Sea Rogue

A true survivor’s tale in spoken words

It has been a decade since Michael Williams collapsed on a beach naked, sunburnt and exhausted after a 10-hour swim from a sinking prawn trawler. He managed to help guide rescuers to his crewmate John “JJ” Jarrett, who was eventually saved after more than 30 hours clinging to a red plastic tub off the coast of Byron Bay in northern New South Wales.

But the boat’s skipper, Alan “Charlie” Picton, was never found.

To mark the 10-year anniversary, Michael Williams has released a book of poetry called Sea Rogue (also the name of the sunken trawler), which tells the story of the tragedy and pays tribute to his crewmates.

“It’s weird, I’ve always kept the story in me, but now that people know what happened they understand a bit more about me and who I am,” Mr Williams said.

“Ten years went like that, and it’s time to tell the story my way and get it out.”

Author: Michael Williams

Paperback: 49 pages

SKU: P76465