of like a book written in a way that made it seem the author wanted it to be made into action movie.

[Chrystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fiction by Jack Rudloe. A good read. Did you know that Randy Wayne White's 'Doc Ford' character was inspired by Jack?