The term fisherwoman does not exactly roll trippingly off the tongue, and Linda Greenlaw, the world's only female swordfish boat captain, isn't flattered when people insist on calling her one. "I am a woman. I am a fisherman... I am not a fisherwoman, fisherlady, or fishergirl. If anything else, I am a thirty-seven-year-old tomboy. It's a word I have never outgrown." Greenlaw also happens to be one of the most successful fishermen in the Grand Banks commercial fleet, though until the publication of Sebastian Junger's The Perfect Storm, "nobody cared." Greenlaw's boat, the Hannah Boden, was the sister ship to the doomed Andrea Gail, which disappeared in the mother of all storms in 1991 and became the focus of Junger's book. The Hungry Ocean, Greenlaw's account of a monthlong swordfishing trip over 1,000 nautical miles out to sea, tells the story of what happens when things go right--proving, in the process, that every successful voyage is a study in narrowly averted disaster.

There is the weather, the constant danger of mechanical failure, the perils of controlling five sleep-, women-, and booze-deprived young fishermen in close quarters, not to mention the threat of a bad fishing run: "If we don't catch fish, we don't get paid, period. In short, there is no labor union." Greenlaw's straightforward, uncluttered prose underscores the qualities that make her a good captain, regardless of gender: fairness, physical and mental endurance, obsessive attention to detail. But, ultimately, Greenlaw proves that the love of fishing--in all of its grueling, isolating, suspenseful glory--is a matter of the heart and blood, not the mind. "I knew that the ocean had stories to tell me, all I needed to do was listen." --Svenja Soldovieri


From Publishers Weekly
Greenlaw, captain of a commercial swordfishing boat, tells a new brand of salty tale. She is a woman who has succeeded in a codified and clannish man's vocation, and her take on life at sea is clear-eyed and fresh as she relates the day-to-day facts of a single voyage. Reading her diarylike entries, she sounds straightforward and realAwithout suffering the flatness of tone that often afflicts nonprofessional performers. She starts on sailing day, telling how her boat is prepared, then introduces her five-man crew as they arrive shipsideAwith telltale pounding hangovers. Then she gets into the dynamic of the job, what it means to spend 30 days in a 100-ft. space, working long hours. With the crew, naturally, come "crew problems": sickness, conflicts, insubordination. Here, Greenlaw shines, giving a wonderful sense of what she calls "the etiquette" of her work. Greenlaw proves that it doesn't take life-and-death conflict to make sea adventure compelling; what sets her world apart is spelled out in the details, as she succinctly depicts her singular way of life. Thanks to the intimacy afforded by the spoken-word medium, listeners will feel as if they're right alongside the captain on her journey. Based on the 1999 Little, Brown hardcover. (July) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From School Library Journal
YA-The story of a woman who attended college, worked on fishing ships, and became a fishing captain. Greenlaw's name came to national attention a few years ago in Sebastian Junger's The Perfect Storm (Knopf, 1997) when her vessel's sister ship capsized, losing all its crew. Here, readers accompany the captain and her five-man crew as they travel in calmer weather on the Hannah Boden from their home port of Gloucester, MA, to catch swordfish on the Grand Banks of the North Atlantic. The readable, straightforward account of the trip reveals the day-to-day regularity of steaming to the site, preparing, setting, and hauling in the four-mile long fishing line, followed by cleaning and icing the catch. This routine allows for about four hours of sleep per day and continues for two to three weeks. It's a demanding job and the necessary precision of tasks handled by the crew is astonishing. Interspersed throughout the book are chapters entitled "Mug-Up," which provide folkloric background about ships and fishing superstitions. A fascinating look at an unusual career.Pam Spencer, Young Adult Literature Specialist, Virginia Beach, VA Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
In The Perfect Storm, Sebastian Junger described Greenlaw as "one of the best sea captains, period, on the East Coast." As captain of the Hannah Boden, sister ship to the Andrea Gail, Greenlaw's experiences suddenly seemed interesting to the public who devoured Junger's book. The Hungry Ocean is her account of a month-long swordfishing trip to the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. She chose this trip mainly because of the crew: five very hardworking yet individual men who typify offshore fishermen. Greenlaw defines being a successful captain as the management of the crew, the boat, and the fish. The crew must be kept focused; the boat must remain operational; and you need to catch enough fish to make the trip worthwhile. She intersperses the daily grind with interesting stories from other trips to provide technical details, to reveal her philosophies, and to give her audience a clearer idea of what it's like to be probably the world's only female swordship captain. Greenlaw's voice takes some getting used to, both from its lack of timbre to match her deeds and from the unsettling fact that a woman is recounting what seems like a man's story. An absolutely riveting book, this is highly recommended for all public libraries and any academic or special library that collects tales of the sea.-Gloria Maxwell, Penn Valley Community Coll., Kansas City, MO Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


The New York Times Book Review, Douglas Whynott
...a beautiful book for what it says about the love of the sea--sea fever, Greenlaw calls it. And it is a story of triumph...


From AudioFile
Linda Greenlaw's notoriety as "one of the best sea captains on the East Coast" came through Sebastian Junger's dramatic account in THE PERFECT STORM. Greenlaw's story of life aboard swordfishing boats will interest many listeners. However, just as Greenlaw wasn't the ship's captain on her first voyage, so her first efforts as writer and narrator fall a little short. Her flat voice and unschooled timing demand listen-ers' perseverence. Greenlaw gives reflection and detail in ample proportion of both shipboard routine and adventure. R.F.W. (c) AudioFile, Portland, Maine


From Booklist
Originally profiled in Sebastian Junger's hugely popular The Perfect Storm (1997), Captain Greenlaw pens her account of one memorable fishing trip to the Grand Banks of Newfoundland aboard her ship the Hannah Boden. Greenlaw and crew are in search of a "slammer," one month at sea that hopefully will bring them upwards of 60,000 pounds of very valuable fish. Probably the world's only female swordboat captain, Greenlaw recounts the 20-hour workdays, the frequent equipment breakdowns, and the in-fighting that eventually erupts among her crew. Not surprisingly, her all-male crew includes some macho types, but that's something Greenlaw uses to her advantage; her efforts are always matched or bettered by the men, as "No self-respecting fisherman will allow himself to be outworked by a woman." Exciting and gritty, especially when the big fish are biting and Greenlaw is expertly detailing the dangerous world of deep-ocean fishing. Brian McCombie


From Kirkus Reviews
A precise account of what happens aboard a swordfishing boat on the Grand Banks when it is not being terrorized by a perfect storm, from a captain among the fleet. It was Greenlaw's sister ship, Andrea Gail, that went down in the Halloween storm of 1991, a tragedy recounted by Sebastian Junger in his bestselling book. Here it is Greenlaw's intention to tell the story of a more typical swordfishing trip, how she manages the boat, crew, and fishing during the month they will be together at sea pulling a 40-mile longline. And she does tease from the everyday a fixating description of the fisherman's (``fisherwoman . . . I hate the term'') shipboard day, preparing for and pulling in the harvest, contending with that temperamental nuisance known as the weather, judging bait or her boss (``very pushy and never satisfied''); she makes clear the importance of a good cook: ``times of bad food were also periods of serious crew problems.'' Then there is the simple nature of the work, the hundreds of hours of arduous physical labor squeezed in a few weeks, under brutal conditions, that you might not get paid for. Greenlaw comes across as a savvy captain with a knack for knowing the mood of both her crew and the weather (and no shrinking violet: ``The meek may inherit the Earth, but they'll never get my piece of the ocean''). Yet there is a spit and polish to her writing that feels distant from the subject, not so much overwritten as manufactured. There is a noticeable lack of sting and fear when things go wrong. Absent as well are doubts or confusions Greenlaw might have understandably entertained about this or that, which undercuts any rawness or immediacy demanded by the retelling of events. Still, this is a welcome flip side to the multitude of hellzapoppin' peril-at-sea stories, a world apart in its rhythms but often as not just as riveting. (photos, not seen) (Author tour) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.


Book Description
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


Download Description
In his number one bestseller, The Perfect Storm, Sebastian Junger describes Linda Greenlaw as ;one of the best sea captains, period, on the East Coast. Now Greenlaw tells her own riveting story of a thirty-day swordfishing voyage aboard one of the best-outfitted boats on the East Coast, complete with danger, humor, and characters so colorful they seem to have been ripped from the pages of Moby Dick. During the voyage Greenlaw must contend with savage weather, equipment failure, too few fish, and too many sharks;not to mention the routinely backbreaking work of operating a fishing boat in a state of mind-numbing exhaustion after working ten twenty-one hour days in a row. With a true fisherman's gift for spinning a yarn and a voice that's wry, honest, and all her own, Greenlaw brings readers right on deck with her and her crew, re-creating the experience of going for the big haul against awesome odds.


About the Author
One of few women involved in the commercial fishing industry, Linda Greenlaw is perhaps the only female ever to captain a swordfishing boat, working the waters east of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. Although Linda has been fishing commercially for over 18 years, she has only recently gained notoriety for her part in The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger, in which Junger describes her as "one of the best sea captains, period, on the East Coast." Starting out as a cook and deckhand aboard a swordboat during her summer breaks from college, Linda worked her way into the captain's chair by 1986. Linda has skippered boats from Newfoundland to Brazil and has enjoyed a number of fisheries, including harpooning and longlining for swordfish, dragging for squid, tub-trawling for halibut, and trapping lobster and crab. Presently, Linda works her own boat inshore, lobstering the water surrounding her home on Isle au Haut, a small island off the coast of Maine. Linda Greenlaw was raised and educated in Maine. She graduated from Colby College in 1983 where she majored in English. The Hungry Ocean is her first book.

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
When Sebastian Junger tried to interview Linda Greenlaw for his bestselling book The Perfect Storm, he could never find her. She was always out fishing. He was researching the events that led to the disappearance of the Andrea Gail, a swordfishing boat that went down off the coast of Nova Scotia in October 1991. Six crew members died in the storm.

He heard stories about Greenlaw, who had been a commercial fisherman for 17 years and was rumored to be one of the best swordfishing captains around. Then he saw a woman in work boots strolling along the waterfront in Massachusetts. "She was straight-talking, humble, and seemed utterly in love with what she did," he writes. "In a business that leaves many people hardened and bitter, Linda was a wonderful exception."

The Hungry Ocean is Greenlaw's own memoir of one trip as captain of the Hannah Boden, one of the most well outfitted and successful swordfishing boats in the offshore fleet. It was the sister ship to the Andrea Gail, and Greenlaw recounts steaming through the fog one week after the Halloween storm. She and her crew scoured the gray water for a raft that might have kept the six men alive. All they found was a plastic drum with the ship's initials, which was not what they were hoping for.

Offshore fishing is one of the most dangerous jobs around, even when the weather does cooperate. The Hungry Ocean is a no-nonsense account of what it takes to bring back a ship with its hold full of 50,000 pounds of swordfish -- from the backbreaking process of hauling in lines to deftly navigating racial tensions among crew members. Greenlaw may be the only female swordfishing captain in the world, but she never considered her gender to be particularly relevant when commanding a crew or steering a ship.

She discovered her hunger when she was 12 years old on the coast of Maine. She abandoned the woods and bayberry bushes where she had built forts and wandered to the ocean instead. She watched a boy picking lobsters from a trap, listened to the lapping of the sea in a hermit crab shell, and was hooked for life.

At the age when most teenagers dream of tooling around in the family car, she gravitated toward her dad's 40-foot powerboat. She took her first offshore job at the age of 19, working her way through college as a cook. When one of the crew members injured his back, she took his place on deck, where she has remained for nearly two decades.

Greenlaw is at her best describing the minute details, combined with the pure excitement, of catching monster fish. After days of bad weather and temperaments, everyone on the boat knows when the fishing is about to get good. The water temperature breaks just right, the baitfish slap the surface of the water, and spirits rise. The crew is rewarded for 20-hour days and little sleep with every hook that lifts a gleaming, purple-blue swordfish onto the deck.

Greenlaw combines the day-to-day events aboard an offshore boat with stories of past trips. Her challenges include not only life-threatening weather but also drug-addled crew members and other captains moving in on her turf. The Hungry Ocean also hints at some of the things she has given up in her life -- romance, normalcy, and a home base. That's why taking time off from fishing to write a book seemed alluring, she writes in the introduction. But the departure from her true passion proved temporary.

"One year later...I wonder daily if the opportunity to write this book was a blessing or a curse. Writing has proved to be hard work, often painful. I can honestly say that I would rather be fishing." Jennifer Langston

FROM THE PUBLISHER

In The Perfect Storm, Sebastian Junger describes Linda Greenlaw as "one of the best sea captains, period, on the East Coast." Now Greenlaw tells her own riveting story of a thirty-day swordfishing voyage aboard one of the best-outfitted boats on the East Coast, complete with danger, humor, and characters so colorful they seem to have been ripped from the pages of Moby Dick.

The excitement starts immediately, even before Greenlaw and her five-man crew leave the dock--and doesn't stop until the last page. While under way, she must contend with savage weather, equipment failure, too few fish, and too many sharks--not to mention the routinely backbreaking work of operating a fishing boat in a state of mind-numbing exhaustion after working ten 21-hour days in a row.

With a true fisherman's gift for spinning a yarn and a voice that's wry, honest, and all her own, Greenlaw brings readers right on deck with her and her crew, re-creating the experience of going for the big haul against awesome odds. At once a thrilling page-turner and a passionate ode to a fascinating way of life, The Hungry Ocean will captivate lovers of the sea, adventure, and literature alike.

FROM THE CRITICS

Douglas Whynott - New York Times Book Review

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.

Library Journal

Greenlaw is the female skipper of a commercial swordfishing boat and was a primary source of technical detail for Sebastian Junger's best-selling The Perfect Storm (LJ 5/15/97). The Hungry Ocean details a 30-day swordfishing trip from Gloucester to the Grand Banks. Greenlaw describes her boat, equipment, and various electronic gear, including the "temperature bird" that is lowered to measure the temperature at the fishing depth, as well as her technique for finding just the right area to fish. The process of laying out the 40-mile longline, with radio beacons at intervals so that the expensive gear and the catch can be hauled aboard, is also discussed in great detail. Greenlaw also tells of life aboard for her crew, including personality conflicts that invariably subside when the tired and busy crew is occupied with the grueling haul-back of the catch. After all their hard work, there is the gut-wrenching suspense of not knowing what the market price of the catch will be. An exciting and detailed look inside the commercial fishing industry, sure to be popular in public libraries.--John Kenny, San Francisco P.L. Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal

YA-The story of a woman who attended college, worked on fishing ships, and became a fishing captain. Greenlaw's name came to national attention a few years ago in Sebastian Junger's The Perfect Storm (Knopf, 1997) when her vessel's sister ship capsized, losing all its crew. Here, readers accompany the captain and her five-man crew as they travel in calmer weather on the Hannah Boden from their home port of Gloucester, MA, to catch swordfish on the Grand Banks of the North Atlantic. The readable, straightforward account of the trip reveals the day-to-day regularity of steaming to the site, preparing, setting, and hauling in the four-mile long fishing line, followed by cleaning and icing the catch. This routine allows for about four hours of sleep per day and continues for two to three weeks. It's a demanding job and the necessary precision of tasks handled by the crew is astonishing. Interspersed throughout the book are chapters entitled "Mug-Up," which provide folkloric background about ships and fishing superstitions. A fascinating look at an unusual career.-Pam Spencer, Young Adult Literature Specialist, Virginia Beach, VA Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

Douglas Whynott - The New York Times Book Review

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.

Kirkus Reviews

A precise account of what happens aboard a swordfishing boat on the Grand Banks when it is not being terrorized by a perfect storm, from a captain among the fleet.

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

John Casey

A crystal-clear account of fishing the Grand Banks in a modern swordfish boat. Greenlaw is an excellent captain...and an excellent writer. — Author of Spartina

Daniel Hays

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

Sebastian Junger