New York Times bestselling author Randy Wayne White has written more than 40 novels, but he’s best known for his “Doc Ford” series, set on Sanibel Island, Florida. Doc Ford is a biologist with a “certain set of skills” that his bookish appearance belies. White’s latest novel, One Deadly Eye, is set during Hurricane Ian in 2022, and because White hunkered down on Sanibel Island for the blow, he gives a terrifying bird’s-eye view of the destructive force of Ian’s winds, storm surge, and worse, the seedy looters and assassins that wormed their way into the devastated zone. I met up with White at a book signing in Sandman Books in Punta Gorda, Florida, one of his favorite bookshops, on his latest book tour.
Your main character, Doc Ford, is clearly a skilled boater with near-limitless local knowledge. You must certainly be a boater yourself.
I got my Ocean Operator’s Unlimited license in 1974. I worked as a licensed fishing guide in the Sanibel area. Getting a license was hard back then. I had to apply to the US Coast Guard for the privilege of testing. The USCG accepted me, and I had to overnight in the Tampa barracks while taking tests on international rules, inland rules, and safety. It was tough. After a physical, they swore me in as a captain. I’m not positive, but I think there were only two-dozen licensed guides between Estero Island and Captiva backthen. Now, with six-pack licenses, it’s much simpler.
You began guiding in 1974. When did you stop?
My marina was shut down in 1989, and I no longer had a home port. I had boys to raise and feed, and I had to make some money. So I started writing more. It took me 10 years to write something I’d put my own name on. Along the way, I wrote thrillers under a pseudonym. I had a bunch of DNF books and the stuff I sold for groceries—“duck and f-cks,” we’d call them. My big break was when Rolling Stone started Outside magazine. I wrote for them and soon editors from some of the best paying magazines in the country started asking me to contribute.
Did you miss guiding?
I loved my clients. Many would come back annually. I’d watch their children grow from kids to college kids a decade later. I always disliked my peers who spoke poorly about their clients. They come down to have a good time, don’t really have any fishing skills or wouldn’t have hired you, and the guide would get frustrated with them. I adored my clients.
Did you have any bad clients?
In the years I guided, I had only two who should not be allowed to reproduce.
What’s your current boat?
It’s a 25 Dorado with a half-bridge; I really like it. I got the Doc Ford stencils on it.
What is your favorite boat?
I had a number of Shamrocks. Beautiful boats! But God almighty, they run like a John Deere tractor in the rain. The torque on that boat! It’s a true inboard. I could run across almost anything, but if you ran aground, you were aground.
What boat do you wish you still had?
The Maverick 21 Master Angler, Kevlar. A magic boat. I just loved it. I had inshore red lights with night vision and ran Sanibel, Captiva, and Boca Grande islands. I avoided channels like the plague.
What’s your favorite bit of new boating tech that was unavailable when you began in ’74?
The Power-Pole! My God, don’t you wish you had invented that? I also love my automatic-deploying Minn Kota Ulterra trolling motor.
What are you nostalgic about in your career?
Not being a gimp. (White grins wryly, acknowledging his struggles with back surgeries and arthritis.) I miss the time when there were no jet skis. Times when other guides would honor your place, give a wide berth. Then suddenly all these six-packs crowded in, and honor was gone. When my marina closed, I guided off a trailer and boat ramps for a few years. The guidingculture was different. The veteran guides were so good to me. All the guides wanted all the guides’ clients to catch fish. Everybody caught fish. It was fun.
In One Deadly Eye, Doc Ford, your mysteriously skilled, spectacled biologist protagonist, gains access to a futuristic weapon. Are you a techie guy?
I’m very thorough in terms of research, and I have friends who do unusual things, so I have access to some crazy techie stuff. After Ian, we went to the Bell Tower Hotel on US 41—it was like Casablanca. Everybody wanted something. Especially boats. I met this English doctor. He got interested in thermal technology and got patents on this device, which you can put into a Walmart or anywhere, and it can read body temperatures of people walking past. This was done before the pandemic.
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He sounds like an inspiration to you and Doc Ford.
Oh my God, he has won three consecutive Queen’s award, is friends with King Charles, and has won the King’s award. He has done well. He’s shared some about his thermal technology, and another company has sent me some pretty high-end stuff to test. It is like science fiction.
As were some of the weapons in One Deadly Eye. How many people asked if you’re a spy?
It happens all the time, but when agencies start hiring people like me, we’re all in trouble.
