Life at Sea

CHILDREN’S BOOKS
Adkins, Jan. The Craft of Sail. New York: Walker and Company, 1973. Explains how sailing vessels work, with nice illustrations, along with seamanship information.

Avi. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle. New York: Orchard Books, 1990. As the lone young lady on a transatlantic voyage in 1832, Charlotte learns that the captain is murderous and the crew rebellious.

Cassidy, John. The Klutz Book of Knots. Palo Alto, California: Klutz, a subsidiary of Scholastic, Inc., 1985. Provides directions and actual practice space for 24 knots. Elementary through adult.

Duncan, Fred B. Deepwater Family. New York: Random House, 1969. Born on the Florence (Bath, 1877) the author recalls his childhood on his father’s Down Easter.

Helldorfa, Mary. Sailing to the Sea. New York: Viking, 1991. A young boy’s first sailing experience.

Kirkpatrick, Katherine. The Voyage of the Continental. New York: Holiday House, 2002. This historical novel, written in the form of a diary, is a mystery story taking place during a young girl’s voyage around Cape Horn. Upper elementary level.

McCurdy, Michael. The Sailor’s Alphabet. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1998. A traditional alphabet sea shanty. Illustrated with scratch-board drawings.

McKay, Amy. Sailing Days: Stories and Poems about Sailors and the Sea. Woodbridge, Suffolk, England,: ACC Children’s Classics, 1998. Ages 9-12. 

Perrow, Angeli. Sirius, The Dog Star. Camden ME: Downeast Books, 2002. Set in 1897 on the East Coast, this is the story of Nathan and a dog, Sirius, on board the Goldhunter. Based on a true story. Older elementary level.

VOYAGES: PERSONAL ACCOUNTS, HIGH SCHOOL/ADULT LEVEL
Albee, Parker Bishop. Letters from Sea, 1882-1901: Joanna and Lincoln Colcord’s Seafaring Childhood. Gardiner, Maine: Tilbury House, 1999. The story of two Searsport children who were born at sea and spent a great deal of their childhood on their father’s vessel.

Balano, James W. The Log of the Skipper’s Wife. Camden, ME: Down East Books, 1979. Excerpts from the unabashed diaries kept from 1910-1913 by Dorothea Moulton Balano, a literate and liberated ship captain’s wife from Port Clyde, Maine. Many parts fictionalized from the original diaries.

Black, Col. Frederick Frasier. Searsport Sea Captains. Searsport, ME: Penobscot Marine Museum, 1989. Biographical information on the many sea captains who came from Searsport, their vessels, and their families.

Briggs, L. Vernon. Around Cape Horn to Honolulu on the Bark Amy Turner, 1880. Boston: C.E. Lauriat, 1926.
Candage, Captain R.F.G. At Home Around The World. Blue Hill, ME: Blue Hill Historical Society, 2000. A sailing master’s autobiographical journal.

Chapman, Angie. Windjammer Bride: The Journal of Angie H. Chapman’s Voyages on the Maine-Built Sailing Ship Leading Wind. Rockland, ME: Courier-Gazette, 1979.

Coffin, Robert P. Tristram. Captain Abby and Captain John. New York: Macmillan Co., 1939. Logs and accounts of John D. Pennell, master of the Benjamin Sewall (Brunswick, 1874) and the journals and letters of Abby Reed, his wife.

Cogill, Burgess. When God Was an Atheist Sailor: Memoirs of a Childhood at Sea, 1902-1910. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1990. Reminiscences of a woman born at sea, on the five-masted schooner Snow & Burgess, about the first eight years of her life. Fascinating perspective of life on the Pacific and in San Francisco after the great fire.

Cordingly, David. Women Sailors and Sailor’s Women. New York: Random House, 2001. Different views of women at sea.

Dana, Richard Henry. The Seaman’s Friend: A Treatise on Practical Seamanship. Reprinted from 1879 edition. Delmar, New York: Scholar’s Facsimiles and Reprints, 1979.

Dana, Richard Henry. Two Years before the Mast. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1895. A story about life at sea in the early 19th century. A young man’s adventure sailing from Boston, around Cape Horn to the California coast.

Dempsey, Deborah Doane and Joanne Reckler Foster. The Captain’s a Woman: Tales of a Merchant Mariner. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1998. A contemporary account of a woman captain in the Merchant Marine.

De Pauw, Linda Grant. Seafaring Women. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1982. A depiction of women at sea throughout history in the roles of pirate, warrior, whaler, and trader.

Druett, Joan. Hen Frigates: Wives of Merchant Captains Under Sail. Thorndike, ME: G.K. Hall, 1999.
Druett, Joan. Petticoat Whalers: Whaling Wives at Sea, 1820-1920. Auckland: Collins, 1991.
Druett, Joan. Rough Medicine: Surgeons at Sea in the Age of Sail. New York: Routledge, 2000.
Dunton, Dorothy Magune. All This Day Fine: Mellie’s Life at Sea with Cap’n Frank. Penobscot Press, 1998. An easy-to-read book about a Rockport captain and his wife, drawn from diaries.

FreeHand, Julianna.  The Only Woman on Board: The Photographs, Diaries, Letters, And Memorabilia of a Maine Sea Captain and His Wife: 1859-1908. Camden, ME: Picton Press, 1994. Previously published in 1981 under the title A Seafaring Legacy. Excerpts from the papers, etc, of Alice and Sumner Drinkwater of Yarmouth, Maine, during their life together at sea and apart. Many photographs of and by Alice of home, vessels, and foreign places.

Goodell, W.H. Captain Daniel Smith Goodell, 1853-1912. Searsport, ME: W.H. Goodell, Jr. with Penobscot Marine Museum, 1994. A biography of a Maine sea captain.

Gould, Annah Maud. A Tempestuous Voyage: The Diary of Annah Maud Gould's Trip Abroad the Ship Berlin. Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, 1987. Account of a journey from Maine to San Francisco in 1887 on the Berlin (Phippsburg, 1882).

Griffin, Ralph H. Jr. (ed.). Letters of a New England Coaster, 1868-1872. [No publisher], 1968. The correspondence of Captain Joseph Griffin of Stockton, Maine, much of it between himself and his wife. There is a very interesting segment from a period when he was in a Cuban jail and she was alone on board his schooner.

Harland, John H. Seamanship in the Age of Sail: An Account of the Shiphandling of the Sailing Man-of-War, 1600-1860. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, c1984. Though it addresses the sailing man-of-war, much is applicable to sailing merchant ships.

Harlow, Frederick Pease. The Making of a Sailor; or, Sea Life Aboard a Yankee Square-Rigger. Salem, Mass.: Marine Research Society, 1928. Includes traditions of sea life.

Hibberd, Isaac Norris. Sixteen Times Round Cape Horn: The Reminiscences of Captain Isaac Norris Hibberd. Mystic, Conn.: Mystic Seaport Museum, 1980. Account of voyages made in the late 19th century by Captain Hibberd, many in vessels built by Samuel Watts of Thomaston, Maine.

Humiston, Fred. Blue Water Men and Women. Portland: Gannett Co., 1965. Tales of the men and women who sailed tall ships on all seven seas during the 19th century.

Johnson, Irving. The Peking Battles Cape Horn. Peekskill, New York: Sea History Press, 1995. True account of a voyage around Cape Horn in the bark Peking in 1929-30. Good photos. See also the movie by the same author, Around Cape Horn.

Lamson, Joseph. Round Cape Horn: Voyage of the Passenger-Ship James W. Paige, from Maine to California in the Year 1852. Bangor, ME: Press of O.F. & W.H. Knowles, 1878.

Nash, Ruth S. High Seas to High Stakes, or, Around Cape Horn to the Gold Rush. Bloomington, IN: 1stBooks, 2000. The letters and diaries of Jared Coffin Nash, who spent 6 months on a 104 foot bark in 1848, traveling from Maine to California.

Nichols, Edward P. The Ocean Chronicle: Published by Captain E.P. Nichols on Board the Bark Clara and the Ship Frank Pendleton, 1878-91. Searsport, ME: Published for Penobscot Marine Museum; New York: Richard R. Smith, 1941. Captain Nichols wrote and printed on his own press at sea this small paper, which he then distributed to his friends, on each of his voyages.

Oliver, Sandra L. Saltwater Foodways: New Englanders and their Food, at Sea and Ashore, in the Nineteenth Century. Mystic, CT: Mystic Seaport Museum, 1995. A history of food in coastal New England, including acquisition, preservation and preparation traditions and recipes.

Perry, Frederick. Fair Winds and Foul: A Narrative of Daily Life Aboard an American Clipper Ship, by Frederick Perry who Made the Voyage. Boston: Charles E. Lauriat Co., 1925. New York to San Francisco aboard the Continental (Bath, 1875.)

Petroski, Catherine. A Bride’s Passage: Susan Hathorn’s Year under Sail. Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1997.

Riesenberg, Felix: Under Sail: A Boy’s Voyage around Cape Horn. New York: Harcourt, Brace & Co, 1924. The author served aboard the A.J. Fuller (Bath, 1881) on a voyage from New York to Honolulu. The A.J. Fuller was commanded over time by four different Searsport captains.

Snow, Edward Rowe. Women of the Sea. New York: Dodd, Mead, 1962. An exposition of the wide range of experiences of women who went to sea between the late 18th century and the early 20th. The recollections of Joanna Colcord are especially noteworthy.

Stevenson, Paul Eve. By Way of Cape Horn: Four Months in a Yankee Clipper. Philadelphia: JB Lippincott Co., 1899.  An account of the author’s 1897 voyage with his wife aboard the Cyrus Wakefield (Thomaston 1882) from New York to San Francisco.

Villiers, Alan. The Way of a Ship: Being Some Account of the Ultimate Development of the Ocean-Going Square-Rigged Sailing Vessel, and the Manner of her Handling, her Voyage-Making, her Personnel, her Economics, her Performance, and her End. New York: Scribner, 1953. A good guide to sailing the large steel ships of the Leitz Line of Germany, including the Peking, Passat, and Pommern.

VESSEL HISTORIES
Bowker, Captain Francis E. Atlantic Four-Master: The Story of the Schooner Herbert L. Rawding. Mystic, CT: Mystic Seaport Museum, 1986. One of the last schooners to carry cargo on the Atlantic, the Rawding was built in Stockton Springs, Maine.

Bragdon, R.W. The Henry B. Hyde, Down Easter. Bath, ME: DB Publishers, 1998. The story of a well-known Down Easter, that was at various times commanded by five captains from Searsport.

Bunting, William H. Sea Struck. Edgartown, MA: Martha’s Vineyard Historical Society; Gardiner, ME: Tilbury House, 2004. Photographs and stories of square riggers in the 19th century.

Dean, Nicholas. Snow Squall: The Last American Clipper Ship. Gardiner, Maine: Tilbury House, 2001. The story of the Maine-built clipper ship Snow Squall, built in South Portland in 1851. She sailed until 1864 when she went aground near Cape Horn. Eventually, Snow Squall was brought home to Maine. Includes contemporary photographs, illustrations, and charts.

Lubbock, Basil. The Down-Easters. Glasgow: Brown, Son, & Ferguson, 1929. Stories, anecdotes, records and photographs.

Matthews, Frederick C. American Merchant Ships, 1850-1900. Salem, MA: Marine Research Society, 1930-31. Two volumes giving the histories of 120 sailing vessels.

MAINE HISTORY
Bunting, William H. A Day’s Work. Gardiner, ME: Tilbury House; Portland, ME: Maine Preservation, 1997, 2000. History of life in Maine, with historic photographs.

Colcord, Joanna C. Sea Language Comes Ashore. New York: Cornell Maritime Press, 1945. A dictionary of sea terms that are used on shore. Includes the origins of some words and expressions.

Leavitt, John F. Wake of the Coasters. Middletown, CT: Published for the Marine Historical Association by Wesleyan University Press, 1970. A history of coastwise shipping in New England.

MARITIME ARTS
Colcord, Joanna C.  Songs of the American Sailorman. New York:  W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1938.
Harlow, Frederick Pease. Chanteying Aboard American Ships.  Barre, MA:  Barre Gazette, 1962. A first-hand description of maritime music, including its African and Caribbean roots.

Hubbard, Donald. Ships-in-Bottles.  New York: McGraw-Hill Co., 1971. Step-by-step instructions for the hobbyist interested in building a ship in a bottle. Good photographs and drawings.

FICTION
Carter, Isabel Hopestill. Shipmates: A Tale of the Seafaring Women of New England. New York: W. Scott Company, 1934. A novel by a Maine author about a young school teacher who marries a sea captain, raises her children aboard ship, and has many adventures in strange ports.

McLane, Charles B. Red, Right, Returning. Gardiner, ME: Tilbury House; Rockland, ME: Island Institute, 2004. A novel set on a Penobscot Bay Island after World War II.

VIDEOS
Johnson, Irving. Around Cape Horn. Mystic, CT: Mystic Seaport Nuseum Film-Video Service, 1984,c1980. B&W/37 min. Not Rated. In 1929 Irving Johnson filmed his journey, including a trip around Cape Horn during a storm on the bark Peking. He narrates the film, speaking of the workings of the ship and what life at sea was like.

Johnson, Irving. High Sea Adventurer. Color/43 min. Not Rated. This film documents Capt. Irving Johnson’s life, beginning with the voyage of the Peking in 1929, going on to the years he spent circumnavigating the globe and visiting various ports in the Yankee, with student crews, and lastly exploring the inland waterways of Europe.

The Great Ships: Schooners. Perpetual Motion Films, 44 min.
Maine Windjammers: A Page from the Past. Maine’s windjammer fleet.

INTERNET RESOURCES
www.sailorsknotboard.com   Animated illustrations for tying all kinds of knots.
Journal of Edwin Mitchell, a 16-year-old boy from Belfast, goes to California and back aboard the ship Ivanhoe, which was built in Belfast.  See the journal and many other maritime documents at the education pages at

www.penobscotbayhistory.org.

www.mysticseaport.org/library/initiative/MsList.cfm  Mystic Seaport Museum’s digital library items, including ship registers, published maritime books, and manuscript logs, journals, and documents.