Editorial Reviews:
On February 3, 1983, the men aboard Americus and Altair, two state-of-the-art crabbing vessels, docked in their home port of Anacortes, Washington, prepared to begin a grueling three-month season fishing in the notorious Bering Sea. Eleven days later, on Valentine's Day, the overturned hull of the Americus was found drifting in calm seas, with no record of even a single distress call or trace of its seven-man crew. The Altair vanished altogether. Despite the desperate search that followed, no evidence of the vessel or its crew would ever be found. Fourteen men were lost. And the tragedy would mark the worst disaster in the history of U.S. commercial fishing. With painstaking research and spellbinding prose, acclaimed journalist Patrick Dillon brings to life the men who were lost, the dangers that commercial fishermen face, the haunting memories of the families left behind...and reconstructs the intense investigation that ensued, which for the first time exposed the dangers of an industry that would never again be the same.
In February 1983, two crabbing vessels set out from port in Alaskan waters at the peak of crabbing season. Filled to the brim with crab pots, both ships, the Americus and the Altair, were considered state-of-the-art for the industry: each only a few years old, equipped with thousands of dollars' worth of lifesaving equipment. Neither ship returned to port, and none of their 14 crew members was ever seen again. It was the worst commercial fishing accident in America's history. In Lost at Sea, Patrick Dillon examines how the Americus/Altair disaster is indicative of the problems with American fishing, an industry that annually tops the list of "Most Dangerous Occupations," and what has been done in the tragedy's aftermath. During his research, including a season as a crew member aboard a fishing boat, Dillon encountered a murky sea full of men fiercely opposed to government regulations, an industry that always expects to do business the same way--its own way--and, conversely, an American government that prodded its fishing industry into possibly unsafe practices in order to compete with foreign fishing powers. Dillon interviews dozens of friends, coworkers, and family members of the lost fishermen, and the scenes that describe the small Washington town of Anacortes, which hosted the lost fleet and is almost completely reliant on fishing for livelihood, are touching. In the end, despite years of hearings and probes into the fishing industry, not much has changed, Dillon reports. Every year a certain number of men go out into rough seas, and every year a smaller number of them return home, as the industry remains largely free of regulation. --Tjames Madison
Customer Reviews:
Displaying 1 to 5 of 36 total reviews (Page 1 of 8):
 Close to My Heart
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.  Don't expect a riveting read
In this book, Dillon describes the tragedy that struck an Anacortes, WA based fishing fleet when two of its boats mysteriously sunk on the same day in the Bering Sea. Since so little is known about how the boats sunk, this is not a gripping page turner detailing a heroic survival attempt at sea such as you would find in books by Spike Walker. Instead, the book focuses more on the aftermath and the Coast Guard's inquiry into how the accidents happened. While I found the section on the Coast Guard inquiry interesting, some might find it a little dry. Later in the book, Dillon focuses on efforts in Washington to implement safety regulations on the historically unregulated fishing industry. This section, again, is a little dry, but I found it interesting.
The bottom line is, if you are interested in the fishing industry in general, you will enjoy this book, but don't expect a gripping page-turner like "Perfect Storm" or something like that.  Good reporting; writing needs some help
Early passages were overwritten, hard to follow, and occasionally just clunky. Lots of imprecise phrasing and standard imagery. Prose is full of vague references to an ever-changing "it," which clutters meanings and takes some of the fun out of reading. Looks as if author had lots to report. I appreciate that, as well as the passion to tell the story. But he could have tried harder to write well, given the silly hype on the back cover. I lost interest. What ever happened to understatement?  A Visual tour back to my adolesence
I can still remember standing in a downtown field where McDonalds is now erected mourning the losses of my friends, classmates and fellow Fisherman with half the town of Anacortes. It was almost spooky as I picked this book up and could not stop until I finished it visualizing that day that had become burned into my long term memory. Patrick Dillion depicted the story with a bias view, and helped the reader to understand the highs and lows of commercial crabbing. A Little Book Sick
This book was okay. Since it was a true story it kind of was boring. I understand though, because people's life's arent a 24 hour action story. It was well written though, for a true story. More Customer Reviews:
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