Description

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Doreen Armitage, author of the bestselling From the Wheelhouse: Tugboaters Tell their own Stories, is back with a fresh collection of salty tales from a varied collection of men who earn their living in, on or beside the sea. A former DFO skipper tells a heartrending story of trying to rescue the crew of a fish boat foundering off the west coast of Vancouver Island in wind so strong it cartwheeled their life raft "across the waves like a tumbleweed." A coastal pilot recounts the horrors of trying to scramble up the sides of towering ships in tossing seas, and a near-death experience after falling into the frigid ocean. A tugboat skipper tells of towing a mountainous bundle of logs--called a Davis raft--from the Queen Charlotte Islands only to have it hit rocks and break apart, scattering enough timber to build a small city. A commercial dive fisherman remembers the time his buddy befriended a big harmless-seeming octopus, who responded by trying to tear his helmet off.

Some of these stories involve momentous events with sinking ships and loss of life, but most simply recount everyday happenings, from the humorous to the strange. Together, they offer a captivating picture of life along BC's working waterfront in all its variety.

About the Author

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Doreen Armitage has lived in the Vancouver/Howe Sound area for 35 years and has spent a great deal of time boating on BC's waterways. Her articles have been published in a variety of magazines including Canadian Geographic, Outdoors Canada, Canadian Heritage and Canadian Living. Her books include Around the Sound: A History of Howe Sound-Whistler and Burrard Inlet: A History which was shortlisted for the 2002 City of Vancouver Book Award.