Captain Zero a story of friendship, travel, a search for something more

June 13, 2012

It seems we human beings are always searching for something. Be it something spiritual, like enlightenment, faith or the meaning of life, or perhaps for our place in the sun, kicks, or that certain someone bound to give us true love or a stronger feeling of inner peace, we seem to be searching an awful lot. We might find ourselves searching for the ideal fishing hole, a new car, the car keys, some other mundane material item like wax paper to bake cookies on or a new hat for the beach. It is this incessant hunting about for things, feelings, and meaning that seems to drive the human race. Ask yourself what you are searching for, or have recently searched for; I’m sure there is something. It is possible that we have what we need already, but just do not recognize it as such.

Today’s book is an adventure story entitled In Search of Captain Zero by Allan C. Weisbecker, published by Penguin Putnam Inc. Mr. Weisbecker is a surfer from Montauk, New York who makes his living as a photojournalist and writer documenting the surfing lifestyle all around the globe. He wrote this book in 2001 about an adventure he went on in 1996. He had a friend from back in the days of his youth that had vanished from the face of the earth, and he decided to go find this friend. He had last heard that his friend Christopher, also known as Captain Zero, had gone into the wilds of Central America in search of something, or getting away from something here in the United States.

Captain Zero was an avid surfer, and Mr. Weisbecker thought he would be encamped at some fine surf break living the surfer’s dream life. The author traveled by van through seven countries, surfing along the way, asking local people if they had seen or heard about his friend, Captain Zero. Clues were thin, and veiled in mystery throughout. The journey lasted over two years. The book’s story gives great insight into the people the author meets along the way, and gives the reader a real sense of life in the many coastal towns the author visits. The feeling that you are in the van with the author, experiencing first-hand this search for a long lost friend, is thick throughout.

Allan Weisbecker weaves wild stories from his somewhat sordid past into the plot of the book. The writing style is easy-going, funny and sometimes heart-gripping all at once. He has lived the life of a modern day pirate and that particular lifestyle is a driving force in this book. He is fearless and extremely motivated to find his friend. You get a sense that he has some dark inner situations going on inside, and that the search for Captain Zero is also a search for something inside himself. You get a lot of insight into human nature, emotions and the forces that drive people to do what they do in this story.

In Search of Captain Zero is something to be considered this summer as you lounge on the beach watching the surfers catch a wave, or after going out there and doing that yourself. Allan Weisbecker has written a surfer’s version of the famous beat writer Jack Kerouac’s On the Road, and it truly is a great adventure story flavored with some deeply emotional soul searching.

Allan Weisbecker’s writing and photography have appeared in Surfer, The Surfer’s Journal, Men’s Journal, Smithsonian, American Photo, Surfing, and Sailing.He also wrote Cosmic Banditos.If you find yourself searching for some thought provoking and entertaining reading, you can find In Search of Captain Zero online or in your favorite book store. Enjoy and read on!