Book Review: The Hungry Ocean: A Swordboat Captain’s Journey by Linda Greenlaw

The Hungry Ocean: A Swordboat Captain’s Journey by Linda Greenlaw is the first-person account of Captain Linda Greenlaw. The book covers her early career fishing in the Newfoundland area of the East Coast up to and including her commanding the fishing vessel Hannah Boden. The sister ship to Andrea Gail, both of these crafts were made infamous by the novel and movie The Perfect Storm. Over the course of the story, Linda interweaves her current fishing expedition with previous voyages to give a full-fledged account of commercial fishing in the Grand Banks area of the North Atlantic. The eccentric cast of characters that make up her current crew range from the even-tempered middle-aged cook to the ornery kid. They represent the caricature of individuals who come across her deck over the course of seasons that she is a captain. These varying personalities clash on the high seas as they struggle to get the fish on board in a timely fashion while battling against fellow fishermen, the elements, owner demands, and port restrictions.

For the reader inexperienced with the vernacular of the commercial fishing lingo, the extensive description of catching and processing of fish can make comprehending these concepts somewhat complex given the industry-heavy tendency of the book. A previous exposure to fishing would likely facilitate the learning process. None the less, the acquisition of specialized language associated with the vocational aspects of the field provides the reader with an education of the fishing community and the art of commercial fishing. These descriptions also give the reader an appreciation for the exhaustive work of Linda and her crew in addition to the others in the industry.

The equipment is the most significant aspect of a fishermen’s success. Leaders are an essential component of this type of angling. A leader is an assembly of metal snap, a length of 300-pound test mono fishing line and a hook. Since driving fish to the craft is the top priority, the fishermen use a variety of tactics to get the fish on the line and the money in their coffers. Furthermore, the fleet utilizes slammer baits. Slammer baits consist of Styrofoam pipe insulation cut into slices and soaked in cod-liver oil. When setting at night a light stick is fastened to a leader, then a hook is strung through the slammer bait and finally, a squid is put on the hook. The specific method allows the slammer bait to float up and down between the hook and light. Distributed along the 40-mile long line the combination bait attracts the swordfish to the area.

Since the gear is so long beeper buoys are necessary. Standing at 3 feet tall and holding an electronic bundle in its base, the buoy receives a radio signal from the radio direction finder (RDF) in the wheelhouse. Each buoy has its own frequency. Connected to the fishing line beeper buoys are set at intervals of approximately every 3 ½ miles. A piece of gear between two beepers is referred to as a “section.” A typical set is 10-12 sections or 35-40 miles.

When fishing, depth and distance are two meaningful measurements that the captain tallies at regular intervals. The first measurement is the fathoms, which constitute the deeps of the ocean. A single fathom is 6 feet. In the case of Hannah Boden and her rival boats, the intended fish is the swordfish. The leaders fished on Grand Banks are 7 fathoms, which gives an indication of how deep the swordfish swim and how far the gear must be set. Distance on the ocean is a further component that the captain and crew monitor over the course of their fishing excursions. Proficiency with the fishing equipment and calculating the correct nautical mileage helps the captain to communicate with fellow skippers, decipher where the fish are and thus the best location to lay the gear and at times communicate with the Coast Guard when needed. A single nautical mile is 1 minute of latitude. Thus, 1 degree of latitude is 60 minutes or 60 miles.

The issues of being a captain are immense from getting the correct gear to relations with the crew while on the fishing grounds. “Crew problems” could refer to a range of issues from seasickness to homesickness. Most often the euphemism elicits descriptions of laziness and personality conflicts. The ability to compensate for the difficulties of the crew and the demands of commercial fishing is a necessary component of the job. As the captain and her crew state throughout the book that is why Linda is "on the pointy end" of the boat, referring to the stern and the position of the wheelhouse where the captain drives the boat.

At times the “crew problems” jeopardize the fishing itself, though. For instance, when Captain Greenlaw allows one of her crew members to use the radio to speak with a fellow crew member on a different fishing vessel, he inadvertently makes the blunder of announcing to the entire fleet how many fish they are catching. Until that point, Captain Greenlaw had been downplaying their actual numbers to keep the competition from imposing of their fishing grounds. The fishing fleet works together interchangeably exchanging information to capture fish when needed, but they must give significance to their own financial considerations for getting as many fish as possible for themselves. Their paychecks depend on how many fish they catch, so they can ill afford mistakes or sharing too much information with their fellow fishermen. When too many in the fleet are in one area the fishing grounds become overrun. When too many fish come into port at one time, the price of fish drops, which likewise creates lighter paychecks for the captains and their crew. In turn loss of profit causes downward pressure from the owners of the boats onto the captains and crew to catch more fish. In some cases, the captain and the watercraft owner are one in the same. In which case the pressure is as high, if not higher because they are directly aware of how much the in fishing is costing them. Every day they spend at sea is another day that the cost of fish goes down. Concurrently, the owner wants the holds to be overflowing. An outstanding paradox in played in the minds of the captain. Many factors go into catching these fish, when to catch them and when to come into port.

The author does an excellent job of bringing the reader along for the ride on Hannah Boden. The reader is an honorary sixth crew member for the duration. The story expands and contracts from the captain’s current excursion to previous fishing tours. The captain presents stories of times when the crew had wonderful catches and others when she had miserable fortune on the seas. She feels lucky for her crew members, despite their flaws, recognizing that all the members of her team have something to contribute in their own unique way. She can use hindsight to recognize those journeys that were not so pleasant to recognize a good crew when she sees it. For instance, at one point one of the crew members is disrespectful to another. When confronted, it becomes apparent that he is behaving poorly because there is not a "green guy" on the fishing vessel, referencing her experienced crew and thus a lack of a low man in the pecking order to harass. She is grateful for her knowledgeable crew while still understanding that there might be a place for a newbie in the fishing world culture for proficient deckhands to pester.

The Hungry Ocean: A Swordboat Captain’s Journey would be an excellent read for anyone who is inquisitive about commercial fishing. Also, the story provides a unique perspective on the commercial fishing world, from the viewpoint of a woman captain. Given that this is a nontraditional role for women, readers intrigued by gender studies would likely find the nonfiction account to be fascinating. The narrative takes the reader through the new days of a deckhand all the way through to the author’s experience as a captain, which is a wild ride wrought with highs and lows, elation and absolute despair. Some details give explicit descriptions of medical procedures done on board, which might make some readers uneasy. Even an account of placing a man in a bait locker when he passes away in his bunk is described. Additionally, the descriptions of the cleaning and processing of fish can be unsettling for those who are faint of heart. Despite these depictions, the book is well written with a fresh voice in the commercial fishing industry. Linda Greenlaw knew from the age of 12 what she wanted to be. She worked her way up the ranks and she is now living her bliss on the sea.