In the summer of 1998, onboard a small boat on an immense and unforgiving sea, Michael Dwyer sails, with seven other crewmen, to Labrador on a turbot fishing expedition. Sea of Heartbreak is a personal account of his experience aboard the Styx, a 65-foot steel trawler, as it makes its way to the highly competitive fishing grounds. Along the way, Dwyer is filled with wonder at the beauty and serenity of being at sea. He observes spectacular sunsets, the dazzling northern lights and majestic icebergs in soft hues of green and blue. The only sound to break the silence is the hypnotic, assuring purr of the main engine. As he soon finds out, however, this sense of security and tranquility is fleeting.
Not only must the Styx navigate its way through the hazards of "Iceberg Alley," but Dwyer must also fight an inner battle as he constantly witnesses the abhorrent waste in the fishing industry. The nets haul in more "garbage" than turbot, and the collector boat rejects most of the turbot that is caught.
Sea of Heartbreak is a vivid and disturbing account of one man's experience of Newfoundland's offshore fishery.
