Book Reviews

I am a little impartial to the book "Inferno at Sea"  by Gretchen Coyle and Deborah Whitcraft since I volunteer at the NJ Maritime Museum and have spent a lot of time in the room dedicated to the SS Morro Castle .  The Morro Castle room has a very large collection of official records, documents, photographs,  newspaper clippings, personal effects of passengers and crew.  I  have also heard all the stories of the creation of this book such as Deb's adventure to Cuba to gather more interviews and pieces to the mystery that surrounds the fatal sinking of the Morro Castle.  In addition, I am acknowledged in this book for providing surveys of the wreck off of the beach.

This book focuses on the human side of the SS Morro Castle disaster, the personal accounts of the passengers and crew.  It is a well written book that honors all those whom died on Sept. 8, 1934, the most tragic New Jersey shipwreck, also known as New Jersey's Titanic.  The book also lays out all the facts and theories that surround the fire that bought the Morro Castle to its demise.  I highly recommend this book!!



One afternoon while volunteering at my favorite NJ Maritime Museum, I spotted "The Hungry Ocean" by Linda Greenlaw. What grabbed my attention was that it was about a female sword fishing Captain and it was also written by her.  This book has nothing to do with wreck diving but, everything to do with spending time and surviving on the Northern Atlantic Ocean.  There is a wealth of  knowledge in this book that can be utilized by anyone whom loves to spend their days, weeks, or months on the ocean.

The Hungry Ocean describes one particular thirty-day commercial swordfishing trip aboard the Hannah Boden from her homeport of Gloucester, Massachusetts to the fishing grounds of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland approximately one thousand miles to the east.  Running  a swordboat is a complicated business.  Preparing a one hundred-foot fishing boat with crew of six for thirty days at sea is the easy part for experienced captains like Linda.  The fifty boxes of groceries doesn't change much each trip, nor do the twelve thousand pounds of squid, three thousand hooks, eight thousand chemical lightsticks and other tackle necessary to rig a forty-mile fishing line.  The challenge is in those things that you forget to buy before the trip and end up being vital to the success of the trip.

Linda writes that "finding a productive piece of water and protecting it from encroachers is absolutely the toughest and most critical part of a swordfish captain's job."   She faces the same problems as any male CEO dealing with cutthroat competitors and employees and partners who don't always share the boss's view.

I learned about the nickname for a fisherman's coffee break, Mug-ups, and most importantly how obtaining a higher education is so vital to everyone even a fishing boat Captain.  Linda Greenlaw obtained her Bachelors degree from Colby College before she became Captain of the Hannah Boden.  While it may not have been evident in the beginning, having this degree paid off in the end when it enabled her the expertise to both be the Captain of a sword fishing boat and to write this book that provided income during her retirement from offshore fishing.  So you never quite know when that higher education will come in handy, of course this is my interpretation, and I am impartial to it since I hold my Master's Degree and will eventually continue on for my PH.D.



I also picked up Shipwrecks and Legends 'Round Cape May from the museum, and I never expected the legends to be written about the wrecks I have actually dove on. This book is an easy read and I found it enjoyable...I particularly like the legends about..the pirates of Cape May which includes Captain Kidd, Blackbeard, and Stede Bonnet. One  chapter in this book entitled "The Wreck of the Billy Diggs" talks about several wrecks found by divers that are then given frivolous names.  The Billy Diggs is also known as the Green Light Blinker because a buoy with a blinking green light was placed on the wreck. I have dove the Green Light Blinker several times in my past... Other wrecks with interesting names, Crybaby Wreck, Junkie, Bell Wreck, China Wreck and $1.50 Wreck that are discussed in the book and how they were named. There are chapters on the Hoodoo Ship (Northern Pacific) and the unbelievable attempt by the Captain to save the crew on the S-5.  At the end of the book is a lists of other wrecks around Cape May.

I do spend a lot of time reading especially in the winter, there's nothing like curling up in front of a roaring fire with a good book.  Currently I am reading Brain Greene, The Fabric of the Cosmos which has absolutely nothing to do with wreck diving but, I am intrigued by it, so be it!




The 2013 Dive Season is just around the corner, and what a year it will be after Hurricane Sandy.  I can't get wait to get out there and see what artifacts were uncovered by the storm, hopefully this year I will find that Dead Eye that I have been searching for...