Seaworthy: A Swordboat Captain Returns to the Sea

Linda Greenlaw hadn't been bluewater fishing for ten years- not since the events chronicled in the books The Perfect Storm and The Hungry Ocean-but when her lobster traps aren't paying off, her truck is on its last gasp, and the bills are piling up, she decides to take a friend up on his offer and captain a boat for a season of swordfishing. A decade older, and with family responsibilities, she's a different person heading out to sea, but any reluctance is quickly tempered by the magnetic lure of adventure. And the adventures begin almost immediately: The ship turns out to be rusty and ancient, and even with a crew of four Greenlaw is faced with technical challenges. There are the expected complexities of longline fishing and the nuances of reading the weather. Her greatest challenge, however, comes when the boat's lines inadvertently drift into Canadian waters and Greenlaw is thrown in jail.

Capturing the moment-by-moment details of her journey, Greenlaw tells a story about human nature and the nature around us, about learning what can be controlled and when to let fate step in. Seaworthy is a compelling narrative about a person setting her own terms and finding her true self between land and water.

Linda Greenlaw isn’t a woman who shies away from a challenge—a nationally renowned swordfish boat captain made famous in the film The Perfect Storm, Greenlaw is also a bestselling author and a television celebrity. Through hard work and determination, she had created a life of peaceful independence, living on a rugged island off the coast of Maine.

Then came Mariah.

A troubled fifteen-year-old, Mariah arrives on the island to stay with her uncle, an island newcomer and seemingly normal guy. The entire community is rocked when it is revealed that Mariah has suffered terrible abuse at his hands, and the island comes together to rescue the teenager from further harm. Alone and at risk, Mariah needs a guardian and the island residents nominate Linda, who is not exactly the picture of maternal warmth.

A remarkably candid and tenderly funny memoir, Lifesaving Lessons follows this unexpected mother-daughter pair as they navigate their new life together, learning to trust themselves and each other and forge the loving family that neither of them knew they needed.

After the exploits recounted in The Perfect Storm and The Hungry Ocean that made her a sensation, Linda Greenlaw took a ten- year hiatus from blue-water fishing. When an old friend offered her a captaincy on his swordboat, Greenlaw ditched her mounting bills and headed for the sea. Full of adventure and thought-provoking reflection, Seaworthy recounts her return to the beautiful and deadly Grand Banks -from the nuances of reading weather and the complexities of longline fishing to the surprise of landing in jail for crossing into Canadian waters. The result is both a wild ride and a memorable look at one woman's struggle to define her own limits.

Linda Greenlaw, America’s only female swordfish boat captain, was featured in the book and film The Perfect Storm. She has written three New York Times bestselling nonfiction books about life as a commercial fisherman as well as a cookbook and two mysteries.