A relentless nautical drama that would define, or end, men's lives.

The English port city of Hull was home to 'three day millionaires' - trawlermen on brief shore leave. They were spilling cash from record catches. With months out working fierce seas, who knew if the next trip would be their last?

The St Finbarr was set to change all that.

She was built as the perfect trawler, no cost spared. She was the future of the industry. She was on her thirteenth voyage.

The Grand Banks, Christmas Day 1966.

No holiday for the crew. They weren't fishing. They were battling for their lives. Who can survive a fireball at sea? The families of the crew had a cruel wait to find out. Ships hit the fierce seas off Newfoundland to join a two-day rescue mission. From first sparks to gut-wrenching heroics, The Luckiest Thirteen tracks a true story from the far reaches of what fishermen can do.

About the Author
Born in Glasgow's East End, Brian W. Lavery forged a successful career as a journalist before undertaking a first-class joint honours degree (English and Creative Writing) and a PhD in Creative Writing at the University of Hull. His account of Hull's triple trawler disaster, The Headscarf Revolutionaries, brought national attention to previously untold lives of heroism. It has been optioned for film and spawned BBC TV and radio documentaries, song cycles, a poetry collection and has been optioned for film. In August 2020 Dr Lavery received the City of Kingston upon Hull Lord Mayor's Civic Crown Award for preserving his adopted city's heritage. He lectures in creative writing and journalism at the University of Leeds Lifelong Learning Centre, and is features writer for Fishing News and several other publications.

Reviews

"A gripping story, told with eloquence and empathy, displaying again the filmic quality which makes Brian W. Lavery's writing so special." - Alan Johnson, award-winning author of This Boy

"Brian W. Lavery brings a journalist's eye for detail to a superbly realized tale of courage, loss and exceptional bravery. This is an important book, powerful, heart-breaking and triumphant."- David Mark, internationally acclaimed crime writer, Cruel Mercy, Dark Winter, The Zealot's Bones

"With the novelist's eye for drama and the historian's eye for detail, no one writes Hull's recent history like Brian Lavery."- Nick Quantrill, Hull-based crime writer, arts commentator, critic and sports journalist

"Another epic story from Brian W. Lavery - very well told, with some beautifully crafted detail. You really feel like you're there on that sinking, blazing ship -and you can't get off!"- Steve Humphries, documentary filmmaker and historian, Testimony Films, Bristol, UK

"Brian's book is both sad and happy for me - a tribute to the young man I loved and the men he sailed with - a tragedy recalled - but a love story too. I was glad he told our story."- Jill Long-Taylor-Harrison - widowed as teenaged pregnant young mom by the St Finbarr disaster

"Brian W Lavery is the fishermen's clarion." - Retired skipper Ray Hawker, a technical adviser to the author

Book Information
ISBN 9781909954861
Author Brian W. Lavery
Format Paperback
Page Count 256
Imprint Barbican Press
Publisher Barbican Press