"Mother, mother ocean, I have heard you call. Wanted to sail upon your waters since I was three feet tall. You've seen it all, you've seen it all." Jimmy Buffet

Someone once pointed out that Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did only backwards and in high heels. I thought about that while I was reading The Hungry Ocean. Capt. Linda Greenlaw, The Hungry Ocean's author and protagonist, is possibly the world's only female captain of a commercial swordfishing boat. Commercial swordfishing is such a stressful, dangerous and exhausting job that few men have the strength, intelligence and endurance to truly excel at it. Plus the planning and foresight by a ship's Captain, which is necessary for taking a crew of six out to sea, can be as involved, and nerve-wracking as the preparation for any space shuttle flight. After all, if the captain of a sea vessel makes a mistake that causes the ship to sink and the crew to drown they'll be just as dead as if they'd died in the vacuum of space. But Capt. Greenlaw not only holds her own she excels enough to justify her "sitting at the pointy end of the boat." as she jokingly refers to being Captain.

I only had two complaints with The Hungry Ocean. First I would have enjoyed hearing more about Capt. Greenlaw's sea adventures and wished the book had been longer. Second, the more technical aspects of swordfishing were hard for someone who knows nothing about fishing or sailing, such as myself, to really understand. It was obvious Capt. Greenlaw tried to simplify some of her descriptions, such as that of the fishing gear, but she is so intimately familiar with commercial swordfishing that even when she tried she still didn't break it down enough for an ignorant landlubber such as myself. However, while the more technical aspects of her work may still be a mystery to me her description of the day to day activity involved in swordfishing opened my eyes on a subject that I had previously thought was fairly straightforward. In my ignorance I thought little more was involved to commercial swordfishing then going out to sea, catching the swordfish, tossing it into the hold and throwing a little ice on it. Yeah, right. But how do you figure out where the swords are? What happens when sharks get caught in your nets instead of the fish you want? With dozens of other ships all trying to earn their living fishing the same waters as yourself who decides who gets to fish what area? And where do you even get enough ice out at sea to throw on several **tons** of fish?

Much of these questions are answered during the tour Capt. Greenlaw gives of her ship the Hannah Boden of whom, like any good Captain, she's obviously proud. Capt. Greenlaw is also proud of her crew and their description, along with the descriptions of other crews she has served with, are another area in which her book shines like sunlight off the sea. Add to that the chapters, which she calls "Mug Ups", in which she describes some of the traditions and superstitions of life on the sea are often humorous and always interesting.

With a love that comes across in waves Capt. Greenlaw conveys the humor, anger, joy and fear that can come from making the ocean a central part of your life. Sailors everywhere, from Capt. Cook to Popeye the Sailor Man should be proud to have her among their ranks.


Average Grade: A

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