The Hungry Ocean: A Swordboat Captain's Journey

by Linda Greenlaw
The Hungry Ocean: A Swordboat Captain's Journey
published
June 7th 2000 by Hyperion
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binding
Paperback, 288 pages

isbn
0786885416   (isbn13: 9780786885411)

description
The term fisherwoman does not exactly roll trippingly off the tongue, and Linda Greenlaw, the world's only female swordfish boat captain, isn't...more





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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 429)



Art
02/27/08

bookshelves: enjoyablenon-fiction
Read in January, 2008
recommends it for: everyone who loves the water

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 internat...more

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.


Reviewer Meg Westley on Art Tirrell's novel The Secret Ever Keeps: <ahref="http://www.amazon.com/gp/produ...
"Quite simply the best underwater scenes I've ever read." ...less

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Mike
Mike rated it: 2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars
07/12/08

bookshelves: american-studies, boston, group-dynamics
Read in July, 2008
recommended to Mike by: Meisje (& Adam....?)
recommends it for: Cape Anners
I suppose that Linda Greenlaw's account here is sort of like a complementary compendium to books like Sebastian Junger's Perfect Storm.

Unfortunately for The Hungry Ocean, I find his narrative to be far superior to Captain Greenlaw's. I kind of wish it weren't so, and that the two books were more closely comparable.

But I find that they are simply in different leagues.

Nevertheless, Captain Greenlaw has a couple great passages strung throughout her narrative. Some of my fa...more
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Allison
Allison rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
08/12/07

bookshelves: non-fiction
Read in January, 2000
Best feminist book (previously said "novel" in error) ever. Linda doesn't talk about doing a man's job, she has always just gone out and done it. Her monologue on why she is a fisherman and not a fisherwoman sums exactly why I think most feminists are not worth listening to.

"... and shook my head at his use of the word fisherwoman. I hate the term, and can never understand why people think I would be offended by being called a fisherman. I have often been confus...more
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Paul
Paul rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
07/12/08

Read in May, 2008
This book is a slice of life memoir by Linda Greenlaw who, had skippered a 90 long-line swordfish boat with a crew of nine out of Gloucester, Massachusetts.

It is the story of one month-long cruise, with flashbacks and related tales relating to the fishing banks off the eastern U.S. and Canada -- George's Bank, the Grand Banks, etc.

On this cruise, there are crew problems, boat problems, weather problems, problems with finding fish, and problems with other fishing boats. C'est normale, in...more
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Ink Mage
Ink Mage rated it: 1 of 5 stars1 of 5 stars1 of 5 stars1 of 5 stars1 of 5 stars
03/24/08

bookshelves: nautical
Read in January, 2008
The Hungry Ocean gave an interesting glimpse into an unusual lifestyle and the author did a good job of chronicling the every-day lives of fishermen, but that was part of the problem; there was no climax to the story. It seemed as if something would almost happen, but then didn't. Their catch of fish was neither remarkably high nor low; the crew, while surly on occasion, didn't do anything drastic, and there were no unusual dangers.
I plugged through this book until the end was because a...more
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Kellie
Kellie rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
09/26/08

bookshelves: 2007-reads, non-fiction
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...more
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John
John rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
08/02/08

Read in July, 2008
This is definitely worthwhile, but it has its problems. She is a terrible dialogue writer, for one thing, all conversations just sound wrong. It is her first book, and parts are awkwardly written. But the fish stories are pretty good, and it has great little details about working on a fishing boat. The good thing about the book is it isn't all about being a female swordboat captain, it's just about being a swordboat captain. She really gets into details of one trip out to sea. Some of the techni...more
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Suzanne
Suzanne rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
02/08/08

bookshelves: biography, naturalist, sailing, summer-read
This is one grand lady who redefines the definition of that term. Fiercely loyal, courageous, yet feminine, she is not confined to societal expectations of what feminity is. If anyone has spent time in the open ocean on a boat, her achievements are even more impressive.
She wrote a fun book basically because of the attention she received from the novel and film, "The Perfect Storm". Everyone wondered "who is this woman" "Is she for real?" She is indeed.
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Pam
Pam rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
09/23/07

bookshelves: real-lives
Read in September, 2007
One of those books that I would never have read without the friend recommendation. Swordfishing woman? Intriguing. Her account of one full voyage and several snippets of other adventures. She told us how she came to love fishing and it was magical in this aspect. She also shared her profound emptiness at not having family time or time for love. She had to balance this with her love for the sea. She proved to be both strong and vulnerable. Thank you for sharing that piece of yourself.
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Rosa
Rosa rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
01/24/08

Read in January, 2002
I wanted to post a review for this book because I remembered it this morning while thinking of my favorites of all time. This is in the top 10. Linda is an incredible woman-she has an amazingly difficult job/life. The book is an insider's look at how she maintains her crew as captain of a fishing crew. This particular book takes place at the same time as "The Perfect Storm" (which was also a good book).
Such a fascinating life, but not one that I would ever enjoy.
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Chelsea
Chelsea rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
10/03/07

bookshelves: humor, maine, memoir, own
Read in January, 2002
I adore Linda Greenlaw. She spoke at my school during the hype in 2000 over this book, and I handled a book signing she did earlier this year for Slipknot. She's funny, witty, and pretty upfront about things (or, if she's not, she fakes it damn well - both times the crowd loved her), and that comes through in this book.

As captain of her ship, she didn't take shit from anyone. And it made for a great read.
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Lauren
Lauren rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
05/27/08

bookshelves: recommended-nonfiction
Read in May, 2008
Very descriptive and informative, well-written and interesting. No one cared about Linda Greenlaw until after they read (or, more likely, until after they saw) "The Perfect Storm" but she tells her stories in her own voice and they are fascinating -even if you have no interest in swordfishing at all.
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Kristie
Kristie rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
09/20/07

Read in June, 2006
recommends it for: fisherwomen
This is a sister story to The Perfect Storm. Linda Greenlaw is a woman swordfisherman and rubbed elbows with the men who sailed the Andrea Gail. There are meticulous descriptions about fishing and being at sea for long periods of time, which can sometimes be tedious, but it's really interesting, especially since this is a very dangerous occupation that so few women participate in.
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Sharon
Sharon rated it: 1 of 5 stars1 of 5 stars1 of 5 stars1 of 5 stars1 of 5 stars
11/30/07

Read in December, 2006
Overall an interesting account of real-life swordfishing tales, however I felt the writing was painfully slow. No hook (pardon the pun). I think that a real author could have done so much more with this, still sticking to the facts. I didn't feel in the moment and I easily put the book down after just a few pages every night. It took me a while to finish this.
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Seana
Seana rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
08/28/08

This is by the captain of the Hannah Boden, sister ship to the Andrea Gail, which went down in the Perfect Storm. Much quieter story, full of interesting details about swordfish fishing, the month-long journey to find and catch the fish and the race back to port to sell before another boat gets there or the price of swordfish drops.
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Kristen
Kristen rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
12/20/07

Read in December, 2007
This was more interesting than I thought it'd be! It's an extremely detailed account of a commerical swordfishing boat journey told by it's female captain. I learned quite a bit. But I remember liking her book about lobster-trapping better. Maybe because I like to eat lobster (I've never had swordfish, actually).
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Marilyn
Marilyn is currently reading it
07/02/08

bookshelves: currently-reading
Greenlaw tells a good tale of her adventures at sea, but I find myself wondering at times where her editor was. Still, I like her hutzpah and approach to life. I was just in Mass and Maine and have long had New Foundland and Nova Scotia near the top of my travel list.
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Cindy
Cindy rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
02/16/08

Rich & I were cleaning "his" Buick room and came across this book. He had read it a long time ago and then it got buried. It's author is a female fisherman on a swordboat. I enjoyed learning about a "typical" swordfish trip out of Gloucester.
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Becky
Becky rated it: 4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars
07/13/07

Has a copy to sell/swap
I bought this book after I read The Perfect Storm because Linda Greenlaw was out in the same storm and her boat was refered to. It was a fascinating look into the life of a female swordfish fisherman and a quick read and well-written book.
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Kit
Kit rated it: 3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars
03/30/08

Read in March, 2008
Account of one trip, with flashbacks to others, of a captain of a swordfishing boat. I learned a lot about fishing (North Atlantic), the fishing profession, and about the joys and challenges of managing a crew. Interesting book.
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book data (includes all editions)

avg rating (all editions): 3.82 (337 ratings)
avg rating (this edition): 3.75 (327 ratings)
number of reviews: 52







other editions

The Hungry Ocean: A Swordboat Captain's Journey (Mass Market Paperback)
The Hungry Ocean (Audio CD)
The Hungry Ocean: A Swordboat Captain's Journey (Hardcover)









quote

"...anyone who chooses to make fishing his occupation solely for the money is in the wrong business. If no thrill is experienced in catching fish, no satisfaction in going to sea and returning to shore, no pride in exclaiming "I am a fisherman," then a life on the water will be unfulfilling, perhaps even unbearable. Among the unhappy with whom I am acquainted, perhaps the most miserable people are those who fish out of necessity rather than out of a love of the sea and the seafaring life. I have always maintained that when I no longer feel a thrill, satisfaction, and pride from fishing, I will start a new career. (pp. 248-249)" more quotes »