Hard on the Wind: The True Story of a Boy Who Went to Sea and Came Back a Man (1983)
by Russ Hofvendahl
An autographical story, Hofvendahl graduates from high school in San Francisco and stows away hidden on a four-masted schooner, the William H Smith. Revealing himself on board he asks a sailor what the boat’s next port of call is. He finds out it is headed to Bristol Bay for the cod fishery and will not be returning to San Francisco for months. A little more than Hofvendahl expected, the story of his adventure is full of danger, friendship and historical detail of the Bristol Bay salt cod fishery. The William H Smith was the last sailing ship to participate in the fishery before powerboats took over. The boat sails by many familiar Bristol Bay ports. Due to a slow fishing season, it almost gets iced in the bay and barely gets south through False Pass before the ice sets in.
