Good Maritime Reading

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

Having got fed up of all the usual round of nautical fiction, (that invariably concentrates on naval warfare) I came across a seemingly bottomless pit of ancient nautical e-books on the Internet. These are part of the Gutenberg Project, and may be downloaded free of charge.

I download them into my computer, and then transfer them to my e-reader (I have a Nook and a Kindle).

I have just finished reading The Frozen Pirate, by William Clark Russell, published in 1887.

The story is about the mate (chief officer) of a British sailing ship in 1801. His ship is sunk after a collision with ice off Cape Horn, and he is the only survivor. After much hardship, he lands on a gigantic iceberg, and shortly after, the splitting of the ice causes him to lose his boat. He finds a 50-year-old two-masted schooner frozen into the ice, that turns out to be an old pirate ship, Boarding it, he manages to survive by lighting the galley fire and thawing out the stores, and after many strange adventures, manages to return home. I will not spoil the story further. But if you want some old-fashioned adventure with superb descriptive writing, I can really recommend it. Here is a link to the download:

**LINK**

Bob

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

[BanjomanParticipant @banjoman]

Highly interesting, Bob! Particularly as I think this novel seems very likely to have been, almost to the point of must have been, part of the inspiration for the final sequence of the Carl Barks classic Donald Duck adventure Luck of the North, originally published in December 1949, which has a very similar sequence to the one you describe, albeit with a viking ship frozen into the ice rather than a pirate schooner. As with anything done by Barks, highly recommended reading!

/Mattias

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

I am now reading "Abandoned" by William Clark Russell, another free download from the Gutenberg Project.

This one was written in 1904, and is another excellent sea story about the Merchant Navy.

Here is the link: **LINK**

Bob

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

I now have enough reading material saved into my e-readers to last me forever, but sadly, the Merchant Navy sparks little interest! Two books read, and not a shot fired, or a single person run through with a boarding pike!

Bob

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Have you read Brian Callison's books Bob?

Colin

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

Yes I have, enjoy them very much!

Bob

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