Customer Reviews

Barefoot Pirate: The Tall Ships and Tales of Windjammer

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Great book !!
I used to be a " barefoot" sailor, on the Flying Cloud,-
Mandalay,- -Yankee Clipper,-Yankee Trader, -
so this evokes some wonderfull memories, wish Windjammer was still operational.
This book captures the essence of "Windjammer", and explains some of the dedication that was part of its creation.

Reccomend this to any FREE !!! spirits left out there---

Barefoot Pirate will have a huge appeal to anybody (including me) that has ever sailed on one of the Windjammer fleet's vessels. It details Mike Burke's (the founders) career and gives the history of each of the sailing vessels in the fleet. As a prior windjammer reading the book, it took me far away from my normal office job- even though I have not sailed Flying Cloud for over 30 years! I still have vivid memories to this day.
On the down side, the book is understandably biased and does not give a full
accounts of the safety and financial issues that have dogged the business, and the quality of the photographs in the book are not nearly what we expect in modern printing. Many are grainy and many others lack detail.
As I write this (March 2008) the future of the entire fleet is uncertain, and books like this may ultimately be the final historical repository for the Windjammer fleet of sailing vessels.

Saw the book show up, wondered how did someone tell it..........Fantastic, after spending more than 15 years dreaming of Windjammer, then fate brought me the best job in the world, working for them as a private contractor for another fifteen years....the authors did great in telling a true story....when I saw my Texas shop, it brought tears of joy

Recieved this book within two days of order. Was so surprised and it is in excellant condiition. Does not look used at all.

We have been "jammers" for many years and lament the loss of a cruise line like no other! The ships were unique, but our fellow passengers were what made the trips worthwhile. The tall ships of the Windjammer Cruise line took us to places that are rapidly disappearing. We fondly remembered our voyages on the tall ships with the kindred spirits who were able to "unplug" and join us on voyages to parts of the unspoiled Caribbean that are rapidly disappearing. This book offers up a piece of history of the Windjammer era and includes beautiful photos and narrative. If you have ever sailed on a piece of history, you will treasure this book as we did!

This was a great book particularly if you had the pleasure of cruising on the Polynesia, Yankee Clipper, Mandalay and Legacy like I did. The photos are awe inspiring, and the story of the Fantome was tragic. Tales of how Mike Burke built the fleet from less than no money, and deftly kept one half-step ahead of the "Suits" reinforced the Piratical nature of the company. The one thing missing due to the date of publication, was the epilogue. In 2007 the family became true pirates and disapeared with the money. The worst part was that their wonderful crews (and our FRIENDS) were abandoned in 4 foriegn ports without their pay to get home. Re-reading my personal copy (autographed by 4 of the Captains) will never let me forget all the great times, and people I met.

I have been doing windjammer cruises for over 20 years. The book shows what happens behind the scenes and how windjammers got there start. But it's more a book about a very interesting man.