Customer Reviews

Lost at Sea

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book is inevitably bound to be missed in all the hoopla attending the release of the film version of Sebastian Junger's "The Perfect Storm." That's a true shame, because Dillon's account of the dangers of commercial fishing in the Bering Sea is not only poignant, but an incisive look into how the loss of human life can bring about public policy changes that will save other lives in the future.

If you read the Junger book, you'll like this one, too. Dillon doesn't quite have the flair for characterization or drama that Junger wields, but he does manager to convey the horrors of a sudden capsizing in the frigid sea, a common event which few fishermen survive. The story focuses on the trawlers Americus and Altair, which disappeared in February, 1983, less than 25 miles off the coast of Unalaska Island in a heavily-traveled sea lane. The ships disappeared in relatively calm water. The capsized hull of Americus was spotted a few days later, but sank in 4,200 feet of water before divers could enter the hull and search for survivors or bodies. Altair was never found, save for some small bits of debris. Fourteen men, most of them under the age of 25, died in the sinkings.

Dillon covers the disaster's awful impact on the dead men's survivors, then moves on to a careful account of the Coast Guard investigation into the disaster. He fairly gives us hints in the narrative leading up to the sinkings that should tip even the most non-mechanically inclined reader to what probably caused the ships' losses. When it becomes clear later on what that cause was, Dillon's little trick allows us to feel the same sense of dawning horror that the ships' owner, a conscientious and decent man, and architect must have felt when they realized what had happened and that it had been preventable.

Finally, Dillon covers the political fall-out of the sinkings, which helped spur Congress to pass the first federal legislation mandating safety precautions on commercial fishing vessels. He tells it straight up -- how the victims' families and the families of other lost fishermen organized to get the law passed, how special interest politics slowed -- and nearly stopped -- its passage and how the persistence of these ordinary citizens and a few legislators finally carried the day.

This is a great book for those who love sea disaster stories. Dillon obviously has a great sympathy for the men who fish the Bering Sea and a keen perception of the brutal environment in which they must work and how dangerous their jobs are. He also does a fine job of documenting how the families left behind in Anacortes, Washington, (the home port of the two lost trawlers) lived with the inevitability that tragedy would find its way to their own doorsteps and dealt with the overwhelming sorrow and loss once it did.

But this book's real value lies in the account it gives of the political machinations required to pass even the simplest safety legislation. Public policy instructors would be well-advised to read this book and consider it for use in their own courses. It's "sausage making" at its most gut-wrenching worst.

After reading the Perfect Storm by S. Junger, I was casting about in the sailing/adventure section and found this gem. I remembered vague readings from the newspapers about the sinking of these ships and that it seemed a really dangerous business, crabbing in the North Bering Sea. Mr. Dillion explains it better than any other article I've read. He puts a human face on those missing fisherman. The book isn't quite as much as a thriller as "Perfect Storm" is but I was hooked and stayed up most of the night to read the first half.

The second half of the book is the formation of public policy and the making of the laws regarding safety at sea. Its a bit dryer but since I voted for some of these politicans I'm glad that they did their job. That aspect of the story wasn't reported very well in the local news. It is interesting but not the page turner that the first half of the book is.

Still whenever I buy King Crab legs in the grocery store I say a prayer for the saftey of the fisherman.

Anyway if you liked the "Perfect Storm", or any of the other disaster at sea books, "Fastnet Force 10" etc., you'll like this one.

Both my sister and I read this book. We're glad we didn't have it to read years ago, since we would have been even more apprehensive of our brother's safety these last sixteen years (his first year fishing north was the year the Americus and Altair capsized). Gratefully, he is alive with all his parts intact, is still is in the comm. fishing business and still goes up to Dutch Harbor each year, but at least safety standards are better now, thanks to the work of the persons Mr. Dillon writes about. While the book may not be technically perfect, it is clearly a window on an industry too many are almost unaware of. I would definitely encourage persons to read the book; it's gripping, combining "true-life" adventure, great human loss, detective work and frustrating politics.

If you couldn't get enough of Sebastian Junger's "Perfect Storm," along comes this somewhat less compelling but still very readable account of another fishing trajedy. This one was man made rather than natural, however. Dillion's account of the hazards of fishing off Alaska's wild coastline is the highlight of this book. People who love the sea or enjoy a good adventure should give this story a read.

I won't give Patrick Dillon great praise or criticism. I read the book from the perspective of another ex-commercial fisherman from Anacortes, that also happened to go to high school and play school sports with many of the victims and other subjects of the story. I'm thankful for the details provided, and, contrary to other criticism, I understand Dillon's dismay at the choices made, even though I understand those choices myself. You simply can't understand without being there, and one 45 day trip does not make you a fisherman. Going back again does. If you've ever thought about going up there, or doubted what you've heard from someone who has, you need to read this.

This story is centered around the lives of the 14 men who lost their lives in a tragic and preventable loss in the harsh Bering sea. Being a crabber myself since 1981 the story really hit home a couple of points; mainly the greed the owners and skippers have to make a buck at the expense of crewmembers lives, and because of the problems caused by a majority of the fleet who have the attitude "don't tell me what to do." The book really goes behind the scenes on how a few people on a mission can dramatically change the safety issues virtually non-existent in an entire industry. Patrick Dillion gives a good desciption about working on board these crab boats, but no person can experience what these guys have to do year after year under unbearable conditions, the toll it takes on your family life, and the culture shock many have to go through when they return to reality; hence the expression "the aleutian stare"

This book gave a good image of what it is like up in the Bering Sea fishing to make a living. I was almost going up there as a fishery observor on the boats for a few months, but I didn't go at the last second. Thank goodness, what those people put themselves through is unbelievable. I agree the money is great, but what is happening up there just makes me mad! I can't believe all the deaths, hardships, and difficulties it took just to install some basic laws, rules, and regulations for the fishery business. Whats going on still to this day, why must the government keep this Olympic system for the king crab industry, everyone knows it is far too dangerous. I am a graduate student in marine fisheries and I plan on making a difference up there in the future. The decline of the fisheries is my #1 concern, and it well should be with the fisherman as well, for it is their livelihood that relies upon it. My next concern is the absolute insanity that goes on just to catch some fish, crabs, etc.

On February 14th, 1983 my father was on the Altair when it disappeared. In 1998 my mother and I went to a reading by Patrick Dillon in Anacortes, WA. We had never met him before but he seemed a kind and empathetic man. He gave us a signed copy of his book, the book I'm now reviewing, Lost at Sea. As I mentioned before we never met Mr. Dillon which may explain why it seemed so hard for him to put the hearts and souls into the people this tragedy surrounds onto paper. In fact many of the details of the personal lives of the victims and their family's seemed to have simply been left out or mixed up. I've always wanted to know the full story of my father's disappearance and this book has illuminated many aspects of the accident that I was unaware of. I am very proud of the legislation that was passed, in hopes to save more lives. I can't say that I enjoyed the book simply because I lived it. This book definitely has a place close to my heart.

As a life long resident of Anacortes, I found the book a captivating read, mainly because I knew nearly all of the 14 men who perished. Several times the book brought tears to my eyes as I remembered them and thought of their families that remain here. Although I realize some of the stories were embellished to improve the read...and some are outright "Hollywood" fabrications, still the book gives the reader an idea of how unforgiving fishing in Alaska and in the Berring Sea can be. Overall, the book is heart wrenching. Anacortes has not been the same since the two "A-Boat's" went down.

The first half of the book is fascinating and details well the tragedies that surround the fishing industry. It is less technical than 'A Perfect Storm' and it has a more humanistic quality to it. The second half focuses on the lobbying to change safety legislation in the industry. The book would have been better served if the second half was condensed.