CAPT. KENT DRESSER ยท AUTHOR
SALTWATER COWBOYS
Before dawn. After dinner went cold. When the weather turned.
Somebody still had to get the boat home.
RHODE ISLAND ยท 1989
I was fifteen when I answered my first calls as a dispatcher. I had a radio, a job to learn, and no idea how much the people on the other end would change my life.
Saltwater Cowboys is my book in progress about the independent men and women who built the marine-assistance trade. Brave, stubborn, generous, difficult. Sometimes a little too salty. They worked where help could be a long way off, and they took care of their own.
These are stories of dangerous work, hard-earned judgment, and the people behind the rescue boats. There is humor here, too. Anyone who spent enough time around our docks would expect nothing less.
MEET THE AUTHOR
A working life on the water
I began at SafeSea as a dispatcher and became a captain and salvage master. Between marine assistance and New York Harbor tugboats, the waterfront gave me plenty to learn and plenty to write about.
I founded Confident Captain in 2003. Today I run the business and write from Bozeman, Montana, where I live with my family. Rhode Island is still very much part of the story.
More stories to come
The book is taking shape. So is this website. Reader updates and speaking information will follow.
