Author and historian Doreen Armitage interviewed seventeen old-time tugboat captains, engineers and deckhands to assemble this intimate, and often hair-raising, account of life aboard America's BC tugs. Men like Capt. Larry Baese, now in his Seventies, who writes about his five decades on West Coast tugs. And Capt. Cyril Andrews who began his career in tugs in 1929. Among those interviewed is an Englishman, Capt. Adrian Bull, and a Norwegian, Capt. Aage (Buster) Fransvaag. Here are stories about storms, fog, riptides and whirlpools, of emergencies on the water, working with the Coast Guard and fireboats, and retrieving damaged vessels. Moreover, these are stories of camaraderie, comradeship and famous coastal characters, people who shaped this region's maritime history. The wonderful archival photographs and images are from the personal collections of the skippers who contributed to these pages. This is the first paperback reprinting of the original hardback edition. 182pp. 110 b&w photographs. LBK. 280x215mm.