‘Call Me Captain: A Memoir of a Woman at Sea’ by Susan Scott (University of Hawai’i Press, $19.99)
Through her weekly "Ocean Watch" column, marine biologist Susan Scott has introduced Honolulu Star-Advertiser readers to all manner of undersea life, from nudibranchs to minke whales.
In her new book "Call Me Captain: A Memoir of a Woman at Sea," fans get to meet Scott, 66, who reveals details of her private life, including her struggles with menopause and efforts to re-anchor a marriage adrift.
"It was hard to tell on myself but at the same time liberating to write my own story along with the animals’ stories," she wrote in an email from Australia, where she is on a sailing voyage. "Life is hard for all species."
Scott is the author or co-author of six previous books about nature in Hawaii, including "All Stings Considered" and "Exploring Hanauma Bay." Ever the marine biologist, she seeks solace from her troubles in the one thing that has always given her joy the ocean.
She overhauled her and her husband’s neglected 37-foot sailboat, Honu, and in 2005 sailed from Hawaii to Palmyra Atoll, a wildlife refuge about 1,000 miles south of Honolulu, to work as a volunteer biologist.
In the past, her physician husband, Craig, a former competitive sailor, had always taken the helm. But this time, Scott took on the role of skipper, discovering the weight of that responsibility while testing her abilities.
"My most vivid memory of the trip is that first night at sea in the storm," she writes. "I was so scared that I thought if I make it through this night, everything else in life will be easy. And that’s been true. Risking everything and living through it sure puts everything in perspective."
Scott is no stranger to adventure. She climbed to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro and trekked to Mount Everest base camp. She spent her 50th birthday at the base of K2, the second highest peak in the world after Everest.
Her voyage to Palmyra, with a male friend half her age, was particularly empowering for Scott, who continues to sail. To her surprise, she and Craig Thomas fell in love all over again, rediscovering each other via satellite phone.
She went on to sail across the South Pacific twice the first time without her husband and the second time with him.
"Both times were so momentous that I can’t see an end," she writes. "There’s just too much out there to see and do in a boat and it’s too much fun to quit."
Fans of "Ocean Watch" will not be disappointed, as Scott writes about swimming with manta rays, kayaking with sharks and sailing with whales and dolphins, sharing how they guided her through the journey of a lifetime. She says she hopes others will be inspired by her exploration of the sea and life after 50.
"In this battle with aging, ‘do it anyway’ has become my battle cry," she writes. "I encourage others take it up."
