���� Some boats are built to fish.Others are built to survive.
In the summer of 1975, twenty-one-year-old RP Nash had nothing but a sleeping bag, a few dollars, and a reckless hunger for something bigger than small-town life. What he found was Southeast Alaska... and a 1907 wooden fishing boat that probably should have been retired decades earlier. This wasn't just a job. It was survival.
From wild parties and golf-course hustles in Washington State to the unforgiving waters of the North Pacific, Going Fair Wind is a raw, hilarious, and brutally honest memoir of a greenhorn deckhand thrown into the dangerous world of commercial salmon fishing.
Onboard the aging M/V Audrey-rotting hull, failing bilge pumps, and a captain barely more experienced than himself-Nash faces: • Violent storms and twenty-foot seas • Mechanical failures that could mean sinking • Grueling openers where sleep is optional • The constant reality that one mistake could be the last
But beyond the danger lies something deeper.
This is the story of a young man discovering resilience, grit, and leadership the hard way-at sea. The lessons learned on the deck of a leaking fishing boat would later shape his path into business ownership and entrepreneurship.
Told with sharp humor, vivid detail, and zero romanticizing, Going Fair Wind captures: ✔ The wild culture of 1970s Alaska fishing towns ✔ The transformation from reckless youth to responsible captain ✔ The brotherhood of men working brutal jobs ✔ The thin line between adventure and disaster
If you enjoy The Perfect Storm, Deadliest Catch, or true-life maritime adventure stories, this gripping memoir will keep you turning pages. Because sometimes the only way forward... is straight into the storm.
