Best of
Maritime

2002

The Unlikely Voyage of Jack De Crow: A Mirror Odyssey from North Wales to the Black Sea


A.J. Mackinnon - 2002
    Equipped with his cheerful optimism and a pith helmet, this Odysseus in a dinghy takes you with him from the borders of north Wales to the Black Sea - 4,900 kilometers over salt and fresh water, under sail, at oars, or at the end of a tow rope - through twelve countries, 282 locks, and numerous trials and adventures, including an encounter with Balkan pirates.

A Time to Die: The Untold Story of the Kursk Tragedy


Robert Moore - 2002
    Russia’s prized submarine, the Kursk, began her fatal plunge to the ocean floor. Award-winning journalist Robert Moore presents a riveting, brilliantly researched account of the deadliest submarine disaster in history. Journey down into the heart of the Kursk to witness the last hours of the twenty-three young men who survived the initial blasts. Visit the highly restricted Arctic submarine base to which Moore obtained secret admission, where the families of the crew clamored for news of their loved ones. Drawing on exclusive access to top Russian military figures, Moore tells the inside story of the Kursk disaster with factual depth and the compelling moment-by-moment tension of a thriller.From the Trade Paperback edition.

Batavia's Graveyard: The True Story of the Mad Heretic Who Led History's Bloodiest Mutiny


Mike Dash - 2002
    The company also sent along a new employee to guard its treasure. He was Jeronimus Corneliszoon, a disgraced and bankrupt man with great charisma and dangerously heretical ideas. With the help of a few disgruntled sailors, he hatched a plot to seize the ship and her riches. The mutiny might have succeeded, but in the dark morning hours of June 3, 1629, the Batavia smashed through a coral reef and ran aground on a small chain of islands near Australia. The captain and skipper escaped the wreck, and in a tiny lifeboat they set sail for Java—some 1,500 miles north—to summon help. More than 250 frightened survivors waded ashore, thankful to be alive. Unfortunately, Jeronimus and the mutineers had survived too, and the nightmare was only beginning.

Until the Sea Shall Free Them: Life, Death and Survival in the Merchant Marine


Robert Frump - 2002
    . . an officer who refuses to hide the truth. . . a courtroom confrontation with far-reaching implications . . . The Perfect Storm meets A Civil Action in a gripping account of one of the most significant shipwrecks of the twentieth century. In 1983 the Marine Electric, a “reconditioned” World War II vessel, was on a routine voyage thirty miles off the East Coast of the United States when disaster struck. As the old coal carrier sank, chief mate Bob Cusick watched his crew–his friends and colleagues–succumb to the frigid forty-foot waves and subzero winds of the Atlantic. Of the thirty-four men aboard, Cusick was one of only three to survive. And he soon found himself facing the most critical decision of his life: whether to stand by the Merchant Marine officers’ unspoken code of silence, or to tell the truth about why his crew and hundreds of other lives had been unnecessarily sacrificed at sea. Like many other ships used by the Merchant Marine, the Marine Transport Line's Marine Electric was very old and made of “dirty steel” (steel with excess sulfur content). Many of these vessels were in terrible condition and broke down frequently. Yet the government persistently turned a blind eye to the potential dangers, convinced that the economic return on keeping these ships was worth the risk. Cusick chose to blow the whistle.Until the Sea Shall Free Them re-creates in compelling detail the wreck of the Marine Electric and the legal drama that unfolded in its wake. With breathtaking immediacy, Robert Frump, who covered the story for the Philadelphia Inquirer, describes the desperate battle waged by the crew against the forces of nature. Frump also brings to life Cusick's internal struggle. He knew what happened to those who spoke out against the system, knew that he too might be stripped of his license and prosecuted for "losing his ship," yet he forged ahead. In a bitter lawsuit with owners of the ship, Cusick emerged victorious. His expose of government inaction led to vital reforms in the laws regarding the safety of ships; his courageous stand places him among the unsung heroes of our time.From the Hardcover edition.

Cold War Submarines: The Design and Construction of U.S. and Soviet Submarines, 1945-2001


Norman Polmar - 2002
    Their crews carried out intelligence-collection operations, sought out and stood ready to destroy opposing submarines, and, from the early 1960s, threatened missile attacks on their adversary’s homeland, providing in many respects the most survivable nuclear deterrent of the Cold War. For both East and West, the modern submarine originated in German U-boat designs obtained at the end of World War II. Although enjoying a similar technology base, by the 1990s the superpowers had created submarine fleets of radically different designs and capabilities. Written in collaboration with the former Soviet submarine design bureaus, Norman Polmar and K. J. Moore authoritatively demonstrate in this landmark study how differing submarine missions, antisubmarine priorities, levels of technical competence, and approaches to submarine design organizations and management caused the divergence.

Disney: The Ultimate Visual Guide


Russell K. Schroeder - 2002
    Disney: The Ultimate Guide includes a wealth of images -- from specially photographed memorabilia to familiar scenes from favorite Disney moments -- to create a visual experience of the number one name in family entertainment. Disney's most-loved films are the focus of this charming collectible, but all facets of Disney's universe are represented in this wonderful volume.

The Way of a Ship: A Square-Rigger Voyage in the Last Days of Sail


Derek Lundy - 2002
    The Way of a Ship is a mesmerizing account of life on board a square-rigger, a remarkable reconstruction of a harrowing voyage through the most dangerous waters. Derek Lundy's masterful account evokes the excitement, romance, and brutality of a bygone era -- "a fantastic ride through one of the greatest moments in the history of adventure" (Seattle Times).

U.S. Amphibious Ships And Craft: An Illustrated Design History


Norman Friedman - 2002
    warship design history series, Norman Friedman describes the ships and the craft of the U.S. amphibious force, from its inception in the 1920s through World War II to the present. He explains how and why the United States successfully created an entirely new kind of fleet to fight and win such World War II battles as D-Day and the island landings in the Pacific. To an extent not previously documented, his book lays out the differing views and contributions of the U.S. Army, Navy, and Marines as well as the British, and how they affected the development of prewar and wartime amphibious forces. Current and future amphibious forces and tactics are explained, together with their implications for ships and craft, from 40,000-ton amphibious carriers down to tracked amphibious vehicles.As in earlier volumes in the series, this study uses previously unpublished sources to illustrate not only what was actually built but what was planned and never brought into service. For example, the book offers the first comprehensive and fully illustrated account of abortive attempts in the 1960s and beyond to build new fire support ships (LFS). With nearly two hundred photographs and specially commissioned line drawings and extensive appendixes, the work conveniently brings together details of the ships and their service histories found elsewhere only in scattered official references.

Three Men In A Raft: An Improbable Journey Down The Amazon


Ben Kozel - 2002
    It was a journey that would take him from the ultimate source of the Amazon high in the Andes to its mouth on the Atlantic coast of South America - a distance of over 7000 kilometres along the length of the world's wildest river.The journey from source to sea had only ever been completed by two expeditions, both of them assisted by first-class training, state-of-the-art equipment and major budgets. Ben, the Australian on the team, Colin Angus from Canada and Scott Borthwick from South Africa - all in their mid-twenties - were attempting the epic journey with fifteen thousand Australian dollars between them, some second-hand camping gear, a grand total of five afternoons' training in whitewater rafting and a large dose of blind optimism.Five months later they arrived at the Atlantic Ocean, having survived some of the planet's most dangerous whitewater, wild storms, disgusting tropical diseases, several hundred species of venomous insects and reptiles, not to mention being pursued and shot at by guerrillas from Peru's murderous Shining Path rebel movement and mistaken by paramilitary police for drug smugglers.Three Men in a Raft is the account of their extraordinary journey. It's both a travel book and an adventure story, laced with humour, danger and vivid description - unlikely, endearing and enthralling.

The Christmas Tree Ship: The Story of Captain Santa


Rochelle M. Pennington - 2002
    Families would wait anxiously at the docks for their choice of the best of the best Christmas trees.Captain Schuenemann's voyage of 1912 was to be his last. Fully loaded and ready to sail, the Rouse Simmons set out for its final destination on the southern end of Lake Michigan. Despite the crew's best efforts, the ship was unable to withstand the gales of the Great Lakes and went down off the coast of Two Rivers, Wisconsin.Rochelle Pennington is a freelance author and newspaper columnist from Wisconsin whose work has been included in several best-selling series including Chicken Soup for the Soul, Don't Sweat the Small Stuff, and Stories for the Heart.

The Shackleton Voyages


Roland Huntford - 2002
    He is best known for his legendary third expedition 'Endurance', but Shackleton also undertook three other expeditions. each enthralling in its own way but none achieving the goal it set out to reach. Charm, charismatic leadership and dogged determination ensured Shackleton became a hero in his own lifetime.Each chapter explores a period of Shackleton's life and is introduced by Roland Huntford's illuminating text and accompanied by a host of photographs, drawings and diary extracts, many hitherto unpublished. Shackleton's restless, independent spirit suffered early and his wit and courage captivated and inspired financial backers as well as his 'men' during the bleakest of moments. When he lost the race to the South Pole, first to the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen in 1911 and then to his arch rival Captain Scott in 1912, he set his sights on crossing Antarctica. Once again he failed, but he turned disaster into success by returning with all the men under his command alive. After a couple of years of slaving lecturing and writing to pay off his debts in the downbeat post-war years, he raised the funds and enthusiasm for a final expedition 'Quest'. A romantic to the end, as 'Quest' reached South Georgia, he died of a heart attack, aged only forty-seven.However, his death lacked the glory of Scott's death; only recently has Shackleton's reputation emerged from Scott's shadow. Shackleton never forgave Scott for invaliding him home after their attempt to reach the South Pole in 1902-3; in part this anger was the driving force behind Shackleton's repeated expeditions to Antarctica. Shackleton proved he could endure severe climates and wild, inhospitable terrain, but above all he displayed an exceptional talent for leadership and a fanatical determination which led him, as he put it, 'to go on going till one day I shall not come back',

Success Is All That Was Expected: The South Atlantic Blockading Squadron during the Civil War


Robert M. Browning Jr. - 2002
    The squadron's numerous actions including harrowing engagements between ships and forts, daring amphibious assaults, battles between ironclad vessels, the harassment of Confederate blockade runners, and combating the incredible evolution of underwater warfare in the form of the CSS Hunley. But the blockade's success was constantly hampered by indecisive leaders in Washington who failed to express their strategic vision as well as by reputation-conscious naval commanders who were reluctant to press the fight when the specter of failure loomed. Despite lost opportunities, unfulfilled expectations, and failures along the way, the bravery, sacrifice, and vigilance of these fighting men played an important role in the Union's ultimate victory.Success Is All That Was Expected joins Robert Browning's previous award-winning volume on the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron to create the benchmark for Civil War naval history. Together they tell the definitive story of Union naval operations off the Atlantic coast.

CSS Alabama: Anatomy of a Confederate Raider


Andrew Bowcock - 2002
    The sloop-of-war was known worldwide for her phenomenally destructive campaign against Union shipping that extended from coastal Texas to Cape Town, South Africa. Winning prizes estimated at $6 million, the ship was eventually tracked down and sunk off the coast of Cherbourg by the USS Kearsarge. Despite enduring interest in the ship, many details of her structure and fitting are still a matter of debate. The ship's clandestine construction and delayed arming produced often contradictory evidence. For this book, the author sifted through every known contemporary photograph, painting, model, and plan to produce the most detailed set of drawings of the Alabama ever published. With more than 250 illustrations, plans, and line drawings, the work will delight naval historians, Civil War enthusiasts, and model-makers alike.