Customer Reviews

The Schooner Bertha L. Downs (Conway's History of the Ship)

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The majestic age of sail, the large tall ships bearing up to seven masts in the later 1800's to the second world war is an age that everyone with an interest in the sea loves. Great ships that plied the world with coal, wool, tea and timber in direct competition with the steam ship. Unlike the warships such as the victory of Constituion they required small crews as the evolution of the industrial age saw the use of 'Donkey engines' to lift the enormous sails in minutes in comparison to days by manual labour. How do I know this? I bought this wonderful book.

Unlike the rest of the series, it is written by men of sail, not hostorians, and even the traditional line drawings are explained. When you peruse this book you can hear Greenhill and Manning argueing with each other about the way it was back "then".

The book contains the history of the tall ship as a cargo carrier, the history of this ship as well as line drawings and photos that would make Beken of Cowles drool.

A wonderful coffee table book even though it was never meant to be one.