Hard Luck Coast: The Perilous Reefs of Point Montara

California writer John Steinbeck referred to the treacherous strip of shore between Montara and Half Moon Bay as "the hard luck coast." Along this foggy, final approach to San Francisco, vessels were forced to hug the perilous coast, putting them in danger of its rocky outcroppings and unruly seas. From 1851 to 1946, dozens of ships sank in the notorious corridor between Montara and Half Moon Bay. Each shipwreck represents a separate, yet integrated piece of history, linking the reader to the past. Each lighthouse, whether it contains a small lantern or a giant first order Fresnel lens, is a mighty monument to that past. Their beacons are our eyes to the world as it was, attesting to the stories of irreplaceable people, places and times.

JoAnn Semones, Ph.D, boarded her first ship at age three. The voyage, made aboard the military transport vessel E.D. Patrick, left a lasting impression. She has loved sea sagas ever since. Her first book, Shipwrecks, Scalawags, and Scavengers: The Storied Waters of Pigeon Point, was published by Glencannon Press Maritime Books in October 2007. As a consultant with the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary program, she also developed concepts and text for the Pigeon Point Lighthouse Interpretive Center. JoAnn's stories have appeared in a variety of publications, including Mains'l Haul, Professional Mariner, Lighthouse Digest, Anchor Light, La Peninsula, Gold Old Days Magazine, A Light in the Mist and Surviving Magazine, as well as in Stanford University's anthology, Learning to Live Again, and in the Chicken Soup for the Soul international book series.