BOOKS Good Boats, by Roger C. Taylor (Camden, Me, Inte rnatio na l Ma ine Publishing, 1977. 214 pp., illus., 51 7.50). If he had learned no thing else in li fe (and such is like ly no t th e case), Roger T aylo r kn ows boats. He kn ows good boa ts as well as lo usy boats, runs a publishing company he fo unded that successfully spec ializes in books abo ut boats, and writes abo ut good boat designs in his Na tional Fisherm an column . He prese nts in Good Boats some of his best finds . Pe riod, type, a nd rig a re no t a fac to r
in these desig ns. T he re are sloo ps, sc hoone rs, yaw ls, a he rma phrodite brig, a catboat, and even a dhow-type trisail ketch. What un ifi es this wide ly di ve rsi· fi ed collectio n of craft is their excelle nce. All are spac io us, comfortable, handso me, and imme nsely suited to the ir tasks. T aylo r has no compun ctio n a bo ut alterin g o thers· designs to suit his fa ncy. He re moves a n e ngin e to create an ex tra cabin , changes acco mmodatio ns, and in o ne case with the stro ke of his pen grandl y added a ce nte rboard whe re no ne previ o usly existed. Fo rtunately, his
The National Maritime Historical Society Proudly Announces . ..
THE PEKING
BATILES CAPE HORN By Captain Irving Johnson America's most renowned sailor writes of his first deep-sea voyage in square rig, aboard the great German bark Peking. Now on exhibition at South Street Seaport Museum in New York, Peking battled for her life in Johnson's voyage in her, in seas of such power they bent in her steel sides. Long out of print, this original narrative written at the time is now reissued with a new foreword on the author's life, and an afterword in which Captain Johnson looks again, from the perspective of a lifetime of seafaring, at the experiences which, he says, "taught me to lean forward into life. " 224 pages with 40 photographs $5.95 paper c o ver $11.95 hardbo und
instinc ts are good and such license seems to wo rk. Some of the c raft re prese nted he re are unusual a nd sta rtingly beautiful. The Cogge ke tches, with their stern counte r with fo ur windows evoking visio ns of 18th-century me n-of-war is an exa mple. T he G lad Tidings, a n adaptatio n of the dow neast pinky, a no ther. She re tains her traditio nal appearance, a nd , with her supe rb peapod stern is an able craft that was designed a nd owned by Howard Cha pelle. Taylo r's text prov ides fine backgro und ma te rial o n the pinky as an histo ri c class as well as the histo ry a nd qualities of the parti cular vessel. Designers re presented range from unkn owns to John Alden and Philip Rh odes; they are of less matter than their c reatio ns, all of which fall into that special category o ne calls good boats. DOD Eastward: A Maine Cruise In A Friendship Sloop, by Roge r F. Dunca n (Ca mde n d., 1nte rn ati o na l Ma rine Pu bli shing. 1976 . 240 pp .. illus., 59.95). Roger Dun can's ma ny years spent c ruising the Maine Coast and surrounding wa ters come to fin e flower in this e ngrossing acco unt of a summer cruise fro m East Boothbay, Maine to New Brun swick . With him aboard his 32-foot Friendship sloop East ward were his wife Na ncy, his bro ther and his young niece, a nd a host of ideas, me mo ries and ways of seeing things that make his book no me re narrati ve but the celebratiori of a voyage, o r a way of voyaging. A gentle trip that begins with a peasoup fog has its share of surprises (what c ruise doesn't?) and includes the annual Friendship Sloop Society's race. Inte resting sidelights abo und. The brief accoun t of Maine's fa mous windjammer fl eet discloses that its creato r, Capt. Frank Swift was inspired by the "dude" ra nches of the West to fit out his little schooner Clinton with bunks in 1935 for o ne-week cruises. His venture soon expanded to mo re than ten ships, some o whi ch still sail along wi th additions to this day. DOD
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Songs of South Street-Street of Ships, by Eric Russell & Ma rk Lovewe ll (Wood brid ge NJ, C hant yman Press, 1977. 68 pp ., illu s., paper, 53.00). G ood new collections of folk music are always welcome ; this is a good o ne. The o ral tradition that allows for e ndless variations of lyrics and even melodies permit the compilers to opt for the most familiar , to dig out the most authentic (if there is such a
SEA HISTORY , S UMME R 1977