The U.S. maritime industry hit rock bottom starting in the early 1980's, right around the time the author was graduating from the California Maritime Academy. Even in his yearbook it warned about how bad things were--it was a time of cost cutting, reduced wages, desperate shipping companies and a lack of jobs.

Eventually he made his way out to sea as both an able-bodied seaman and a third mate. He saw first-hand what it was like out there; from the crazy captains to the weary sailors, and from the bad food to the dangerous working conditions.

This book covers it all, and while the ships he sailed on were all scrapped long ago, the stories of the industry and what it took to make it, are remembered. This is his story.