PORTLAND – Linda Greenlaw has made an extraordinary career of her love of the sea. By captaining the Eastern Seaboard’ s finest swordfishing boat and penning her own best-selling memoir, “The Hungry Ocean,” she has become a role model for a new generation of youth.

Greenlaw believes today’s youth need experiences that will enable them to realize their untapped potential. To support this conviction, she will be host at the Hurricane Island Outward Bound School’s annual Scholarship Benefit Reception and Auction on Saturday, Oct. 20, at the Portland Yacht Services building in Portland. Each year, funds are raised to provide scholarships for young people from the state of Maine and other parts of the country so they can participate in a wide range of sailing, kayaking, hiking and other wilderness and skill-building courses.

“The wilderness programs are an exceptional and exciting way for young people to learn about the wilderness, the world and themselves,” Greenlaw said. After the reception and auction, she will talk about her writing and fishing experiences.

A committee of 25 people from the Portland area, chaired by Anne Hussey from UNUM, has secured a trip to Ireland, a sea kayak, and numerous other items for auction. The title of Greenlaw’s book will be the theme of the evening.

Tickets for the benefit cost $50 per person and can be purchased by calling Jennifer Nelson at 594-5548, Ext. 343.