Seafaring Lore and Legend

About the Book

"A valuable and lively resource. Jeans sorts truth from fiction with a sure hand and does full justice to both."—Peter Stanford, President Emeritus, National Maritime Historical Society

“A veritable sourcebook of nautical history, beliefs, and heritage. Every true mariner will get lost in this book.”—Boating

Seafaring Lore and Legend is a storehouse of wonders for those who love the sea. From Noah’s Ark to Thor Heyerdahl’s raft, from Atlantis to the Northwest Passage, author Peter Jeans scours the ages and the seven seas for fanciful, inspiring, and bizarre tales of sea monsters, ghost ships, lost continents, castaways, pirates, explorers, superstitions, and customs.

Discover the surprising truths behind:

• The origins of naval salutes and the Beaufort Scale
• Flogging a dead horse and other oddities of nautical custom
• Sea chanties, scurvy, and the hardships of life at sea
• Infamous and noteworthy sea captains and their ships
• Famous wrecks and mutinies
• Mermaids, sirens, and sea nymphs
• Nautical superstitions such as the albatross and Fiddler’s Green
• And much more

This is a book you can open anywhere to savor for a few minutes or an afternoon. But be careful: it's easy to lose track of time at sea.

Table of Contents:
AcknowledgmentsNote to the ReaderIntroduction1. In the BeginningGreat FloodsMoses and the Red SeaThe RainbowMaui, Creator of New ZealandOceanusKing NeptunePoseidonAmphitriteAphroditePortunusCastor and PolluxNereusHero and LeanderScylla and CharybdisManannan, Celtic Sea God2. Fabled LandsPillars of HerculesColossus of RhodesUltima ThuleThe HesperidesTarshishTaprobaneDistant OphirMagnetic IslandsHy BrasilIsland of OgygiaIsland of DelosLemuria, Lost ContinentLost Land of Lyonesse3. Legendary VoyagesSindbad the SailorGulliver’s TravelsHanno the NavigatorPrince Madoc of WalesVoyages of Saint BrendanVoyages of Gil EannesPolynesian SeafarersThe Kon-Tiki Expedition4. Sea Quests of OldThe ArgosyThe ArgonautsThe OdysseyVinland USAThe Northwest PassageThe Great South LandMoby Dick5. Maritime HistoryThe British Royal NavyNaval SalutesPlimsoll LineLloyd’s of LondonP&O Shipping LineBeaufort Wind Scale6. Nautical CustomThe BucentaurCrossing the LineTo Flog a Dead HorseThe Getting of GrogTraveling POSH7. Life at SeaOcean WavesTrade WindsThe Sargasso SeaThe Seven SeasCape HornThe Cape HornersOn the Spanish MainPrize MoneyFirst RateOf Knots and LogsScurvyDeep-Sea DivingSea Chanties8. The Captain and His ShipShip TypesThe Age of SailThe Clipper ShipsThe WindjammersChristopher ColumbusLord AnsonCaptain James CookJohn Paul JonesLord Nelson9. A Murmuring of MenThe Batavia Wreck and MutinyHMS Bounty MutinyHMS Hermione MutinySpithead and the Nore MutinyThe Press Gang10. Big Ships and BattlesRMS TitanicHMS Ark RoyalRMS Queen MaryHMS DreadnoughtThe Spanish ArmadaThe Battle of CopenhagenThe Battle of JutlandThe Sinking of HMAS Sydney11. Death and DisasterUSS ScorpionHMS Royal GeorgeThe Gilt DragonHMS BirkenheadRMS LusitaniaSS WaratahThe Whaler EssexThe William BrownWrecker’s Coast12. Navigable WatersThe Amazon RiverThe Panama CanalThe Suez Canal13. Castaways and SurvivorsRobinson CrusoeIcebound by NorthPoon LimHerbert KabatJohn CaldwellTropic Island Hell14. At Odds with the LawPiratesBuccaneersEarrings for CutthroatsHenry EveryWilliam KiddEdward Teach (“Blackbeard”)Anne BonnyMary Read15. Sea FanciesMermaidsSirensThe LoreleiSelkiesHalcyon DaysKing Canute16. Myth and MysteryFabled AtlantisThe Bermuda TriangleThe Flannan IslesThe Flying DutchmanThe Mary CelesteThe Schooner JennyUSS Cyclops17. Sea MonstersMonster CaddieCaptain M’Quhae’s MonsterHaiphong MonsterMonster KrakenLoch Ness MonsterRattray Head MonsterCape Cod MonsterCape São Roque MonsterHalifax MonsterWhaler Daphne’s MonsterNahant Beach MonsterJonah and the WhaleOrcs, Whales, and LeviathanThe Bunyip of the Billabongs18. Wraiths of the SeaCapes of Virginia PhantomGulf of Saint Lawrence Ghost ShipLong Island Sound Ghost ShipNew Haven Ghost ShipGhosts of Dead MenThe Vikings of Solway FirthPhantom Pilots19. Superstition and BeliefLaunching a ShipCoin Under the MastShips’ NamesShips’ FigureheadsDeparturesThe Eyes of HerGuiding StarThe LodestoneUnlucky ShipsWomen Aboard ShipWhistling Aboard ShipRinging Glass Aboard ShipSharks AsternShip’s CatCoffins Aboard ShipFlowers Aboard ShipFlags, Bags, Bells, and RagsUmbrellas Aboard ShipThe AlbatrossOur Flat EarthSaint Elmo’s FirePriests Aboard ShipEbb TideWren’s FeatherDeath by DrowningDavy Jones’s LockerFiddler’s GreenSources and NotesSelect BibliographyIndex

About the Author :
Peter Jeans was born in Perth in 1936. He was educated at Geraldton Senior High School and was graduated in English from the University of Western Australia in 1962. In 1962 he resigned his job, sailed to Singapore, bought a motorcycle, and spent fifteen months riding it overland to London, arriving on Westminster Bridge in September, 1963. The story of this adventure is described in his book Long Road to London. His love for seafaring lore began when he wrote his first nautical book, Ship To Shore: A Dictionary of Everyday Words and Phrases Dervived from the Sea. He has been an English teacher, a columnist, and is an avid writer and sailor. He and his wife, Judith, and two sons live in Perth. AUTHOR HOMETOWN: Perth, Australia