Tall Ships Down : The Last Voyages of the Pamir, Albatross, Marques, Pride of Baltimore, and Maria Asumpta (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "WHEN THE Pamir slid down the ways on 29 July 1905, she represented a commitment to the future of commercial shipping under sail..." (more)
Key Phrases: Maria Asumpta, Pride of Baltimore, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

There is something endlessly fascinating about shipwrecks, as this book so admirably demonstrates. Parrott writes with ease and authority, carefully blending both historical and technical data. - Baltimore Sun; Gripping reading. Not much detective fiction holds a reader's attention so well. A must-read for anyone with any interest in large sailing ships in general, and square-riggers in particular. - WoodenBoat; If you might like to read a closely reasoned seaman's appraisal of not one, but several maritime disasters, you will be richly rewarded by Tall Ships Down. - SAIL --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Description

Five stories of loss at sea

For all its soul-stirring romance, the tall-ship renaissance has a tragic side, and professional mariner and maritime scholar Dan Parrott explores it in this groundbreaking reconstruction of five controversial sea disasters of the past half century. Working from official documents, survivor and expert interviews, and his own considerable tall-ship experience, Parrott re-creates the losses of five sail-training vessels: the 316-foot Pamir (1957), 117-foot Albatross (1961), 117-foot Marques (1984), 137-foot Pride of Baltimore (1986), and 125-foot Maria Asumpta (1995), which together claimed 112 lives. In Tall Ships Down, he reveals that, contrary to official findings, ignorance of and disregard for age-old practices of seamanship were at least as responsible for the tragedies as "acts of God."

He vividly re-creates the final voyage of each and the events surrounding the disasters. The book's final section, an unforgettable seminar on seamanship, explores the roles played by ship stability, structural integrity, weather, human error, and standards of risk in tragedies at sea.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: International Marine Publishing (October 18, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071390928
• ISBN-13: 978-0071390927
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,480,645 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must-Read for Professional Sailors, October 24, 2002

By	Capt. Andy Chase "achase31" (Maine Maritime Academy, Castine, ME USA) - See all my reviews

This book is an outstanding study of five sail training vessel accidents. It is not only interesting, but full of important lessons for all sailors, particularly for professional sailors of traditional vessels. Captain Parrott has done the sailing world a great service by analysing these tragedies, not with romance or melodrama, but with compassion and empathy. As a seasoned professional himself, he investigates without being judgemental, and provides us with information we can use to prevent future accidents.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Read, May 15, 2003

By	NauticallyObsessed (Bellingham, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This book is a great read for both professional mariners and armchair sailors alike. Professionals will appreciate the insight into these disasters and their causes, while the armchair sailor will find the sea stories fascinating enough to keep their interest. The author's writing style is easy to read, and his research is fairly extensive. All in all an outstanding book that deserves a place in any nautical library.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars why some ships sink, February 1, 2004

By	"bermarc" (Pittsburgh, PA USA) - See all my reviews

Readers seeking spine-tingling narratives of sea disasters will be disappointed with Tall Ships Down, because this brilliant book is instead a penetrating analysis of the circumstances of loss of several traditional sail ships in recent times. In five lucid essays, the author uses each sinking to illuminate the intersection of changes in nautical technological traditions, situational decision-making, and construction of sailing heritage. Beyond sailors or maritime buffs, this superbly written work should capture anyone interested in the sociology of technological change. The author is thoughtful and engaging, with his experience as captain of large traditional sail ships only one source of the book's extraordinary insights. Tall Ships Down will take its place as a classic alongside technology and culture studies such as Hilton's Eastland: Legacy of the Titanic. I'd consider it a shame if the author does not give us next a full-length treatment of the sinking of the Pamir, or a biography of Alan Villiers.