A kind of salt you can't shake

This book is based on the collected papers of Captain Earl E. Maxfield, Jr., who comes from a long line of mariners: schooner-barge captains, tugboat pilots, even a whaler from New Bedford. They do not call themselves by title; they call themselves "boatmen." Their tales are sometimes harrowing, sometimes tragic, and they bring the reader into an up-close-and-personal experience of what it means to "stand on tiptoe" behind the wheel of a towing tug. (from the back cover)