ASTORIA and SEASIDE – In an instant, a routine fishing trip turns deadly and dangerous as the hydraulic trawl net enmeshes and crushes the crewman to death and leaves the skipper dangling upside down with both arms immobile in the midst of a violent Pacific storm.

So begins “The Night Orion Fell,” a new book by Abigail B. Calkin that chronicles a harrowing true sea tragedy and dramatic rescue that took place over the course of 40 hours in 1982 off the coast of Oregon.

Calkin, an educational psychologist, comes from seafaring roots of Nova Scotia, Canada, and the North Atlantic, and now works in remote southeast Alaska. In riveting minute-by-minute detail she recounts the psychological struggles as well as the physical challenges encountered during the freakish accident and its painful aftermath.

The book focuses on commercial fisherman Larry Hills’ two-day ordeal and the heroic efforts of the U.S. Coast Guard air rescue crew who saved his life. It then follows his years-long recovery from both physical injuries and post-traumatic stress as he tries to reconstruct his life.

From that February evening in 1982, when Hills kissed his wife, Bev, and son goodbye, heading out for five days of fishing with deckhand Dick Cooley, something went terribly wrong aboard Hills’ boat Fargo.

Set against the backdrop of the close-knit Tillamook Bay fishing community of Garibaldi, the Coast Guard rescue crew began its search in the face of growing storm warnings, not knowing where exactly the accident occurred, nor that one of the men had already died and the other was suspended helplessly after trying to save his friend.

“The Night Orion Fell” relates the long and poignant hours of survival, the fierce heroism of the rescue and the professionalism and courage of all involved who brought Hills home and changed his life forever.

Calkin will appear at this year’s FisherPoets Gathering. Check the schedule at www.fisherpoets.org

She will also hold a reading and book signing from 4 to 6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 25, at Beach Books, 616 Broadway in Seaside; call 503-738-3500 or log on to http://beachbooks37.com