A Sunday Times Book of the Year 'Three and a half millennia of British Maritime history, from the Middle Bronze Age to the early 20th century ... This book is written with passion and sympathy. It will live with me for a very long time' Francis Pryor, author of The Fens If Britain's maritime history were embodied in a single ship, she would have a prehistoric prow, a mast plucked from a Victorian steamship, the hull of a modest fishing vessel, the propeller of an ocean liner and an anchor made of stone. We might call her Asunder, and, fantastical though she is, we could in fact find her today, scattered in fragments across the country's creeks and coastlines. In his moving and original new history, Tom Nancollas goes in search of eleven relics that together tell the story of Britain at sea. From the swallowtail prow of a Bronze Age vessel to a stone ship moored at a Baroque quayside, each one illuminates a distinct phase of our adventures upon the waves; each brings us close to the people, places and vessels that made a maritime nation. Weaving together stories of great naval architects and unsung shipwrights, fishermen and merchants, shipwrecks and superstition, pilgrimage, trade and war, The Ship Asunder celebrates the richness of Britain's seafaring tradition in all its glory and tragedy, triumph and disaster, and asks how we might best memorialize it as it vanishes from our shores.

There is still some romance attached to the idea of sea travel; cruising the world's oceans in luxury and comfort; sailing to far-flung destinations as the first explorers did hundreds of years ago. Some cities are seen at their best by an arrival by water, gradually revealing themselves as the ship sails ever closer-Malta, Sydney and San Francisco to name a few. The Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co. and, today P&O Cruises, have been taking passengers all over the world since 1837. Join the author on a world cruise in P&O Cruises' 180th celebration year. Find out how world travel has changed, and, in some cases, has not. Using extracts from old diaries, guide books and accounts, the writer compares cruising today with yesteryear. Get a captain's view of this special voyage; discover what goes into making it a unique experience; how they prepare over 7,500 meals every day. The author was commissioned to assist in planning the itinerary and special excursions, visiting ports that were instrumental in the growth of P&O and still welcome their ships today. Discover amazing countries, cultures, and sights on a journey that circumnavigates the world. A blend of travelogue and history.

SS Terra Nova was most famous for being the vessel to carry the ill-fated 1910 polar expedition led by Robert Falcon Scott, but the story of this memorable ship, built in wood to enable flexibility in the ice, continued until 1943, when she sank off Greenland. This newly designed and updated edition presents the definitive illustrated account of one of the classic polar exploration ships of the 'heroic age'. Put together from accounts recorded by the men who sailed in her, it tells the sixty-year history of a ship built by a famous Scottish shipbuilding yard, in the nineteenth-century days of whaling and sealing before coal gas and electricity replaced animal oils.

"Build wooden boats the Buehler way, which is to say inexpensively, yet like the proverbial brick outhouse." -- Wooden Boat "A WEALTH OF VALUABLE INFORMATION." -- American Sailing AssociationThe classic and definitive guide for the home boatbuilder--now updated Everybody has the dream: Build a boat in the backyard and sail off to join the happy campers of Pogo Pogo, right? But how? Assuming you aren't independently wealthy, if you want a boat that is really you, you gotta build it yourself. With irreverent wit and an engaging style, George Buehler shows you how to turn your backyard into a boatyard. Buehler draws his inspiration from centuries of workboat construction, where semiskilled fishermen built rugged, economical boats from everyday materials in their own backyards, and went to sea in them in all kinds of weather. Buehler's boats sail on every ocean and perform every task, from long-term liveaboards in Norwegian fjords to a traveling doctor's office in Alaska. The book contains complete plans for ten cruising boats--from an 18-foot schooner to a 48-foot Diesel Duck. For more than a quarter century, backyard boatbuilders have turned to George Buehler's acclaimed DIY guide for expert advice, step-by-step instructions, and the author's irreverent, no-nonsense commentary. Whether you're experienced or unskilled, over-budget or under-financed, into sailing or powerboats, you'll find everything you need to start building--and finish that boat--in one essential guide. Now updated for the 21st century, the undisputed "bible" for boatbuilders is more comprehensive, more practical, and more fun than ever. You'll find: 10 new, practical, rugged, and ready-to-build designs--including Buehler's popular Diesel Duck--with full plans and scantlingsUp-to-date commentary on the latest materials--epoxies, sealants, metals, fastenings, and moreStep-by-step guidance on choosing the size, complexity, and design that's right for your skillset, your workshop, and your walletStem-to-stern, inside-and-out tips on lofting, framing up, planking, decking, hatches, keels, bolt-ons, finishes, rigging, outfitting, and launching--everything you need to know! Jam-packed with photographs, helpful diagrams, and cost-effective techniques, this is a must-have reference for today's boatbuilders or those curious "makers" tinkering around the backyard. If you want to build that boat of your dreams, you can't find a better guide than Buehler's. "Immensely practical...clear and concise." -- Sailing "Everyone will revere this book." -- The Ensign George Buehler was born in Oregon in 1948, and has been messing around with boats ever since his sainted mother gave him a copy of Scuppers the Sea Dog. Buehler is an accomplished yacht designer who lives on Whidbey Island, Washington.

Much has been written about Titanic, the British passenger liner that sank on her maiden voyage after a collision with an iceberg in 1912; however, until now little mention has been made about the intricate world of the ship’s complement, which comprised more than the total of third-class passengers alone. Titanic researcher Günter Bäbler examines in detail the working structure of the crew, including the complex arrangement of the engineering department and information on tips, salaries and hidden bonuses, while each of the 899 crew members on board is mentioned. This valuable study breathes life into the forgotten but significant story of the ship and its relationship to its crew, of whom over 75 per cent died when Titanic sank.

Just in time for the centennial of the sinking of the Titanic, this graphic deluxe edition compiles first hand accounts, testimonies, and letters by notable Titanic survivors, including Archibald Gracie, Lawrence Beesley, Elizabeth W. Shutes, and the "unsinkable" Molly Brown. Full of historically accurate details and an afterword by the grandson of Lawrence Beesley, Titanic Survivors and author of The Loss of the S.S. Titanic, it will be the gift to give die-hard Titanic buffs. Authoritative, commemorative and in a striking, luxurious package with and introduction by Titanic enthusiast and expert, Tim Maltin, this will be the authoritative work on the disaster.

Now that lightouse automation has been completed, what of the service and dedication to duty that was unfailingly provided by keepers, their associates and their families? This book records the memories of Harold Hall who entered permanent service with Trinity House in 1922 and served for 44 years. It also details the service of his ancestors and to complete the picture his daughter, Patricia, recounts her own experiences of this way of life. The end result is a fascinating account of three families connected by marriage, the Hall and Darling families - the well-known Grace Darling being the great, great, great-aunt of the author!

"Song of the Sirens is rich in detail, colorful characters, and poignant insights. It is the story of one man's love affair with the old boats he has owned or chartered. Focusing on his favorites (his 17 sirens), the book explores the fascination man has with the sea and attempts to explain the allure of the vessels he has designed to sail upon her. Like the sirens of Greek mythology who, with enchanting songs, lured by sailors to dash their ships against hidden rocks, Gann's ships are seductresses, tempting and urging him on until he plunges forward into their purchase, unmindful of the dangers that lie ahead. And dangers there are aplenty.

Simon Hall's second book is set in the mid-1970s during the closing years of the golden age of British shipping, when cargo carriage at sea saw radical change and the romance of being at sea in old-style cargo ships came to an end. Hall's account is of five years during which he worked as a junior officer in the Far East and South Pacific. This is no ordinary memoir; the prose is vividly expressed, often shocking, sometimes elegiac as evidenced by his description of a night watch in the Indian Ocean: alone on the bridge wing in the warm tropical night, I heard the wind sing through the stays as an Aeolian harp and I felt anointed by my good fortune. His descriptions of jaunts in forgotten parts of the world are strikingly expressed and there is added poignancy from the charting of Hall's struggle against decline into alcohol abuse, expressed in a way that is in turn both sad and shocking: I ordered another cold beer and lit another cigarette, then sat with the ghost of my past dreams while the afternoon died around us and we surveyed the wreckage of all my hopes. This is an important work that captures an age now vanished, written in a style too rarely encountered.

For 1930s Britain, the Queen Mary was a symbol of hope. Cunard had abandoned construction on what they had planned to be the grandest liner of all time (then known simply as Job 534) in the depths of the Depression. Her half-finished hull sat on the Clyde for years, but when Cunard announced they were going to complete her, it was a sign, perhaps, that the darkest days were over, that the country was emerging from economic disaster and that Britannia would soon rule the waves once again. The Queen Mary would go on to be one of the most famous ships in the world for all the right reasons. The first British ship to be over 1,000 feet in length, launched by her namesake (and for which the Clyde had to be artificially widened to allow such a large ship to pass through), she won the Blue Riband (the record for fastest Atlantic crossing) not once by twice - and when she won it the second time in 1938 she held it until 1952. After wartime service carrying up to 16,000 US troops to Europe at a time, she finally retired to Long Beach, California, in 1967. There she remains, a perfectly preserved reminder of a bygone era, and a celebration of the golden age of the transatlantic liner. In this book David Ellery, maritime historian, TV presenter and documentary maker, answers all the questions you might have about this glorious ship - and ones you might never have thought to ask too. This unique, accessible approach gives a fantastic introduction to the ship to anyone curious about her, but is also very detailed and comprehensive, covering everything from the ship's design, construction, engineering and interior fittings to her naming, wartime service and more. Packed with archival photographs and other original material, this is a fascinating and illuminating guide to the Queen Mary, looking beneath the sheen of her appointments to explore how her fame is well deserved.

'James Seay Dean is the noted authority on these voyages ... he provides a sympathetic treatment of life aboard ship in some of the most challenging circumstances these redoubtable sailors faced "beyond the line".' - Professor Barry Gough, maritime historian 'A fascinating and informative account of the development of Tudor and Stuart sailing ships. Its examination of their architecture, sailing, and tactics, especially as it is set within the international political context, makes a most interesting story.' - Bryan Barrett, Commander RN, ret. From jacktar to captain, what was life like aboard an Elizabethan ship? How did the men survive tropical heat, storms, bad water, rotten food, disease, poor navigation, shifting cargoes and enemy fire? Would a sailor return alive? Sea Dogs follows in the footsteps of the average sailor, drawing from the accounts of sixteenth-century and early seventeenth-century ocean voyages to convey the realities of everyday life aboard the galleons sailing between England and the West Indies and beyond. Celebrating the extraordinary drive and courage of those early sailors who left the familiarity of their English estuaries for the dangers of the Cabo Verde and the Caribbean, the Rivers Amazonas and Orinoco, and the Strait of Magellan, and their remarkable achievements, Sea Dogs is essential reading for anyone with an interest in English maritime heritage.

Passengers cancelling their tickets for Titanic's maiden voyage out of apprehension; a famous social reformer who died on Titanic, warned in 1911 that he would be in danger from water in April 1912; inhabitants of the remote islands of Fiji aware of the sinking before reports of the collision reached the Pacific; a dying girl who, on 14 April 1912, 'sees' a big ship sinking in the water and mysteriously knows the name of the violinist in Titanic's orchestra. These are just a few of the numerous claims to psychic foreknowledge of the ship's sinking. Within days of the widely-publicised disaster of 1912, stories began circulating of extraordinary omens and individuals who supposedly had supernatural premonitions of the disaster. Furthermore, four fictional works - one dating as far back as twenty-six years - came to be seen as anticipating the disaster. Between 1960 and 2006, five major commentators published extended analyses of the alleged premonitions, none of which is now easily accessible to an English readership. This book examines them all in detail. The whole treatment of the matter opens up fascinating questions concerning the paranormal, but also raises and leaves unresolved crucial issues specific to premonitions and how they can be legitimately examined. Readers are left to make their own judgement on Titanic premonitions.

The Mary Rose carried a crew of naval officers and sailors, a fighting force of gunners and soldiers, a Barber-surgeon, several ship's carpenters and skilled navigators. Of nearly 500 men, fewer than 40 survived the sinking on 19th July 1545. Trapped by netting, or below deck, they stood little chance, and their bodies and belongings went to the bottom of the sea. Excavation of the hull and contents produced a huge collection of objects that together make up a detailed picture of what life was like on board. Before the Mast explores how the men of the Mary Rose lived, through their surviving possessions; how they were fed; their music and recreation, medicine and provision for illness and injury, as well as working practices: carpentry and maintenance, stowage, navigation and ship's communications. The personal possessions of the crew included religious items, books, fishing lines and weights, sewing kits, money, hair combs, jewellery, knives, musical instruments and many items of clothing. The Barber-surgeon, who had his own cabin, brought on board a fine chest filled with canisters, bottles and pots of ointment and medicines, a variety of surgical instruments and a fine set of razors. Another cabin nearby was clearly occupied by the ship's carpenters whose toolkit included planes, adzes, axes, hammers and drills, as well as pitch pots and special mallets for patching up leaks in the ship's hull. The ship's navigators had the best in sixteenth century compasses. The ship's galley was in the hold and this area in particular produced many examples of wooden and pewter plates, bowls, pots, bread troughs, and tankards, as well as barrels and baskets still containing beef, pork, fish and fruit. The volume also includes an analysis of the human remains providing evidence for the stature and age range of the men most were under 30 their health, and injuries sustained. Before the Mast is now available again in a two volume edition published by Oxbow Books.

Although better than nine out of ten boats afloat today are made of fiberglass, a significant minority of boaters believe that a boat isnt a boat unless its made of wood. Wooden boats have character. Wooden boats are real. Wooden boats are living things, not plastic stampings from the corporate cookie cutter. But new wooden boats are priced beyond the reach of most families, and building from scratch takes more time and energy than many people have. The alternative, buying a tired old wooden boat and fixing it up, is harder than it sounds because the available information is written for skilled craftsmen using traditional methods and materials to restore antique boats to museum standards--worlds away from the needs of the average boater. Enter author Jim Trefethen, who rebuilds wooden boats in Marblehead, Massachusetts, using modern materials and methods, such as epoxy laminations, to replace traditional heavy timber framework. Written for the novice, this book tells the reader how to select the right boat; establish a work schedule and budget; buy the right tools and equipment; select alternatives to endangered tropical rainforest woods; repair and modify the hull, topsides, deckhouse, masts, and interior; when, why, and how to use fiberglass; paint and refinishing; repairing electrical and mechanical systems, and more.

The Halifax explosion was unprecedented in its devastation with regards to casualties, force and radius of the blast, and widespread damage to property.This book offers a collection of carefully selected visuals that tell the story of the devastation caused by the explosion and the impact it had on Halifax. Joyce Glasner focuses on the impact of this wartime disaster on the thousands of survivors.

Leith-Built Ships is a testimony to the skill of the men who built the ships and to the many men and women who may have sailed or served on them. This history is brought together in vol. I of a three-volume series about the almost-forgotten part that Leith played in our great maritime heritage and is the culmination of the author's lifetime experience of shipbuilding. Most people may well be aware of the part played by the great shipbuilding centres in the UK's history but many may be unaware of the part played by the shipbuilders of Leith. This port was once Scotland's main port with many firsts to its name. Leith had begun building ships some 400 years before the great shipyards of the Clyde and these vessels reached all corners of the globe, touching many people's lives. Some had sad histories while others took part in some of the great conflicts of the times; many were just ordinary working vessels that carried their crew safely through long working lives. With a pedigree of shipbuilding second to none going back over 660 years of recorded history, the ships built at Leith deserve their place in history and this book begins the story.

Fifty years ago-on April 26, 1956-the freighter Ideal X steamed from Berth 26 in Port Newark, New Jersey. Flying the flag of the Pan-Atlantic Steamship Company, she set out for Houston with an unusual cargo: 58 trailer trucks lashed to her top deck. But they weren't trucks-they were steel containers removed from their running gear, waiting to be lifted onto empty truck beds when Ideal X reached Texas. She docked safely, and a revolution was launched-not only in shipping, but in the way the world trades. Today, the more than 200 million containers shipped every year are the lifeblood of the new global economy. They sit stacked on thousands of "box boats" that grow more massive every year. In this fascinating book, transportation expert Brian Cudahy provides a vivid, fast-paced account of the container-ship revolution-from the maiden voyage of the Ideal X to the entrepreneurial vision and technological breakthroughs that make it possible to ship more goods more cheaply than every before. Cudahy tells this complex story easily, starting with Malcom McLean, Pan-Atlantic's owner who first thought about loading his trucks on board. His line grew into the container giant Sea-Land Services, and Cudahy charts its dramatic evolution into Maersk Sealand, the largest container line in the world. Along the way, he provides a concise, colorful history of world shipping-from freighter types to the fortunes of steamship lines-and explores the spectacular growth of global trade fueled by the mammoth ships and new seaborne lifelines connecting Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Masterful maritime history, Box Boats shows how fleets of these ungainly ships make the modern world possible-with both positive and negative effects. It's also a tale of an historic home port, New York, where old piers lie silent while 40-foot steel boxes of toys and televisions come ashore by the thousands, across the bay in New Jersey.

After joining the Australian Merchant Navy at the age of sixteen, Dick Jolly trained as an engineer before joining the Australian National Line as a cadet. After a four-year apprenticeship, he gradually gained promotion while travelling around the Australian coast. Fascinated by the world of commercial deep-sea tugs and salvage, his first real break came in Portsmouth in 1963 when he landed a job on RFA Typhoon. Relocating to Singapore and with a Foreign Going tugmaster's qualification under his belt, he went on to travel the oceans of the world, hauling derelict ships, dredgers, floating cranes and all manner of other craft. For four years he left the sea, trying to earn a living as an opal-miner in Andamooka in the Australian Outback where the vast majority of miners go bankrupt! It was an advert for the post of tugmaster in the Port of Eden which brought him to his senses, and he returned to the world of salvage. After further work in the Far East, his no-nonsense attitude was appreciated by the managing director of a new salvage company and the author was sent to Germany to purchase the company's tug, the Intergulf. Many contracts followed, until the Intergulf was sold from underneath his feet. Captain Jolly relates many fascinating stories from the hard-bitten world of commercial salvage: dragging blazing ships off rocky shorelines, rescuing crews from the middle of the ocean and avoiding hostile natives. On one occasion, he had to drive through the jungle at break-neck speed to avoid being taken hostage! These and many other gripping adventures are recounted in this exciting, true-life and humorous story, which is complemented by stunning colour and black and white photographs.

In the post-war era, there was still a demand for ocean-going travel, not just on the glamorous large liners and mail ships, but also on much smaller ships. Many of these could be just as well appointed and comfortable and doubtless provided an intimacy that may have been missing from the larger and faster ships. If time was not a vital consideration, and money possibly was, then travel by cargo liner was an ideal option. The pictures presented here represent souvenirs of an era that air travel and the onset of the fast container ship have totally obliterated. Many of the photographs presented here were acquired between 1961 and 1965 from the major British and European shipping companies, some of whom responded particularly generously. Some Asian and American companies contributed as well. This material gives an insight into the use of postcards and photographs as a vital part of marketing, promotion and public relations in a world that was soon to disappear. Here, Mark Lee Inman collects some of the most interesting pictures and postcards of this era.