Sea Captains from the 1800s from The Maritime Heritage Project with News of World Commerce, Merchant Marines, Ships and Passengers in 1800s

The Annapolis Book of Seamanship
An updated and revised edition of a classic resource on boating offers information based on the sailing program of the U.S. Naval Academy. Detailed instructions for all levels of experience on developing and maintaining effective sailing skills.

Clipper Ship Captain: Daniel McLaughlin and the Glory of the Seas
Michael Mjelde
(Associates of the National Maritime Museum Libirary Pacific Maritime History Series, No 3)
Clippers are viewed as the epitome of elegant, exciting life at sea. Mjelde brings to life the realities of being master of a clipper during the last half of the 19th Century, focusing on teh wheat trade beween San Francisco and England in the 1870s and 1880s.
Photographs and Drawings.
1997

Dead Men Tell No Tales: The Life and Legends of the Pirate Charles Gibbs (Studies in Maritime History)
Joseph Gibbs
Shortly before execution for mutiny and murder in 1831, the pirate Charles Gibbs recounted the infamous crimes of his harrowing life at sea in a self-aggrandizing series of "confessions." Author Joseph Gibbs takes up the task of separating fact from fiction to explicate the true story of Charles Gibbs—an alias for James Jeffers (1798-1831) of Newport, Rhode Island.

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Five Sea Captains, Their Own Accounts of Voyages Under Sail
Walter Teller, Editor
Five nineteenth century New England skippers, all of whom prospered with an expanding American-flag merchant marine, give their accounts of life at sea. The Captains: Amasa Delano, Edmund Fanning, Richard Cleveland, who writes of his first voyage, George Coggeshall, and Joshua Slocum. They write of their voyages of survey and discovery in the waters of the world.
1960.

Hen Frigates: Passion and Peril, Nineteenth-Century Women at Sea
Joan Druett
This award-winning New Zealand author/historian has gathered a collection of true stories of women at sea with marvelous detail of their voyages, high sea romance, skirmishes with pirates, and first-person accounts of surviving hurricanes, typhoons, collisions and fire while under sail.
Simon & Schuster, New York, 1999.

The Making of a Sailor: Or Sea Life Aboard a Yankee Square-Rigger
Frederick Pease Harlow
An exciting first-hand yarn of what it was like to sail in the 1870s: working the ship in rough weather, pleasures of shore leave, exotic lands and native girls, more. Enhanced with excellent period illustrations of stately clippers, bustling New England harbors and picturesque ports of call. First printed in 1928, reprinted by Dover Books.

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Origins of Sea Terms
John G. Rogers
An enjoyable, enlightening collection of definitions and origins of sea terms. The author traces some back to the Egyptians and Phoenicians. Many words demonstrate how seamen of yore covered surprising distances, with two-way influence with other cultures. Published by Mystic Seaport Museum, 1985, 215 pages.

Principles of Maritime Strategy
Julian S. Corbett
Corbett diverges from most predecessors by viewing naval strategy in the larger context of indirect pressure on both military and economic assets of the adversary. He shows that wars can be won by the side with the weaker local force if that navy can maintain maneuvering space, choose location, probe weaknesses and isolate vulnerable targets. A belligerent can be effective if he merely contests command of the sea.
First published in 1911.

Seafaring Women: Adventures Of Pirate Queens, Female Stowaways, And Sailors' Wives
David Cordingly
By covering the role of women and the sea, mostly in the 18th and 19th centuries, the author has brought to life stories of women who disguised themselves as men to go to sea, to fictional and mythical creatures such as mermaids.
Random House, New York

Sea Life In Nelson's Time
John Masefield
Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland, 1982

She Captains: Heroines and Hellions of the Sea
Joan Druett
Druett's collection of stories of women associated with the sea has received mixed reviews, though most are favorable. Excerpts from Publisher's Weekly: "Druett's canvas portrays the exploits of seafaring women throughout history . . . Unevenly paced but entertaining . . .filled with fascinating characters distinguished by bold enterprise. All were not captains, but were at sea. Druett jumps around through eras, pirates, wives and psuedo-royalty in these stories of strong women.
Printed in 2000

Dana's Seaman's Friend; Containing a Treatise on Practical Seamship, with Plates; A Dictionary of Sea Terms; Customs and Usages
Richard Henry Dana, Jr.
A Classic.
Reprinted by Dover Publications, 1997
Currently available without illustrations or index. It may have typos or missing text. However, purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original rare book from GeneralBooksClub.com. You can also preview excerpts from the book there. With the British Laws Relating to Shipping, the Duties of Master and Mariners, and the Mercantile Marine;
Original Published by: G. Philip in 1856 in 421 pages; Subjects: Navigation; Naval art and science; Merchant marine.

Two Years Before the Mast
Richard Henry Dana
The story of a young man's adventure sailing from Boston, around Cape Horn, to the California coast is a riveting, insightful account of life at sea (and the best surviving account of what it was like in 1834), replete with fascinating historical detail on California before the gold rush.

Two Years before the Mast appeared in 1840, while its author was still a law student. Though at the time it created no great stir in the United States, it was most favorably received in England, where it paved the way for many pleasant and valuable acquaintanceships. The following year, Dana produced a small volume on seamanship, entitled The Seaman's Friend. This, and a short account of a trip to Cuba in 1859, constitute the sole additions to his early venture. He was a copious letter-writer and kept full journals of his various travels; but he never elaborated them for publication. Yet, long before his death, he had seen the narrative of his sailor days recognized as an American classic.

Two Years Before the Mast, Large-Print Edition

Two Years Before The Mast: A Personal Narrative Of Life At Sea

Voyages That Changed the World
Peter Aughton
Award winning author ("Endeavour," "Resolution," "Newton's Apple," and "The Transit of Venus"). Aughton was a computer engineer in the aerospace industry before turning his talents to writing. Beautifully illustrated book with maps, portraits, and in-depth research. Includes Saint Bendan's voyage across the Atlantic in a tiny leather boat, John Cabot's search for the North West Passage; the Mayflower, Isambard Kingdom Brunel's race across the Atlantic. Aughton has related stories most of us know about, and some you may have never heard of.

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The log of an Ancient Mariner: Being the life and adventures of Captain Edgar Wakeman
Written by himself, and edited by his daughter. Anyone with an 1800s captain in the family will treasure this book. Captain Wakeman was an excellent storyteller, travelled the world—as did so many 1800s captains—and writes in detail of those travels, his shipmates and ports 'o call. He was befriended by Mark Twain and is the model for a few of the sea going characters in Twain's books.
First printed in 1878. It will cost between $75-$150 depending on condition and it is well worth the price.

The Young Sea Officer's Sheet Anchor: or a Key to the Leading of Rigging and to Practical Seamanship
Darcy Lever
First published in 1808, The Young Sea Officer's Sheet Anchor became a standard guide throughout the 19th century in both England and the United States. The text includes a precise explanation of the principlies of rigging, the effect of wind on sails, the use of a compass, and other practical matters of sailing the open ocean. Hundreds of illustrations. Dover Books, 1998

Close to the Wind, Peter Malone
In 1810, a British naval officer and surveyor named Francis Beaufort developed a scale to give sailors a common language for describing the wind. From 0 (calm) to 12 (hurricane), stunning artwork and jaunty prose show what life at sea must have been like for a young boy serving as a midshipman in the 1800s. As William sails from Naples to the Caribbean, we learn intriguing historical information and nautical terminology, and witness how the wind affected day-to-day life on a ship. Detailed illustrations show the wind at work, and readers will be engrossed and fascinated as they watch the storm develop in magnificent full-color paintings.

Sea History, including A History of the Mediterranean, Pirates (Illustrated), Influence of Sea Power, Sea Power and World History, Ship of Gold . . .

Maritime History including Voyages: The Age of Sail, High Seas and Yankee Gunboats, Maritime History of the United States, U.S. Coast Guard’s War on Human Smuggling.

Maritime History eBooks including Two Years Before the Mast, Women Sailors and Sailor’s Women, Endurance: Shackleton’s Antarctic Expedition, The True Story of Captain Kid, Sultana: Surviving the Civil War, The Slave Ship, Fatal Forecast . . .

Kobo wireless eReader

We initially resisted switching to eReaders because we like the smell and feel of books. However, when travelling, it is difficult to carry 5-6-7 books, which we often did in the past . . . you know, the novels about the country you are visiting, current bestsellers, guidebooks for various areas. It got heavy.

We've narrowed our choices down to Barnes & Noble's NOOKColor (above) or the eReader left. Because of the features of NOOKColor, we're probably going in that direction.

Easily connect via Wi Fi or USB to access over 2.4 million books, newspapers and magazines from the Kobo Store. Also borrow and read books from your local library.

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The Maritime Heritage Project ~~ International Harbors Travel