Nights of Ice
True Stories of Disaster and Survival on Alaska's High Seas
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $16.99
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
Nights of Ice is a critically acclaimed account of the dangerous and harrowing job of fishing off of the treacherous, subzero Alaskan coastline.
Spike Walker has spent more than a decade fishing in the subzero hell of Alaska's coastal waters. This collection--coming on the heels of his classic memoir Working on the Edge--is a testament to the courage of those who brave nature's wrath each fishing season, and to the uncontrolled power of nature herself.. The crewmen in Nights of Ice face a constant onslaught of roaring waves, stories-high swells, and life-stealing ice. Tested by the elements, these seamen battle for their vessels and their lives, on every page evincing a level of courage and a will to live seldom found elsewhere in modern society.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Addicts of true adventure tales will find few more exciting collections than this account of eight battles fought by men and women against the sea off the coast of Alaska between 1980 and 1994. Walker (Working on the Edge) has been a crewman on crab and salmon boats for nine years and knows many of those who survived the ordeals he describes here so vividly. In 1989, according to one account, the temperature fell to -40F and gusts of wind reached 100 mph, blowing anemometers off ships. What lures the men and women into these incredible conditions is money: a successful crabbing voyage of only a month can bring in $10,000 for the lowest-ranking crew member and as much as $60,000 for the owner/captain. But beside these meteorological horrors are stories of great heroism by rescuing sailors and by a Coast Guard helicopter pilot named Jimmy Ng, who played a key role in two of the rescues described here. Less heroic individuals are portrayed as well--the captain who fled to his cabin in the middle of a storm and panicky, inexperienced sailors already sitting in life rafts before the order to abandon ship was given. Maps would have been a valuable addition.
