About the Author

Author and maritime historian Chuck Fowler's lifelong interest in tugboats began as a youth, watching the rugged workboats pass by his family's island beach house. He has avidly pursued maritime activities and history, and is now president of the Puget Sound Maritime Historical Society in Seattle and cofounder of the regional Pacific Northwest Maritime Heritage Council. Coauthor Capt. Mark Freeman was reared on Seattle's Lake Union. The son of legendary Fremont district boat broker and entrepreneur O. H. "Doc" Freeman, Mark charted his own maritime course. He operated his own single-tugboat business at the age of 13, served as a medal-winning U.S. Coast Guardsman, and later became a tugboat captain and successful marine businessman.