In 1895, emissaries from the New York Yacht Club traveled to Deer Isle, Maine, to recruit the nation's best sailors, an "All American" crew. This remote island in Penobscot Bay sent nearly thirty of its fishing men to sail "Defender," and under skipper Hank Haff, they beat their opponents in a difficult and controversial series. To the delight of the American public, the charismatic Sir Thomas Lipton sent a surprise challenge in 1899. The New York Yacht Club knew where to turn and again recruited Deer Isle's fisherman sailors. Undefeated in two defense campaigns, they are still considered one of the best American sail-racing teams ever assembled. Read their fascinating story and relive their adventure.

Many imagine the settlement of the American West as signaled by the dust of the wagon train or the whistle of a locomotive. During the middle decades of the nineteenth century, though, the growth of Texas and points west centered on the seventy-mile water route between Galveston and Houston. This single vital link stood between the agricultural riches of the interior and the mercantile enterprises of the coast, with a round of operations that was as sophisticated and efficient as that of any large transport network today. At the same time, the packets on the overnight Houston-Galveston run earned a reputation as colorful as their Mississippi counterparts, complete with impromptu steamboat races, makeshift naval gunboats during the Civil War, professional gamblers and horrific accidents.

Massachusetts Bay stretches along the rocky coast and dangerously sandy shoals from Cape Ann to Cape Cod and gives the Bay State its distinctive shape and the Atlantic Ocean one of its largest graveyards. Author and longtime diver Thomas Hall guides us through the history of eight dreadful wrecks as we navigate around Mass Bay. Learn the sorrowful fate of the Portland and its crew during the devastating Portland Gale of 1898, how the City of Salisbury went down with its load of exotic zoo animals in the shadow of Graves Light and how the Forest Queen lost its precious cargo in a nor'easter. Hall provides updated research for each shipwreck, as well as insights into the technology, ship design and weather conditions unique to each wreck.

In "The Yankee Fleet: Maritime New England in the Age of Sail," James C. Johnston Jr. recounts the famous tales that have given the Northeast such a storied maritime tradition. From the stern Puritan fathers to Francisco Ruiz, New England's last known pirate, Johnston canvasses the accounts of the men and women who fished, fought, explored and marauded in sailing craft over the region s fickle yet fertile waters. With occasional forays into the nautical history of the Chesapeake and trans-Atlantic realms, "The Yankee Fleet" offers a colorful and offbeat exploration of Yankee sailors and the world they made.

Jeremy Scanlon was born and educated in Massachusetts. Now he lives in this cottage illustrated on the back cover beside the canal. His wife, Dorothy Priest, was born in the cottage, daughter of the carpenter who built the canal's lock gates. Their hotel narrowboat carried paying guests over 60,000 miles along the lovely inland waterways of England and Wales. Here mine hosts enjoy a rare moment of tranquility in 'Unicorn's' saloon.

Born in the ancient fishing village of Rosehearty on the Moray Firth coast in 1949, David Littlejohn Beveridge went to sea in June 1966 as a deck apprentice with T & J Brocklebank. In 1978 he joined the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland later the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency, achieving command in 1987. 'Water Under the Keel' is his autobiography.

This comprehensive handbook details the procedures for the safe and efficient operation of roll-on roll-off type cargo ships, from loading and unloading at dockside to navigating the open seas. Thirteen chapters cover all aspects of Ro-Ro shipping such as ship development, ports and terminals, hold ventilation, cargo-handling equipment, transport regulations, ship handling, fire safety, maintenance, and more. Over 175 pictures, charts, and illustrations further explain the crucial methods to maintaining safe operations. As Ro-Ro shipping increases due to global economics, the importance of this guide, the first of its kind, is clear. Written by a Ro-Ro ship commander with more than 12 years' experience in the shipping industry, this book will prove indispensable to ship officers, operators, managers, superintendents, and surveyors as well as anyone involved in the operation of Ro-Ro ships.

This pictorial guide provides a photographic tour of the last 400 years of Rhode Island lighthouse history. More than thirty lighthouse stations are described, from Watch Hill, near the Connecticut border in the south, to the inner harbor of Providence. The lighthouse station locations are identified using navigational charts and their characteristics, including date established, tower structure, optics, and fog signals. Also included are the dozen or so lighthouses that no longer exist. Probably not as well known, images and characteristics of these aids are similarly discussed. Over 300 images, some more than 130 years old, show the original towers and stations, accompanied by present-day photographs that compare the development and evolution of these lighthouses. Many of the images found on these pages have been collected from historical resources and are being published for the first time. This book is a must-have for the lighthouse enthusiast, maritime buff, and anyone who is interested in Rhode Island history.

In an era when immigration was at its peak, the Fabre Line offered the only transatlantic route to southern New England. One of its most important ports was in Providence, Rhode Island. Nearly eighty-four thousand immigrants were admitted to the country between the years 1911 and 1934. Almost one in nine of these individuals elected to settle in Rhode Island after landing in Providence, amounting to around eleven thousand new residents. Most of these immigrants were from Portugal and Italy, and the Fabre Line kept up a brisk and successful business. However, both the line and the families hoping for a new life faced major obstacles in the form of World War I, the immigration restriction laws of the 1920s, and the Great Depression. Join authors Patrick T. Conley and William J. Jennings Jr. as they chronicle the history of the Fabre Line and its role in bringing new residents to the Ocean State.

More than one million immigrants fled the Irish famine for North America--and more than one hundred thousand of them perished aboard the "coffin ships" that crossed the Atlantic. But one small ship never lost a passenger.
"All Standing" recounts the remarkable tale of the "Jeanie Johnston" and her ingenious crew, whose eleven voyages are the stuff of legend. Why did these individuals succeed while so many others failed? And what new lives in America were the ship's passengers seeking?
In this deeply researched and powerfully told story, acclaimed author Kathryn Miles re-creates life aboard this amazing vessel, richly depicting the bravery and defiance of its shipwright, captain, and doctor--and one Irish family's search for the American dream.

Titanic is a fascinating exploration of the most famous maritime disaster of all time. It delves into the astonishing facts surrounding the tragedy of 1912 and is essential for anyone wishing to separate myth from reality. With a range of trivia including facts about the construction of the vessel deemed to be 'unsinkable', the information is presented in an interesting and engaging way to embrace a wide variety of readers. This title is brimming with facts about the Titanic and its passengers, the history of the Titanic, strange stories of premonitions of the disaster, conspiracy theories, the various films, the sinking of the Titanic, the discovery of the wreck and salvage operations, are all explored. Brief, accessible and entertaining pieces on a wide variety of subjects makes it the perfect book to dip in to. The amazing and extraordinary facts series presents interesting, surprising and little-known facts and stories about a wide range of topics which are guaranteed to inform, absorb and entertain in equal measure.