In January 1883, Howard Blackburn, a Nova Scotia native fishing out of Gloucester, Mass. and his dory mate Thomas Welsh, a 16-year-old from Grand Bank, Newfoundland, went adrift from their schooner, the Grace L. Fears, while fishing off the Burgeo Banks. Five days after their ordeal began, a barely alive Howard rowed ashore at Little River (now Grey River) on Newfoundland's south coast. Tommy was dead. In Drifting into Doom, best selling author Earl Pilgrim tells a gripping story of tragedy and survival, including the heroic efforts of Aunt Jenny Lushman, Susie Bushney, and all the people of Grey River who did all they could to save Howard's life.
