Eight Stars North

While living and working in Colorado, the author responds to an offer to join the crew of an Alaska fishing vessel. In his journey north he discovers far less and far more than he'd anticipated. Harsh weather and high seas are the norm at sea while other challenges are presented by life on shore.

While living and working in Colorado, the author responds to an offer to join the crew of an Alaska fishing vessel. In his journey north, he discovers far less and far more than he'd anticipated. Harsh weather and high seas are the norm at sea as are the irascible skippers. Other challenges are presented by life on shore. Faced with a dying halibut fishery, the author learns the basics of gold mining during the off-season and "winters" at a remote cabin near Denali Park. His pursuit of fishing work ended none too soon as seven months after his departure, the Exxon Valdez grounded on Bligh Reef.

The author was born and raised in upstate New York, traveling often to the forests of the Adirondack Mountains during his youth. Employed as a mechanic by local motorcycle shops, he pursued pro-am level motorcycle dirt track racing for several years before moving to Colorado. There, he continued working and occasionally racing motorcycles before traveling to Alaska in 1986 to pursue employment as a deck-hand aboard a commercial fishing vessel. There he faced numerous unexpected turns and challenges as well as the expected brutal conditions at sea during his stay in Alaska. Later he pursued a trucking career, driving "over the road" throughout the "lower forty eight" states, driving well in excess of one million miles during his twelve years behind the wheel. He now resides in the Bristol Hills of Western New York.