ExploringMaine.com

One of the most disconcerting stories I've read this summer was about Linda Greenlaw getting arrested in Canadian waters, put into handcuffs and later fined $38,000. The isle au Haut author has been through a perfect storm of bad fortune.

The account I read was written in the Working Waterfront/Inter-Island News, a publication that focuses on the charms and/or realities of island life. But this was no small event for Greenlaw, Colby grad, swordfish boat captain, lobsterwoman and currently a successful author of almost a half-dozen books.

She became a public figure some years ago after the movie "The Perfect Storm" depicted her as a cool and capable skipper who was able to avoid destruction in the killer storm described by Sebastian Junger.

Today she writes about the characters in the lobster trade, the business of her family, but she is still active in swordfishing. Her best-selling books have included "The Hungry Ocean," "All Fishermen are Liars," "The Lobster Chronicles," "Fishermen's Bend," and "Recipes from a Very Small Island."

Last September she was fishing near the Canadian border and was boarded by the Canadian Coast Guard. She had a documentary film crew on board but the Canadian authorities arrested her for fishing in Canadian waters and brought her to St. John's, Newfoundland to answer charges.

She said she didn't know she had crossed the 200-mile limit but the Canadians can be touchy about things nautical. She appeared in court in June and the prosecution asked for a fine of $53,000. So by some lights, a $38,000 fine is a small victory.

Greenlaw is one of those authors who fate somehow finds. Her books are great successes and now she has film crews tagging along to give her further publicity. Here is a photo of Casco Bay, which has its own share of lobster pots yet is well within the 200-mile limit.

Maybe the recent ($38,000) setback will actually produce more publicity for coming Greenlaw projects. She's lobstering as we speak, though, and with a depressed market it will take a lot of pound-and-a-quarters to make up that amount of money. Still, you've heard the old saw, "Any publicity is good publicity as long as they spell my name right."

Note: She says she didn't know she was crossing the 200-mile limit, but the court ruled that she had not applied "due diligence" to determine where she actually was.