Rob Anderson was a magnet for trouble long before he went to sea at 15. But when he became Captain Rob Anderson, one of the youngest Australian masters ever, it was suddenly his responsibility to keep everything afloat – no easy feat when the seas were unregulated, full of madmen, and more like the Wild West than anything on land.

Whether stashing a headless body in a cargo freezer, dodging pirates in Singapore Straits, losing the deceased before a sea burial, or treating a crew member who had swallowed a pair of knickers, it was all part of the job for Captain Rob.

Visceral, charming and definitely not for the faint of heart, When the Ship Hits the Fan is a treasure trove of hilarious incidents, accidents and seafaring shenanigans from working on every type of ship in every ocean of the world.