It’s 1981, and Sylvia Taylor has signed on as rookie deckhand on a wallowy 40-foot salmon troller. Looking forward to making money for university, she is determined to master the ins and outs of fishing some of the most dangerous waters in the world: the Graveyard of the Pacific. For four months, she helps navigate the waters off northern Vancouver Island, learning the ways of fisherfolk and the habitat in which they breathe, sleep and survive.
The politics of selling fish, the basics of tying gear, near-death experiences, endless boat troubles, the emotional perils of sharing cramped quarters—all are part of a steep and unforgiving learning curve. Taylor’s story captures the reality of life on a fishboat and documents the end of an era, a time when the fishing industry wasn’t yet marred by unchecked overfishing or hyper-regulation. Her lyrical, simple prose explores the tight-knit relationship of fishers with the west coast’s wild, untamed waters. Her memoir bursts with all the humour and hell, peace and upheaval that is the Pacific Ocean.
Authors
- Control Number Identifier
- CaOOCEL
- Dewey Decimal Classification Number
- 331.4/8238282
- Dewey Decimal Edition Number
- 23
- General Note
- Issued as part of the desLibris books collection
- ISBN
- 9781927051658 9781927051535
- LCCN
- HD6073.F672
- LCCN Item number
- C3 2012eb
- Modifying agency
- CaBNVSL
- Original cataloging agency
- CaOONL
- Physical Description | Extent
- 1 electronic text (207 p.)
- Published in
- Canada
- Publisher or Distributor Number
- CaOOCEL
- Rights
- Access restricted to authorized users and institutions
- System Control Number
- (CaBNVSL)slc00232531 (OCoLC)852803479 (CaOOCEL)446229
- System Details Note
- Mode of access: World Wide Web
- Transcribing agency
- CaOONL
Table of Contents
- Contents 8
- The Legend of Sisiutl 10
- Vancouver Cast-Off 14
- Sointula 22
- Port Hardy 33
- Bull Harbour 45
- First Day Fishing 56
- Un-Dressing Salmon 67
- Gaia’s Whale 76
- Davy Jones’s Locker 83
- Salmon Prince 95
- Indian Candy 104
- The Quick Turnaround 112
- No Atheists at Sea 125
- Winter Harbour 137
- The Great Grey Beast 148
- High-Pressure Fronts 155
- For the Living and the Dead 168
- Home 180
- Epilogue 189
- Afterword 196
- About the Author 209
