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 East coast fishing captain finds fame in wake of book
By JERRY HARKAVY
Associated Press Writer
ISLE AU HAUT, Maine (AP) - A no-nonsense fisherman, Linda Greenlaw is not one to fantasize about being pictured in a glossy national magazine. And if she were, Vanity Fair might be her least likely choice. "I always wanted to be in National Fisherman," she allowed.
But it was a photographer and two assistants for Vanity Fair who arrived at her doorstep on this Penobscot Bay island nearly two years ago. The result: a full-page color photo of Greenlaw in orange rubber overalls aboard Mattie Belle, her lobster boat.
The photo shoot reflects the changes in Greenlaw's life since Sebastian Junger wrote about her in "The Perfect Storm," a best-selling account of how the swordfishing boat Andrea Gail and its crew of six sank without a trace during the Halloween Gale of 1991.
Greenlaw was at the helm of its 100-foot sister boat, the Hannah Boden, which rode out the storm 600 miles to the east.
Junger hailed Greenlaw as one of the best fishing captains on the East Coast, saying swordfish prices plummet when she unloads her catch.
Since then, there have been appearances in TV documentaries and contacts with Hollywood producers working on a screen version of Junger's book.
Greenlaw now has a book of her own, "The Hungry Ocean," an account of a more typical 30-day swordfishing trip to the Grand Banks off Newfoundland, one that has no tragic ending but does not lack for drama. "Two or three lines in `The Perfect Storm' that had my name on them have changed my life more than any number of fish I've caught or any storm I've survived," said Greenlaw.
She dismissed the first publisher to come to her with the idea of writing her own book. But when two more showed up, she figured it was an idea worth pursuing. Junger persuaded her to get an agent, and she signed on with his.
She has been known to entertain fishermen by contrasting their pay practices with those in the publishing world. "Writing a book is great. They give you this thing called an advance. They give you the money before you do the work," she said. "You go fishing, you come in and you might not get paid after you do the work."
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