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On-line books are all very well in their place, but some of us enjoy
exploring secondhand bookshops to see what we can find.

I would like to report an enjoyable and informative read, of a book "The
long voyage", I had never heard of before, by an author, H C de Mierre,
equally unknown to me.

This was written in 1963 after his retirement from a career with Cunard, but
concerned his first three years at sea as apprentice, voyaging under sail in
the three-masted  "Main", of the Nourse fleet, in the early 1900s.

He was clearly an intelligent and perceptive character, with a detailed
recall from long before, and a deep interest in his fellow tars. What I
enjoyed most was his ability to get into technicalities, particularly the
events in a gale in Winter, North Atlantic.  Sweating up hard the main upper
topsail yard with the capstan, the men went sprawling when its halliard
chain parted, and several tons of steel yard came down, causing an immense
amount of damage to the rig as it fell, explained with detailed drawings..

The efforts of the crew to control and limit the damage, the diversion,
limping, to Bermuda, an eventful tow to New York, make a gripping tale,.

A consequence of those events was that part of the cargo had to be
jettisoned This was "case-oil", kerosene in steel boxes, each weighing 85
pounds, intended for Calcutta. I had come across mention of case-oil before,
without knowing what it was. That must have been how kerosene (for cooking
and lighting, presumably) was shipped around the world in the days before
tankers. Over the side went 2,000 of those cases, to lighten her.

If you enjoy that sort of read, look out for "The long voyage", at your
local secondhand bookshop, Amazon, or Abebooks.

George.

contact George Huxtable at george@huxtable.u-net.com
or at +44 1865 820222 (from UK, 01865 820222)
or at 1 Sandy Lane, Southmoor, Abingdon, Oxon OX13 5HX, UK.


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