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A History of Working Watercraft of the Western Wor ld , 2nd edition, by Thomas C. Gillmer, illustrated by William Gilkerson (International Marine, Camden ME, 1994, 276pp, drwgs, photos, plans, index; $29.95hc) Seaman-artist and naval architect Tom Gillmer has produced a masterwork in this new, greatl y expanded edition of his classic Working Watercraft of 1972. His story of the evolution of the traditional small craft still to be found in harbors, fjords, rias and open beaches from Norway to Africa, and from the Aegean Sea to the Chesapeake and San Francisco Bays begins, appropriately, with an appreciation of the frescoes uncovered forty years ago in the ancient city of Akrotiri on the isle ofThera, or modern Santorini. In the firstedition of this study Gillmer expressed surprise that these boats had been dated to the entombment of the city in volcanic ash around 1500BC. He felt that an earlier date between 1600 and l 800BC made more sense, judging by the design of the vessels so clearly shown in such ex uberant detail. And behold, more recent findings have unequivocally placed the date of the entombment at I 700BC, squarely in the middle of Gillmer's hypothes ized range! He does not mention th is confirming change, but this rev iewer noticed it because the Theran civ ilization is a particular interest of min e-for th e same reasons Gillmer chose it as the starting point for hi s book. He fee ls that Akrotiri provides the earliest ev idence of what we might term a Western c ulture. The theme of the work is the origin and persistence of boatbui lding practices that accompanied and contributed to the development of Western civilizations. But that's a rather dry way of characteri zing the fecund variety and creative energy to be found in boats ranging from the Cheops funeral boat of 2600BC, built to the southern tradition of a sturdy shell made up of heavy edgefas hioned planks, to the Viking ships of 800- lOOOAD, which depended for their strength on long planks split (not sawn) from the tree and faste ned by thong to light internal frami ng secured to a strong but slightl y flexible keel. In his exploration of small craft beginning in the 1930s, Gillmer has found survival of old Norse design concepts and construction techniques in the light and able faerings still used in Norway, and the sturdier Yorkshire coble, a beach boat deriving from the Scandinavian in-
cursions over a thousand years ago. He find s dugout canoes still active in Africa, and indeed in the Caribbean and Oceania, and he finds the next step up, a boat made of several logs with planked sides, still sailing in the Chesapeake, where Europeans adapted Native American craft for their own uses. And he fo llows carefully Michael Katzev's building and sai ling of the Kyrenia II , replica of a Greek vessel of the 300s BC. Richard Steffy's wonderful work in modeling ancient craft fro m scattered timbers receives full recognition, as does the leadership role of George Bass in establishing the modern science of marine archaeology. The reader shares in the author's joy in discovery and recognition of enduring themes and practices, and ab undant illustration enables one to see what the author sees, whether expressed in William Gilkerson 's elegant reconstruction of the Thera boats, copious photographs of surviving types, or the author's onthe-spot sketches and carefu l plans. "A sailor cannot be content with a poorly performin g boat," obse rv es Gillmer at the outset of hi s ex ploration. "The desire to reach that farthest point of land to windward is strong enough to urge continuous refi nement. " With a sailor's eye and arti st's sensitivity, Gillmer recaptures fo r us in this book a vital tradition of the West. PS An Officer of the Blue: Marc-Joseph Marion Dufresne, South Sea Explorer, 1724-1772, by Edward Du yker (Uni versity of Melbourne Press, Australia, 1994, 17 9pp , illu s, map s, ap pen, ind ex; $39.95 hc) Avail able from ISBS , Inc. , 5804 NE Hassalo St., Portland OR 972 13-3644. The thirty-seve n-year career of Marion D ufresne, one of the important though neglected French maritime explorers of the 18th century, was as remarkable as it was varied. Hi s ex ploits encompass early success as a corsair, a daring rescue of Bonnie Prince Charlie fol lowing the Prince's disastrous attempt to restore the Jacobite monarchy in England and Scotland, command of merchant and nava l ships, participation in a number of engageme nts, includin g Quiberon Bay ( 1759), trading voyages to Frenich India, raids on enemy merchantmren and, finally, unawareofCook 's di scoveiries on hi s first voyage, the discovery 1of the most westerly islands of the Indii an Ocean and the west coast of SEA fHISTORY 71 , AUTUMN 1994