All Sail Set: A Romance of the Flying Cloud (Nonpareil Book, 35.) by Armstrong Sperry |
by Octavius T. Howe
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by David W. Shaw
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by John Robinson
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Two Years Before the Mast: A Personal Narrative of Life at Sea (Modern Library Classics) by Richard Henry Dana Jr. |
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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
In the early days of the California gold rush, it took more than 200 days for a ship to travel from New York to San Francisco, a voyage of more than 16,000 miles. In 1851, however, a clipper called the Flying Cloud made the same journey in only 89 days, a headline-grabbing world record that the Cloud itself beat three years later (and that would not then be broken until 1989).
In the early days of the California gold rush, it took more than 200 days for a ship to travel from New York to San Francisco, a voyage of more than 16,000 miles. In 1851, however, a clipper called the Flying Cloud made the same journey in only 89 days, a headline-grabbing world record that the Cloud itself beat three years later (and that would not then be broken until 1989).
The Flying Cloud's achievement was remarkable under any terms. But, writes David W. Shaw, it was all the more unusual because its navigator was a woman, Eleanor Creesy, who had been studying oceanic currents, weather phenomena, and astronomy since her girlhood in Marblehead, Massachusetts. With her husband, ship captain Josiah Perkins Creesy, she logged many thousands of miles on the ocean, traveling around the world carrying passengers and goods. In the wake of their record-setting transit from New York to California, Eleanor and Josiah became instant celebrities. But their fame was short-lived and their story quickly forgotten. Josiah died in 1871, Flying Cloud burned to the waterline in 1874, and Eleanor lived far from the sea until her death in 1900.
Though spotty in its documentation and full of invented dialog, Flying Cloud is a spirited and capable reconstruction of the clipper's voyage, and an interesting glimpse into the days of the tall ships. --Gregory McNamee
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
On her maiden voyage in 1851, the clipper ship Flying Cloud, carrying valuable cargo and 11 passengers, sailed from New York to San Francisco by the only route possible before the construction of the Panama Canal, around the tip of South America. The ship made the 16,000-mile trip in 89 days, 21 hoursAa record time. As astonishing as the speed, however, was the fact that the ship's navigator was the captain's wife, Eleanor Creesy, an experienced pilot who charted the course using the revolutionary new theories about wind directions and ocean currents propounded by Matthew Maury, superintendent of the navy's National Observatory. The subtitle of the book is misleading, however. This is really the story of the collaboration between an extraordinary woman and her husband, Captain Josiah Perkins Creesy. While the captain sailed the ship and dealt with emergenciesAsuch as broken masts, storms and disgruntled sailorsAhis wife calmly plotted the course, managed day-to-day life on board and coped with the sometimes rash decisions made by her husband, for whom the safety of his crew and passengers was less important than his desire to set a record and claim the financial reward the ship's owners would pay for speedy delivery of the cargo. Because the author doesn't embellish his sourcesAthe ship's log, letters, a passenger's diary and archival documents, none of which include much personal detailAthe characters of Eleanor and her husband remain shadowy. Still, Shaw (Daring the Sea) presents a vivid picture of life on the high seas with enough drama to interest even those who know nothing about sailing. A glossary of nautical terms helps with the technical details. Photos not seen by PW. (July)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
The surf broke steadily on the east side of Sandy Hook, carry sinewy lines of foam and bits of kelp up the hard-packed beach toward the high-water mark. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
topgallant pole mast, main topsail yard, clipper fleet, forecastle deck, dead aft, great cabin, poop deck, weather deck, larboard watch, pole masts, wind astern, starboard watch, current charts, sailing directions, mizzen mast, main topmast, lower yards Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Flying Cloud, New York, Cape Horn, San Francisco, Thomas Austin, United States, Tierra del Fuego, South America, Sarah Bowman, Golden Gate, Southern Ocean, Strait of Le Maire, Thomas Smith, Buenos Aires, Pacific Ocean, Captain Creesy, Sandy Hook, Cape Sao Roque, Laban Coffin, Willie Hall, Cape Frio, East River, Falkland Islands, Old Man, Rio de Janeiro New!
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
The surf broke steadily on the east side of Sandy Hook, carry sinewy lines of foam and bits of kelp up the hard-packed beach toward the high-water mark. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
topgallant pole mast, main topsail yard, clipper fleet, forecastle deck, dead aft, great cabin, poop deck, weather deck, larboard watch, pole masts, wind astern, starboard watch, current charts, sailing directions, mizzen mast, main topmast, lower yards Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Flying Cloud, New York, Cape Horn, San Francisco, Thomas Austin, United States, Tierra del Fuego, South America, Sarah Bowman, Golden Gate, Southern Ocean, Strait of Le Maire, Thomas Smith, Buenos Aires, Pacific Ocean, Captain Creesy, Sandy Hook, Cape Sao Roque, Laban Coffin, Willie Hall, Cape Frio, East River, Falkland Islands, Old Man, Rio de Janeiro New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 34
books:
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10
books
cite this book:
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- Two Years by Richard Henry Dana on 4 pages
- Two Years Before the Mast (Regents Illustrated Classics, Level D) by R. H. Dana Jr. on 4 pages
- Two Years Before the Mast: A Personal Narrative of Life at Sea (Modern Library Classics) by Richard Henry Dana Jr. on 4 pages
- The Physical Geography of the Sea by Matthew Fontaine Maury in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Greyhounds of the Sea: The Story of the American Clipper Ship by Carl C. Cutler in Front Matter, and Back Matter
See all 34 books this book cites
- The Sea Shall Embrace Them: The Tragic Story of the Steamship Arctic by David W. Shaw in Front Matter, and Back Matter
- Full and by: A Sailing Editor's Word Voyages Through the World of Sailors and Sailboats by William F. Schanen on page 54, and page 56
- Rounding The Horn: Being The Story Of Williwaws And Windjammers, Drake, Darwin, Murdered Missionaries And Naked Natives--a Deck's-eye View Of Cape Horn by Dallas Murphy in Back Matter
- Edie: American Girl by Jean Stein on page 19
- Sea Wolf of the Confederacy: The Daring Civil War Raids of Naval Lt. Charles W. Read by David W. Shaw in Front Matter
See all 10 books citing this book
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