It has been nearly a lifetime since anyone published the sort of stories in this book. So it seems to be time the rich traditions of these waters were re-examined. Here collected are some fifty "sea Stories" - all true, all historic and richly illustrated.
Aside from a fair amount of history, we find the first English fort on this continent (1602), mutiny, piracy, bravery, women at sea, clipper ships built on Cape Cod, disasters at sea like that caused by the Great October Gale of 1841 (tiny Truro lost fifty-one fishermen on the grand banks), rum-running, and cannibalism.
The world of the seamen was a dangerous world indeed. Lloyd's of London (the great marine insurer) reported in 1830 677 ships lost at sea; in 1881 the number was 973.
This book sums up the superb qualities of the people of Cape Cod and the Islands - their courage, ingenuity and heroism.
