World War II Adventures of Canada's Bluenose [Paperback]

Andrew Higgins (Author), Jesse Spalding III (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 7, 1999

Bluenose carried dangerous and essential war supplies, was stopped by Nazi Submarines and fired on by the U.S. Coast Guard! Ernest Hemingway, The Duke and Duchess of Windsor, spies, gun battles in the streets, all intertwined in Bluenose war time struggles! This exciting story is only available in this book.

--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"If Nova Scotia history buffs think Bluenose had an illustrious life under her first intrepid skipper, they should read about her escapades after Angus Walters."

"The schooner's wartime adventures in and around Cuba, including encounters with Nazi submarines, a chapter in Bluenose history that few Bluenoses know much about."

"Andrew Higgins, son of the man who bought the boat from Capt. Walters, has filled the gap with World War II Adventures of Canada's Bluenose."

"The self-published book is filled with stories, letters and a fascinating collection of photographs. It follows the schooner from January 1942, when Thomas Higgins and his partner Jesse Spalding started trading between the United States and the Caribbean..."

"I could have spent my whole entire life doing research, he says, of the flood of information he started collecting." -- The Halifax Herald, July 5, 1998, by Gerrie Gravatt

"At a time when shipping in the Atlantic was treacherous because of German submarines, the Bluenose played a key role in the war effort, Higgins notes, by transporting a variety of goods, including dynamite for making airfields in the West Indies, Central and South America. In addition to carrying bombs and fuel for Allied forces the ship supplied food and other essential items to areas that needed them."

"The Nazis had a fairly elaborate spy network in Cuba and they knew what the Bluenose was doing, Higgins says, but they wouldn't sink it."

"The Bluenose was stopped by the German submarines and they let it go because they said they loved the boat," Higgins said. "It was fired on once by the U.S. Coast Guard by mistake."

"These are among the incidents Spalding relates in his account. He also talks about encounters with people like Hemingway, Perry Como and the Duke of Windsor and more." -- The Yarmouth Vanguard, June 16, 1998, by Eric Bourque

"Spalding and Higgins socialized with an assortment of mercenaries, adventurers, politicians, the rich and famous. Cuba had a Casablanca atmosphere, with the interesting mix of people who found themselves there during the war. Spalding tells intriguing stories of gun battles in the streets of Havana, political conversations with Ernest Hemingway and golf games with the Duke of Windsor, Jimmy Demeret and Perry Como. Spalding also relates stories about Bluenose being stopped by Nazi submarines and fired on by the U.S. Coast Guard. -- The Coast Guard, June 16, 1998, by Cathy Holmes

"The Bluenose may have been sacrificed for insurance money when it sank off the coast of Haiti in 1946, says a new book on the schooner's last years."

"He quotes the daughter of Captain Wilson Berringer, who said her father protested when ordered to sail from Port Everglades because he didn't want to navigate at night in a ship lacking proper ballast."

"Looking back at the sinking of the Bluenose, Jackie feels that her Dad was set up and the owners wanted the ship sunk for insurance money. Higgins writes in World War II Adventures of Canada's Bluenose." -- The Daily News, April 19, 1998, by Brian Flinn

"The book has the makings of a movie: a salty tale of a bygone era of Grand Bankers and rum runners, a crusty old captain forced by circumstance to sell his ship..."

"The partners and their wives lived in Havana for a couple of exciting years in a huge mansion with servants and social contacts with people like Hemingway, James Michener and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor as well as the actor Sterling Hayden."

"Bluenose became so famous on her runs...supplying the war effort...that by Spalding's account she had even won the admiration of a Nazi U-boat captain."

"The Germans had apparently been eyeballing the schooner regularly as they prowled in search of prey and as Spalding tells it the captain responded... "You are the Bluenose out of Havana, bound for Port Everglades. If I didn't love that boat I'd shell you right now." -- Cape Breton Post, May 16, 1998, by John Campbell

BEST-SELLERS LIST, World War II Adventures of Canada's Bluenose. Number four in the Nova Scotia Category. -- The Halifax Herald, Sunday, May 17, 1998 --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

From the Back Cover

She had been famous as a racer before the Americans, Jesse Spalding III and Thomas Higgins II bought her. When World War II came along, it was inevitable that she would serve in it.

Her mission was to carry deadly cargoes of munitions and dynamite through the submarine infested waters of the Caribbean. This was made possible through her superior speed and maneuverability.

Spalding lovingly details the World War II adventures of the Bluenose. He also tells of life in Cuba, the home base of the Bluenose during the war. Cuba had a "Casablanca" atmosphere, with spies, celebrities and the wealthy all sharing in war struggles. Spalding tells intriguing stories about such figures as Ernest Hemingway and the Duke of Windsor. This book is more than a story of a great ship. It presents a fascinating panorama of a way of life that has vanished.

Andrew Higgins, the son of Spalding's partner, adds to the story with interviews of others who were involved. Andrew includes his own research as well as photos, documents and family letters that existed during the war. Andrew looks at the war time struggles of a great ship through the eyes of those involved.

Indeed the war years of Canada's Bluenose were spent making a fascinating and valuable difference in the allied war effort. --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 210 pages
• Publisher: West Indies Trading Co; Revised edition (December 7, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0966307313
• ISBN-13: 978-0966307313
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,166,044 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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