Linda Greenlaw in NH

Linda Greenlaw will be visiting New Hampshire this summer to talk about her newest book, Seaworthy: A Swordboat Captain Returns to the Sea.

• Saturday, June 5, 2010 at 2pm at Barnes & Noble, Portsmouth
• Friday, July 16, 2010 at Gibson's at 7pm
• Saturday, July 17, 2010 at Toadstool Bookshop, Peterborough at 2pm

"

Ripe and one sliver shy of full, the cantaloupe moon shone a flashlight beam along our path as we steamed east through the Gulf of Maine. It was glassy calm, and running lights glowed dimly on the stabilizing birds at the ends of the booms, rounding their edges to appear like jet engines under wings, red on port and green on starboard. This breathless night allowed us to haul the birds out of the water and gain a full knot in speed, as they normally ride below the surface to retard the roll of the boat and they slow us down in the process. The steady drone of the diesel two decks below added a soothing hum to the slow, gentle rocking of mysterious origin. The last of the lime green landmass had crept from the edge of the radar screen as the faded umbrella of city lights closed over our wake. At sea—it’s more a feeling than it is a place. It was this feeling, the state of being at sea, that I hadn’t experienced in ten years. This
sensation is the result of living the total contradiction of burden and freedom.
I am the captain, I thought. The freedom to make all decisions, unquestioned and
without input, was something that I had missed during my sabbatical. To be held
ultimately, although not solely, responsible for the lives and livelihoods of a loyal and capable crew was strangely exhilarating and empowering. But high hopes and expectations were weighty loads. It’s the willingness, and not the ability, to bear that burden that separates captains from their crew." (chapter 3, "Outward Bound")