HARD ON THE WIND

When Hofvendahl was 15 years old and the Depression gripped the San Francisco waterfront, he managed to walk his way aboard an old-fashioned, four-masted schooner, the William H. Smith, and sailed out beyond the Golden Gate to catch cod in the Bearing Sea. Hofvendahl's memoir captures both the romance and reality of the seafaring life, and constitutes a truly unique coming-of-age tale. Photos.