RUINING THE FUN

Ketch this! The verdict’s in. “The Sea Will Tell,” and perhaps some readers will too.

Should we keelhaul these guys or just hang them from the yardarm?

Dan Byrne’s review of Vincent Bugliosi’ book (Feb. 17) states Bugliosi is “skillfully aided” by co-author Bruce Henderson in the writing of this best seller. Henderson, who has taught journalism at three California universities, shouldn’t have the word skillfully attached to his name.

How could he aid Bugliosi in writing so poorly? Perhaps some of the blame should also go to their publisher, W. W. Norton, for not better proof-reading the manuscript before it went to print. Along with being poorly written, the book has misspelled words and incorrect information. An example:

“Dropping sail, they proceeded under power through the narrow channel of Hilo’s Radar Bay, glimpsing the varicolored bright blossoms whose riotous profusion gave the island one of its nicknames, the Garden Island.”

NOTE:

--Hilo is on the island of Hawaii. Its most common nickname is Big Island. It is also known as the Orchid or Volcano Island. Kauai is known as the Garden Island.

--Hilo does not have a Radar Bay. The bay is simply Hilo Bay, the major port on the island. The small harbor beyond the main pier and big-ship facility where the Grahams were moored is Radio Bay, not Radar Bay.

--The word whose should be used with a person, not a thing such as blossoms. . . .

As a former resident of Hawaii and a seasoned sailor, I was living in the Ala Wai Yacht Harbor aboard my 61-foot ketch when Walker and Jenkins sailed the Grahams’ boat, Sea Wind, into the harbor and anchored her in the basin off the fuel dock. I witnessed Buck Walker jump ship and escape. I also was there when they apprehended Jennifer Jenkins. I, as did all the yachties in the harbor, followed the case with great interest.

It was with this same interest I read “The Sea Will Tell”. . . . I only wish Bugliosi would have prepared his manuscript as fastidiously as he did his criminal defense. I rest my case!

MARGO KESSLER COOK, NEWPORT BEACH