Writing of this book was made possible by generous support from the British Columbia Arts Council and the Government of British Columbia and from the Canada Council for the Arts.
Many people were involved in the events related in this book or helped in its creation. I would like to extend special thanks to Allan Thackray and William Bullock for encouragement and critical reading of the manuscript for legal and medical aspects, to Charley Brown for sharing his memories of practising medicine with my father, and to my brother and sister, Rod and Sarah, for filling in crucial memory gaps. My wife and navigator, Hatsumi Nakagawa, was always there to remind me what really happened on the boat, and thanks are also owed to our parents and children, for putting up with our being out of touch for months when we should have been closer to a phone. Finally, the Victoria Medical Society Library helped me out with technical references and provided a home for many of my father’s framed photographs.
Friends with boats who in one way or another helped us through many tricky passages include Chris Denny and Karen Platt, Stuart and Anthea Piets, Dave and Nancy Young, Gordon and Bruce Jones, Yoshio and Fumie Asanuma, and Ivan Boyadjov.
For the actual work of writing and production, I want especially to thank David Greer for his unfailing encouragement and endless capacity to read and advise on whatever I write. Amanda Lewis and Shaun Bradley provided critical analysis of earlier drafts and suggestions for revisions, while Emily Schultz and Jen Albert continue to be the best editors a writer could hope for. Jack David of ECW Press did me the honour of believing in this book, while other members of ECW’s amiable, creative, and efficient team, including Rachel Ironstone, Jessica Albert, Laura Pastore, and Amy Smith, made production a real pleasure.