Meet maritime lawyer and author of a new book, Against All Odds, Andrew Pike

KLOOF’S Andrew Pike, one of the most senior maritime lawyers in South Africa, has written a book of the Oceaonos rescue, called Againast All Odds.

Andrew Pike, who was part of the legal investigation into the Oceanos’ sinking, recreates the compelling drama and extraordinary heroism of the greatest maritime rescue in South African history.

Jonathan Ball Publishers and Books and Books invite you to the launch of the book on Tuesday, 3 September from 5.30pm at the Kloof unior Primary School. To book your spot, email admin@booksandbooks.co.za.

Meantime, the Highway Mail got to know Andrew a bit better and asked why he wrote the book.

What did you study; what is your profession?
I studied a B.A. and LL.B at Wits. I specialised in maritime law by working in England and Luxembourg for four years, returning to South Africa in 1990. I am now a specialist in maritime, ports and logistics law and head up the Ports, Transport and Logistics sector of the pan-African law firm, Bowmans.

Are you a husband with children? How many?
I am married to Dr Kazalette Kiepiel (aka Dr Kaz, a well-known integrated medicine specialist based in Kloof) and have two adult children, Je?ka who is an actress working in London and Stefan who is a civil engineer based in Durban.  “My children both went to school at Thomas More College and we have lived in Kloof for 25 years,” he said.

What is your connection to the Oceanos?
I was one of the lawyers on the investigation team for the Greek owners of the ship, Epirotiki Line, and their Protection & Indemnity Club (3rd party insurers for the ship).

Have you experienced boat trips?
I have been on two cruises and spent a couple of uncomfortable nights on cargo ships. A lifetime of sea-sickness has made me very circumspect about cruising, although I have to say that cruising on a large ship in the Adriatic two years ago was a sheer joy.

What or who inspired you to write the book?
The inspiration was my own. I have always known a lot about the legal and technical aspects surrounding the sinking, but not a lot about the actual rescue and human aspects. I started asking questions, tracking down survivors and rescuers and then started sharing the story a few years ago. Eventually, it became a story too good not to be told, and I wanted to be the one to tell it from all its different perspectives. I also didn’t want the story to die of old age – there is already a whole generation which knows little to nothing about it.

Was it easier said than done, or did it flow? Did you take a sabbatical, or write before and after work? 
The writing was easy enough, although hard to find the time because of my normal day job. However, I love writing and often use down time in planes and trains to write as my job involves a lot of travel. Tracking down people who were involved, many of whom are spread all over the world, was a challenge and trying to piece all of their stories together was the biggest challenge.

Are any of the characters based on people you know?
The characters are all real people who were involved in one way or another in the ordeal. One or two names were changed to protect reputations.

Did you give yourself a number of words to accomplish each day?
Not really. I googled what was a decent length for a book, discovered that 85 000 words was about right and set out to do that, but without waffling and “padding”. As it turned out, when I was done I was in the right ballpark.

What is the book about?
The OCEANOS was an elderly passenger ship which was on charter to a South African company in 1991, sailing between Durban, the Indian Ocean Islands, and the east and south African coastline. In early August of that year, she sailed from East London in terrible weather. Four hours into her journey she started to take water in her engine room and then began to sink (slowly, thankfully). About 360 passengers were launched off the ship in lifeboats, but they then ran out of lifeboats and 221 were left on board to their fate. The Mayday signal was sent out and the Air Force and Navy came to the rescue. Working in appealing conditions they evacuated everyone about an hour before the ship sank. The story is told from the perspective of all of the interest groups involved, covering harrowing passenger stories, tales of heroism, of cowardice of some of the senior crew members and a whole lot more.

Did your profession assist in the legalities and or other aspects? 
My profession helped me in my research and investigation. However, the book is written in a very different genre from legal writing: I wanted to tell a good story and not write a history book, so I had to delve around in a different part of my mind to produce a book which was readable, credible, authentic and exciting.

Was it a great feeling when you finished the book – and again when you saw the first copy?
I was thrilled when it was done. I was pleased with the first draft, but the editing and publishing process is huge – eight months of it – and when that was over I really breathed a sigh of relief. I only saw the first copy when I went to a radio interview in Cape Town and the interviewer showed it to me!

Tell us about your touring around the country to promote the book. Is it fun but gruelling?
It has been fascinating, exciting …and gruelling. In this week we have done East London, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town and Johannesburg on consecutive days, with Durban coming up next week. The East London opening launch was amazing: we had over a dozen survivors there, many of whom are still traumatized 28 years later. I had not interviewed any of them, so I
learnt a whole lot more. I am just about ready for a sequel!

Who designed the cover?
My publishers, Jonathan Ball. The photographs which they used came to me through a friend who had them from the son of a journalist. No one can tell us who the journalist is and we have done flick-flacks to find out so we can credit him. I hope we find out soon. Hopefully he’ll come forward.

Have you written any other books? Are you ready to write another book?
Two other books:
People Risk: A People Based Strategy for Business Success and The Talking Stick: Exploring Life’s Opportunities

Who is your greatest critic among your family and friends?
Definitely me – I’m my greatest critic. My family is nothing but supportive. My wife, Kazalette, gives a lot of support – not critical, but she sees things often that I have not seen.

How do you relax: sports, hobbies?
I was a Springbok rower and Comrades silver medallist in my youth. Nowadays I am an avid amateur photographer, part time mountain biker and I love the bush and ‘Berg.

Any other comments? 
This is an important book – it records a truly great South African story and what a great nation we can be when we all pull together, are for each other and give 100 per cent to the cause.

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