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This is the story of two single-handed non-stop round-the-world voyages: Robin Knox-Johnston's in 1968/9 and Ellen MacArthur's in 2004/5. Although there were similarities (both voyages started and finished in Falmouth, for instance, and neither sailor was in a conventional race) the story is mainly one of contrasts, mostly as a consequence of 36 years of technological developments. These gave MacArthur the opportunity for a considerably faster voyage,...

Our 21st-century lifestyle could not exist without large oil tankers. But most people's knowledge about their operations and the colossal debt owed to their experimental predecessors remains a closed book. Written by an experienced navigator who served aboard these behemoths in the 1970s, this book offers a real insight into life at sea on a VLCC and how it has changed over the years. It includes the intricacies of learning to navigate a monster,...

Pirates and acts of piracy were not limited to the Caribbean Sea and the 16th and 17th centuries, as is commonly thought, but ranged far across time and place. Men of adventure who took to pirating in classical times around the Mediterranean are featured in these stirring true tales of high-seas treachery. Gripping narratives of corsairs, freebooters, and privateers-from the Vikings in their longships to the pirates of the Levant and the China Seas-come...

First published in 1768, this remarkable collection of sophisticated line drawings offers a fascinating look at the maritime world of the eighteenth century, documenting merchant and naval ships from various countries. Seventy detailed illustrations chart vessel dimensions, crew size, storage capabilities, and manner of rigging for packet ships, pleasure boats, privateers, frigates, and other ships. Fredrik Henrik af Chapman (1721-1808) was a naval...

This entertaining and informative book will be of practical benefit to all who discover the historic Union Canal and the Forth & Clyde Canal, whether walking, cycling, boating or visiting the Falkirk Wheel or the Kelpies. The canals are for fun, whether on the water, on the towpath, walking or cycling or just visiting. The canals can be enjoyed at any season. In winter, with the trees leafless, the views are more extensive and there is less traffic...

Alexander Exquemelin, whose probable French origins remain unclear, was most certainly on board the ship of the infamous pirate captain, Henry Morgan, during his raid on Panama City in 1671. His association with the buccaneers began around 1669, when he was sold from his indentured servitude with the French West India Company to a barber-surgeon, who taught him the trade. His subsequent years as a surgeon on board various pirate ships led to the publication...

Down in the fiery belly of the luxury liner RMS Titanic, a world away from the first-class dining rooms and sedate tours of the deck, toiled the 'black gang'. Their work was gruelling and hot, and here de Kerbrech introduces the reader to the dimly lit world and workplace of Titanic's stokers. Beginning with a journey around some of the major elements of machinery that one might encounter in the giant ship's engine and boiler rooms, those with a technical...

From muddy creek to naval-industrial powerhouse; from constructing wooden walls to building Dreadnoughts; from maintaining King John's galleys to servicing the enormous new Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers: this is the story of Portsmouth Dockyard. Respected maritime historian Paul Brown's unique 800-year history of what was once the largest industrial organisation in the world is a combination of extensive original research and stunning images....

It was a snowy, stormy night, that February 23, 1918, when the sturdy S. S. Florizelsteamed out of St. John's harbour, bound for Halifax and New York. Captain William Martin, a cautious and competent skipper, encountered thick ice and heavy winds as he headed down the treacherous Newfoundland coast. But these circumstances did not account for the ship's slow speed. Just before dawn, over nine hours after leaving port, Captain Martin ran his ship full...

Rare and valuable study reveals accomplishments of great 19th-century shipbuilder in era of sailing packet and clipper ship. Boston-built McKay clippers-Flying Cloud, Sovereign of the Seas, Great Republic, many more-surpassed in size, beauty, strength and speed all that had gone before. Enhanced with 58 superb illustrations, including a wealth of plans, models, maps and other material.