Over the straits by Ernest Haycox
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"Over the straits by Ernest Haycox" is a sea‑adventure short story written in the early 20th century. It follows a small Alaskan cannery tender battling a violent storm to rush a cargo of perishable red salmon to the cannery, highlighting duty, risk, and quiet courage at sea. The crew of the Star leaves Ketchikan at dusk despite gale warnings because their hold is full of valuable Sockeyes that will soon spoil. Narrator
Hal takes the wheel beside skipper Bob as engineer Al minds the engines, with Ed, Milt, Charlie, and the old cook bracing for the blow. In the straits they fight towering seas, a screaming wind, and the fear of a loose mast stay; the rolling threatens to throw the heavy seine table overboard, and Ed’s attempt to lash it fails in the blackness. The engine coughs, the Morey Light can’t be found, and exhaustion grinds them as they nurse the boat through a night of blind troughs and hammering spray. At dawn they limp into Cannery Inlet, scrape pilings, and dock, their understatement and weary jokes masking the grit that carried them across. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Haycox, Ernest, 1899-1950 |
|---|---|
| Title | Over the straits |
| Original Publication | New York, NY: Street & Smith Corporation, 1923. |
| Series Title | Produced from the January 5, 1923 issue of Sea Stories Magazine. |
| Credits | Roger Frank and Sue Clark |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature |
| Subject | Short stories |
| Subject | Sea stories |
| Subject | Alaska -- Fiction |
| Subject | Seafaring life -- Fiction |
| Subject | Storms -- Fiction |
| Category | Text |
| eBook-No. | 76958 |
| ISBN (HTML) | 979-8-238-76958-5 |
| Release Date | Sep 30, 2025 |
| Copyright | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 378 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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