Hungry Ocean, The: A Swordboat Captain's Journey | Linda Greenlaw

Hungry Ocean, The: A Swordboat Captain's Journey | Linda Greenlaw | Long days, long nights ...

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Hungry Ocean, The:...

	Hungry Ocean, The: A Swordboat Captain's Journey Linda Greenlaw Hyperion, 2000 - 288 pages average customer review:based on 214 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER--NOW AVAILABLE IN PAPERBACK!

Known to millions of readers of The Perfect Storm as the captain of the Hannah Boden, sister ship to the Andrea Gail, Linda Greenlaw is also known as one of the best sea captains on the East Coast. Here she offers an adventure-soaked tale of her own, complete with danger, humor, and characters so colorful they seem to have been ripped from the pages of Moby Dick.

"A beautiful book...a story of triumph, of a woman not only making it but succeeding at the highest level in one of the most male-dominated and most dangerous professions." -- Douglas Whynott,

The New York Times Book Review

"An authentic, insightful account of the intensity of captaining a crew of strong men in an ocean which does what it wants." -- Daniel Hays, co-author of My Old Man and the Sea

"A crystal-clear account of fishing the Grand Banks in a modern swordfish boat. Greenlaw is an excellent captainand an excellent writer." -- John Casey, author of Spartina

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A woman to be admired

Linda Greenlaw captained an American sword boat. By itself, this is an accomplishment worthy of respect. More than that, she became one of the most successful captains in the fleet. And as "The Hungry Ocean" attests, she is also an accomplished writer with a fine eye for detail. I don't say things like this often, but this is a woman who "walks the walk", AND "talks the talk." A woman to be admired.

Forced by international law to fish a thousand miles from their home ports, Americans who go after swordfish need to be tough, self-reliant and resourceful. In their business, things like surface water temperature, thermoclines, currents, and the corners formed by the Gulf Stream currents as they meander, can mean the difference between a morning boatful of worthless sharks and two tons of prime swordfish. Each night, thirty miles of carefully positioned line carrying thousands of baited hooks set to just the right depth are set adrift in the warm waters of the stream - only to be hauled back aboard the next morning, foot by foot, hopefully including a good number of fish.

How did Linda Greenlaw come to captain one of these vessels? As she details life aboard a sword boat, she also describes scenes from her childhood and young adult years - little things that eventually let the reader feel as if we know this woman and wish we were friends.

It's the story of one trip aboard her sword boat that carries the read, however, and in her description of these events she is at her best as a writer. In rich detail, life on the fishing grounds is shown; crew problems, mechanical troubles, the potential pitfalls and snarls. There is no time off. The crew works round the clock for as long as three weeks with hardly a moment to rest.

That's the business of working a sword boat, and it is a fascinating picture indeed. I'd recommend this one to everyone who loves the water.

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Long days, long nights ...

On the advice of a sometime sailer / daily co-worker, I read Sebastian Junger's non-fiction "The Perfect Storm" well before it became famous and a movie and enjoyed it, although I know zilch about commercial fishing. A tragic story.

Linda was mentioned in Junger's book, as a fellow Captain fishing the North Atlantic's Grand Banks and I recently went looking for her book. Very well done, also much different.

While Junger's introduced the reader to the general nature of the business, the weather, and the risks, Linda's focuses on the day-to-day of a trip ... the preparation, the on-board work (a lot!), the crew's interpersonal relationships (complex), the captain's role (challenging in ways you've never thought about), the fish, the ice, the other boats, the fishing strategy (more sophisticated than you expect!), the economics of when to head back, the pay, the owner, etc., etc. Linda's clearly very good at her job. Very readable, thoruoghly enjoyable, if you like nature and the outdoors, or especially the ocean, I think you'd enjoy this one!

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Great Maine writer

I've always heard good things about Ms. Greenlaw's writings. I must admit that this story swept me right in. It does a great describe describing the pressures and personalities that would have to come together in the Grand Bank. Great stuff, looking forward to reading more by this author.

Hungry for more.

After seeing the movie and reading the book, The Perfect Storm, I became very interested in reading more about the captain of the Hannah Boden, (sister ship of the Andrea Gail) Linda Greenlaw. When I found out she was a writer, I immediately jumped on-line to get one of her books. This book is her first. She writes about a specific fishing trip she commanded and all the trials and tribulations of getting a good catch and bringing it home. Although she down plays the fact that she is a female captain of an ocean fishing boat, I think she is amazing. I have become a big fan! Highly recommend this and I can't wait to read more about her.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

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Alex Awards: young adults, ages 12 -18, 1998 - 2001
Best Adventure, Nautical, and Travel Books
Extraordinary women in DEEP WATER.
Good Books I've Read page 4
2000 Alex Awards