Book Reviews
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Book Reviews John M. Anderson. Time and Tides. a midshipman rather than apprentice) Some Memories of a Seafaring Life. was in its twilight years. By the end of Ladysmith, BC: self-published, 2019. the decade container traffic was boom- 236pp., illustrations, map, CDN ing; Alfred Holt and Company went out $20.00, paper; ISBN 978-1-7750948- of business in 1988. 1-4. (Available from the author: capta@ Once qualified as a mate, John telus.net, plus $5.00 postage.) Anderson moved on and, after winter voyages to Finland from Britain, did Books by contemporary ocean-going several voyages in breakbulk and bulk mariners are hard to find, and descrip- freighters operated by Canadian Pacif- tions of seafaring in Canadian waters, ic Shipping in the late 60s. These in- including the Arctic, are rarer still. cluded hauling lumber from Vancou- Time and Tides is a first-person account ver Island to Japan and returning with of over forty years at sea by a master automobiles; other voyages involved mariner now living on Vancouver Is- transporting BC forest products to the land. Captain John Anderson started UK. John Anderson spent 18 months in his seagoing career in the UK as an CP ships crossing the Atlantic, mostly apprentice in cargo ships trading to the in smart-looking smallish white-hulled Far East. He first signed on with the freighters with Beaver names trading legendary Blue Funnel Line operated up through the Seaway. by Alfred Holt’s, a firm that traced its The author began his Canadi- history back almost 100 years, designed an-based seafaring on the west coast its own distinctive vessels, and main- in the large weather ship Quadra; this tained them to the highest of standards. was followed by time in 96-foot Coast The way of life he describes in the early Guard Rescue Cutters. Feeling that his 60s—long voyages with leisurely stays opportunities to captain his own ship in exotic ports while cargo was load- were limited in the Coast Guard at the ed and unloaded laboriously, and the time, Anderson embarked in six years staid culture of the firm (he was termed of towing with BC companies, initial- The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord, XXX, No. 1 (Spring 2020), 173-212 174 The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord ly long deep-sea voyages and then in Mike Bender. A New History of Yacht- coastal waters and then as far as the ing. Woodbridget Suff.: The Boydell Columbia River. The narrative about Press, www.boydelandbrewer.com, these years provides a look at the vari- 2017. xix+441 pp., illustrations, notes, ety of work done by towboats—and the bibliography, index. US $39.95, hard- decrepit condition of several. The early back; ISBN 978-1-78327-133-7. 70s brought an explosion of oil explo- ration in the Beaufort Sea by Dome Pe- To many people, the word “yachting” troleum. John Anderson spent a decade evokes a rarified world of wealth and working in the north, and outlines with indolence, enjoyed aboard extravagant a seamen’s eye the operational chal- floating palaces. While such decadence lenges of drilling in the Arctic and the is certainly part of the yachting tradi- innovative solutions devised by Cana- tion, it does not define it. Mike Bender dian industry. seeks to broaden our knowledge of both Captain Anderson’s final two de- what yachting is, and why it matters. cades at sea starting in the mid-80s Despite the all-encompassing na- were with the Canadian government in ture of its title, A New History of Yacht- survey ships and finally, in the light ice- ing is really a history of yachting in breaker Sir Wilfred Laurier. He writes Great Britain. The formation of yacht ruefully that under both Liberal and clubs in the colonies I s mentioned, Conservative governments, there was a and the New York Yacht Club makes constant drumbeat of reducing funding. a brief appearance in connection with He eventually became master of several the America’s Cup race; otherwise, ships and has much to say about what the author essentially restricts himself it was like to serve in and handle the to developments within the United survey ships Parizeau and John P Tully, Kingdom. Such insularity is both dat- and Wilfred Laurier. He also writes in ed—the time when Britannia ruled the detail about the work these ships were waves has long passed—and limits his doing including voyages to the western potential audience. Arctic. His accounts of scientific sur- The book’s coverage is otherwise veys carefully describe instrumenta- comprehensive. Unlike previous histo- tion, what was being investigated and ries that have related only the story of advances in navigational technology. aristocratic sailing, Bender chronicles John Anderson became a keen observer all aspects: from amateur boat-build- of marine birds and other life; an entire ing to women sailors, and everything chapter is devoted to his observations in between. This includes ocean rac- of whales and porpoises in the North ing, adult dinghy sailing (which, as he Pacific. correctly points out, is often consid- Time and Tides is illustrated by in- ered infra dig but has brought much teresting photos taken over the years low-cost pleasure to many people, both by the author. This is a straightforward one-design racers and cruisers), fami- account of a seagoing career spent in ly circumnavigations, and recreational several types of vessel and a welcome therapy for the physically and mental- record of time operating out of the Ca- ly challenged. All of these subsets are nadian west coast. described in their social context: e.g., ‘Corinthian’ yachting (adventurous Jan Drent cruising in small, simple boats, without Victoria, British Columbia the assistance of paid ‘hands’) devel- Book Reviews 175 oped as the mercantile and professional 40,000 miles at sea, and holds the Roy- classes flourished in the late Victorian al Yachting Association’s Yachtmaster era, while the Second World War result- Ocean certificate—he is well qualified ed in an appetite for risk that led some to provide an expert perspective on re- veterans to engage in long-distance cent developments. voyages that would previously have The concluding chapter, “After the been considered unduly hazardous. Crash”, attempts to predict yachting’s To a large extent, A New History future. While the discussion makes for of Yachting is about yacht clubs: their rather depressing reading—some par- foundations, their customs and tradi- ticipation numbers are shrinking, the tions, whether they serve a purpose, cost of ownership is increasing, a few and whether they will survive. One re- clubs are struggling—Bender makes a curring theme that reappears numerous better historian than social scientist. He times is club members’ social climb- postulates that “the economic script has ing, encouraged by the longstanding been rewritten” by the 2008-2009 re- involvement of the monarchy (a tradi- cession (369), but provides no real evi- tion that Bender regrets has now come dence for that sweeping statement. Fur- to an end: “The Royal Family, with ther, his assertion that Britons’ ability to the exception of Princess Anne, does engage in yachting has been curtailed not sail…. The portrait of the young, by shrinking leisure time ignores 2007 tiara-ed Queen on the wall is almost and 2009 increases in statutory leave the only reminder of this once power- entitlement. ful sentiment” (378). A less innocent An encouraging trend is increased side-effect has been a snobbish desire interest in foreign charter vacations. for exclusivity: women, ‘working men’ Also noteworthy are the acquisition and professional sailors have all been by several prominent clubs of fleets the subjects of discrimination, which of small keelboats available for their is richly catalogued complete with an members’ use and interclub regattas. 11-point list of “Means of Excluding Such ‘pay to play’ business models are ‘Unsuitable’ Persons”. Published indi- well suited to contemporary tastes of vidual club histories often tend towards the younger generations, and bode well the hagiographic, but Bender does not for the future. In any event, the healthy shy away from legitimate criticism. numbers of competitors at the annual The text is accompanied by colour Round the Island Race, the routinely reproductions of seven paintings, two oversubscribed Rolex Fastnet Race, etchings, and 15 photographs (the great and the creation of new regattas like majority in black and white). While the RORC Caribbean 600 suggest that these serve to illustrate different peri- yachting’s appeal is far from waning. ods and styles of yachting, they form a While it may not be a recreation for the tiny part of the book and the emphasis masses, it never really has been. is very much on the written word. The This book contains a wealth of in- latter is supported by copious footnotes formed commentary, attractively pre- and an extensive bibliography. Bender sented. It would make an excellent gift discusses a great number of yachting for any Anglophilic armchair sailor. A textbooks, novels and biographies, and more cosmopolitan history remains to it is apparent that he has a genuine love be written. for his subject matter. As an experi- enced yachtsman—he has logged over Roger Harris Etobicoke, Ontario 176 The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord David D. Bruhn, Cdr USN (Ret’d) & to Victory parade! A most comprehen- Rob Hoole, LCdr RN(ret’d). Enemy sive and carefully researched coverage. Waters; Royal Navy, Royal Canadi- There is a detailed description, an an Navy, Royal Norwegian Navy, U.S. illustrative selection, of many of the Navy, and Other Allied Mine Forces major named Allied mining operations Battling the German and Italians in throughout the war.