The Great Western is the least known of Isambard Kingdom Brunel's three ships, being overshadowed by the later careers of the Great Britain and the Great Eastern. However, the Great Westernwas the first great success, confounding the critics in becoming the fastest ship to steam continuously across the Atlantic, and began the era of luxury transatlantic liners. It was a bold venture by Brunel and his colleagues, who were testing the limits of known technology. This book examines the businessmen, the shipbuilding committee and Brunel and looks at life on board for the crew and the passengers using diaries from the United States and England. The ship's first voyage made headline news in New York and London and involved a race with the small steamship Sirius. The Great Western's maiden voyage was a triumph, and this wooden paddle steamer became the wonder of her age. She linked antebellum New York with the London of Charles Dickens and the youthful Queen Victoria. The ship continued to carry the rich and the famous across the Atlantic for eighteen years.

These stories are the experiences of a harbor towboat pilot in Saint Paul on the Upper Mississippi River. They contain descriptions of this unique barge port which includes the navigable section of the Minnesota River and the only gorge on the Mississippi which lies between Saint Paul and Minneapolis. Much has been written about the river south of Minnesota but this may be the only testament to life on commercial vessels working at the very head of navigation. The adventures are comical and hair-raising, the characters are true river-rats and the local boats are just as quirky as the men who work on them.

This book is in full color and is designed for reference and training of any party assigned to maritime security and/or defense duties. The book is easily understood and suitable for multicultural crews. Most photos and all illustrations are original by the author. Basic Maritime Security and Defense: This book is a revision of the author's university certificated course of instruction for use in training maritime professionals assigned maritime security duties whether aboard ship or ashore. It is loaded with the information necessary to understand and cope with piracy, terrorism, crime, and civil unrest. The course is also a familiarization source for working in an armed offshore environment. This is a no nonsense book for a no nonsense reader. The book deals with such topics as the use of a ship's systems in defense, searches, various attacks and defensive methods, and the handling of a support vessel in a security role. This book is ideal for the reader who desires real insight into our maritime, the security problems the industry faces, the methods used to protect it, and new techniques designed not for the military or law enforcement but for the maritime industry in its civilian context. The professionals who have taken this course says that they had no idea that the subject was so complex.

London's docks were once the busiest in Britain. They had developed piecemeal from the beginning of the nineteenth century as the existing riverside wharves became too congested and pilfering became rife. Dock systems were built on both sides of the Thames. The largest group, 'The Royals' comprising the Royal Victoria, Royal Albert and King George V docks, created the greatest enclosed dock area in the world. Changes in cargo handling methods, such as containerisation, led to all new developments being concentrated at Tilbury from the late 1960s and the closure of the London docks, along with nearly all of the private riverside wharves and canal wharves. The London Docklands Development Corporation was set up to redevelop the dock sites. So what replaced the docks, and what remains to remind us of what was there before? This book follows the Thames Path, which has opened up much of what was once a largely hidden world, from Greenwich to Rainham and Erith to examine the changes and the heritage that remains on both sides of the river. Also included is the network of rivers, canals and sewers in East London that linked into and made use of the Thames. Finally, it looks at Tilbury on the north bank, where the docks are now concentrated, and Gravesend on the south side, a town with long maritime connections to London.

This is the story of a dry cargo ship which worked the Great Lakes for 69 years. In her glorious but quiet life, she never lost one single mariner's life, and completed safely all her voyages. She survived the weather, wars, depression and attacks from most every direction, in a period when the human race witnessed the transition from horse and buggy transportation, to space flights. Her journey from her place of birth to the scrap pile parallels many lives on the waterways. This is a modest homage to the people who built "Jupiter," and to all those mariners who sailed her.

This book is in full color and is intended as a reference or information source for anyone assigned leadership roles for maritime security and defense. It is suitable for a ship or facility library. Most photos and all illustrations are original by the author. Loaded with useful information to meet the needs of security and defense in the maritime industry, Concepts in Maritime Tactics is a necessary onboard tool. Ship operators, Masters, crews, and security personnel assigned to maritime security duties NEED this information. This book was designed as an onboard reference and has been considered the best comprehensive source available for this need. Knowing how to pull a trigger if needed has a relatively low priority in maritime security. How to avoid it and if neceesary to win the fight are the essential skills. The concepts within these pages have been reviewed and used successfully by security team leaders in such pirate prone regions as the Somali Basin. Differing from military and law enforcement agencies, the maritime industry has its own methods, traditions, and a history dating back 4000 years. These must be taught and understood to meet the rigorous needs of today's anti-piracy, terrorism, criminal acts, and civil unrest concerns. The security of vessels is a 24 hour per day 365 days per year responsibility, wherever the vessel happens to be. Vessels, port facilities, and offshore facilities all fall under the maritime industry's umbrella. The concepts in tactics found in Concepts in Maritime Tactics pull it all together.

In 1975 at the tender age of 17 a very wet behind the ears Bob Deck left high school to learn the art of being a deckhand on Mississippi River towboats with the goal of becoming a "harbor pilot." The men who trained him were colorful and unique characters. Men like "Steamboat" Bill Ruport a grizzled River Rat at the ripe old age of 24who learned Bob how to handle the lines (what rivermen call ropes) and "lay riggin" (wire barges together) into "tows" (rafts of barges to be pushed downriver from St. Paul to St. Louis). Bob learned that rivermen have a whole different nautical vocabulary. Later decking under the iron-fisted Captain Crash provided danger and humor to a young man's coming of age. If you have ever driven across a bridge over the river and wondered what life on those Mississippi riverboats is like then this is one view that is enlightening and entertaining.

You should read my book. Its good and I spent a lot of time writing it. I love the Titanic and that's why I based my book off of it.

This is a new release of the original 1946 edition.