Real, Honest Sailing with a Great Lakes Captain

Now in its eight printing, the award-winning “Real, Honest Sailing” is a form of autobiography. Captain Gary W. Schmidt sailed for more than 40 years all over the Great Lakes, most of them as a captain. He was esteemed by his crews – thus the title from a crewman’s take on Captain Schmidt. The book is written by Warren Gerds in the voice of Captain Schmidt based on 30 recorded interviews and conversations. Some of the chapters are stand-alone stories. Altogether, the chapters tell what it takes to helm a freighter that is more than two football fields long and in one trip carries the equivalent of 4 billion pennies. Stories mix with factual details, with scores of photos and drawings to help fill out Captain Schmidt’s special saga.