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Altered Course - The Passage
An abandoned sailing vessel... A voyage into the unknown... A desperate fight to survive a future that shouldn't be...
When a classic wooden schooner is discovered adrift in the Gulf Stream off St. Augustine, Florida—fully rigged and intact, but with no trace of its origins—young boatbuilder Nathan Kirks is tasked with its survey. Fresh from a Maine apprenticeship and working at the maritime museum, Nathan knows traditional wooden boats, but this 45-footer is a no records, no markings, no owner—just a seaworthy ghost ship with an untraceable past.
When the schooner is accepted for display at a prestigious maritime festival up the coast, Nathan persuades the museum to let him sail her there with two experienced friends. The short coastal passage seems straightforward—until all GPS and radio signals vanish offshore.
Forced to alter course, they make landfall to find marinas abandoned and communities in ruins. Derelict vessels lie alongside collapsed docks, vehicles rust on flat tires, and skeletal remains litter the wreckage. The first survivors they encounter are feral and violent—desperate scavengers who see Nathan's crew as prey. Somehow, the schooner has carried them decades into the future—to a world destroyed by an unknown catastrophe
Hunted by killers who want their vessel and everything aboard it, Nathan and his crew must escape back to open water and uncover the mystery of how they got here—or become victims of a savage future they were never meant to see.
From Scott B. Williams, author of In Times to Come and Feral Nation, comes Altered Course—a gripping new series where time itself is the greatest threat to survival.
When a classic wooden schooner is discovered adrift in the Gulf Stream off St. Augustine, Florida—fully rigged and intact, but with no trace of its origins—young boatbuilder Nathan Kirks is tasked with its survey. Fresh from a Maine apprenticeship and working at the maritime museum, Nathan knows traditional wooden boats, but this 45-footer is a no records, no markings, no owner—just a seaworthy ghost ship with an untraceable past.
When the schooner is accepted for display at a prestigious maritime festival up the coast, Nathan persuades the museum to let him sail her there with two experienced friends. The short coastal passage seems straightforward—until all GPS and radio signals vanish offshore.
Forced to alter course, they make landfall to find marinas abandoned and communities in ruins. Derelict vessels lie alongside collapsed docks, vehicles rust on flat tires, and skeletal remains litter the wreckage. The first survivors they encounter are feral and violent—desperate scavengers who see Nathan's crew as prey. Somehow, the schooner has carried them decades into the future—to a world destroyed by an unknown catastrophe
Hunted by killers who want their vessel and everything aboard it, Nathan and his crew must escape back to open water and uncover the mystery of how they got here—or become victims of a savage future they were never meant to see.
From Scott B. Williams, author of In Times to Come and Feral Nation, comes Altered Course—a gripping new series where time itself is the greatest threat to survival.
286 pages, Paperback
Published October 7, 2025
133 people are currently reading
8 people want to read
About the author
Scott B. Williams
134 books61 followersScott B. Williams has been writing about his adventures for more than twenty-five years. His published work includes dozens of magazine articles and twenty-five books, with more projects currently underway.
His interest in backpacking, sea kayaking and sailing small boats to remote places led him to pursue the wilderness survival skills that he has written about in his popular survival nonfiction books and travel narratives such as On Island Time: Kayaking the Caribbean, an account of a two-year solo kayaking expedition he undertook at age 25.
With the release of The Pulse: A Novel of Surviving the Collapse of the Grid in 2012, Scott moved into writing fiction full time. His post-apocalyptic and action & adventure stories draw heavily on his personal wilderness and ocean experiences to create believable scenarios often set in dire circumstances. To learn more about his upcoming books or to contact Scott, visit his website: www.scottbwilliams.com
His interest in backpacking, sea kayaking and sailing small boats to remote places led him to pursue the wilderness survival skills that he has written about in his popular survival nonfiction books and travel narratives such as On Island Time: Kayaking the Caribbean, an account of a two-year solo kayaking expedition he undertook at age 25.
With the release of The Pulse: A Novel of Surviving the Collapse of the Grid in 2012, Scott moved into writing fiction full time. His post-apocalyptic and action & adventure stories draw heavily on his personal wilderness and ocean experiences to create believable scenarios often set in dire circumstances. To learn more about his upcoming books or to contact Scott, visit his website: www.scottbwilliams.com
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 28, 2025
Good plot
A brand new wood sail boat is found drifting in the Atlantic ocean. A museum curator is asked to check the ship out. He and a few friend sail the boat and discover themselves transported into the future and will want to return to their own timeline. Nice plot
A brand new wood sail boat is found drifting in the Atlantic ocean. A museum curator is asked to check the ship out. He and a few friend sail the boat and discover themselves transported into the future and will want to return to their own timeline. Nice plot
January 30, 2026
Having read the 'In Times to Come' series, I had an idea of what to expect here. Suffice it to say, there are common themes and style of writing of course.
We have a mysterious ancient schooner - found in pristine condition, with zero modern amenities and zero information or crew - found floating around. We then have the naval museum assigned to trying to find out any info about the ship, in this case taking it to a wooden ship fair in a town close by. Our guy Nathan and his two friends, along with the most annoying man called Henry, decide to take it out. The three friend's subterfuge of wanting to take the ship into the ocean versus what Henry wants, which is sticking on the known little waterway - actually leads to them being pushed to the future. The story is quite interesting and has plenty mystery.
The author is meticulous and takes his description of ships very seriously - much to the detriment of readers who have no such knowledge of ships & simply want to read a book. He also has a knack for his books being under 250 pages - this wouldn't be an issue if he didn't go into so much detail in conversations that really can be skipped. This means that the books abruptly ends without much plot lore being revealed. Considering the second book isn't released yet...
We have a mysterious ancient schooner - found in pristine condition, with zero modern amenities and zero information or crew - found floating around. We then have the naval museum assigned to trying to find out any info about the ship, in this case taking it to a wooden ship fair in a town close by. Our guy Nathan and his two friends, along with the most annoying man called Henry, decide to take it out. The three friend's subterfuge of wanting to take the ship into the ocean versus what Henry wants, which is sticking on the known little waterway - actually leads to them being pushed to the future. The story is quite interesting and has plenty mystery.
The author is meticulous and takes his description of ships very seriously - much to the detriment of readers who have no such knowledge of ships & simply want to read a book. He also has a knack for his books being under 250 pages - this wouldn't be an issue if he didn't go into so much detail in conversations that really can be skipped. This means that the books abruptly ends without much plot lore being revealed. Considering the second book isn't released yet...
November 18, 2025
Altered Course – The Passage is a gripping, time-bending adventure full of suspense, maritime mystery, and a chillingly empty world that will keep readers hooked from start to finish.
January 2, 2026
This is only part one of the full story
So I gave it half the number of stars. It probably could be a good story if it were finished.
So I gave it half the number of stars. It probably could be a good story if it were finished.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews