Cloven Hoof Brewery hosts author Catherine Schmuck for History on Tap
Feb. 16—ASHTABULA — Author Catherine Schmuck shared her stories of life on board cargo ships and Great Lakes freighters Tuesday at Cloven Hoof Brewery.
The presentation was the latest in the monthly Ashtabula Maritime and Surface Transportation Museum's "History on Tap" series.
Schmuck is from Brockville, Ontario. While working at a family-run motel and bar at 18, a man had asked what her plans were for the future.
He told her that there was a shortage of sailors and they are looking for a crew. She agreed to work on the ship and her younger sister joined her. After two weeks, they were shipped out on the Frontenac self-unloader.
During this time, she enjoyed porting at Marquette, Michigan.
Schmuck worked as a cook serving the crews for the majority of her career.
She has worked aboard 19 ships since starting in the early 1980s sailing the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway.
Schmuck was a frequent visitor to the Port of Ashtabula when she worked on the Louis R. Desmarais freighter in the early 1990's.
"I love Ashtabula, because Ashtabula to me was always fun," Schmuck said. "This is how you decide if it's a good port ... how much did it cost by taxi to get into town? Zero. I think the other thing I like is when you're in a port and it also shares pleasure craft. Then you kind of forget you're on the big boat and you can pretend you're on the fun boat. I love the little stores."
At 26 years old, Schmuck was the youngest chief cook on Lake Ontario. She cooked two meals a day for around 30 people. She would plan the menus, do all of the shopping and clean everything up.
You can get her recipes from her cookbook "Ship to Shore Chef."
After 13 years of sailing, Schmuck opened a restaurant called Creperie Catherine in Mont Tremblant, Quebec, Canada.
She had trouble getting funding from banks at first, but the fifth bank gave her the funding because a teller admired her work ethic working long hours aboard ships.
After closing her restaurant, Schmuck returned to sailing. She now has a video blog for her YouTube channel.
Schmuck's book, "Looking Out The Porthole," offers a more in-depth look at her life on the Great Lakes.
