Sweetwater Sailors

Take a trip on the Great Lakes with Sweetwater Sailors. This entertaining, historical and factual book brings you up close and personal with Great Lakes Merchant Mariners, both men and women, including the only American woman Captain of a large Great Lakes ore carrier.

You'll have a first person perspective on the jobs they perform and what makes them continue working in a potentially dangerous profession, which keeps them away from home most of the year.

Great Lakes merchant sailors provided photographs of their own experiences and collaborated with the author, Bob Ojala by sharing many interesting and funny stories of their years on the Great Lakes.

If you're interested in the history of the Great Lakes, ships of all kinds, and women in atypical careers, will enjoy this book.

The author spent four years in the U.S. Coast Guard, 17 years as a ship Surveyor with the American Bureau of Shipping, nearly 9 years with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and has managed in his own business as a marine consultant for 30 years. Bob is still active in the marine industry.

His father was a Merchant Mariner for 32 years, giving Bob the interest in the Maritime Industry, his hundreds of contacts with sailors, and his respect for their profession.