"Men go back to
the mountains, as they go back to sailing ships at sea,
because in the mountains and on the sea they
must face up."
~
Henry David Thoreau
My husband
always loved the sea and decided he wanted to learn to sail. He took lessons,
read lots of books on everything from navigation to offshore sailing, and went
sailing every chance he got. He learned about all the rigging, the motor,
the sails and got the latest charts on CDs. He loved that he could see many
beautiful spots only seen from the water. He sailed all the local waters in all
kinds of weather until he earned his certificate and decided he was
ready. Time to sail to Hawaii. So he set out with a friend the
beginning of May. Once around the Cape they were following the coast
line about 200 km offshore, with pretty rough seas. When they
left the coast and angled away for Hawaii, they ran into 3 days of
terrible storms, leaving them feeling queasy, but no time to rest or
stop. The boat handled as it should and they made it to Hawaii in 27
days. They faced up!
He always thought he should have been a pilot of a big
ship, or at least a ferry. If your ancestor piloted a ship after 1850 it was
compulsory to get a Masters and Mates certificate. Before 1845 it would be a
Seamen and Seamen’s tickets you would be looking for. Most Masters and Mates
will have seen service as an apprentice or ordinary seaman before getting his
Certificate. The Sessional Papers of Canada, under Marine and Fisheries,
have lists of those who earned their certificates. Also search archive.org
for crew lists or ship logbook.
Certificate of competency as Extra Master for Edward Smith (of the Titanic)
You
will find links to a couple of logbooks below - one being that of the William
Baylies (Steam bark), of San Francisco, Calif., mastered by Hartson H. Bodfish,
kept by Hartson H. Bodfish, on voyage from 10 Mar. 1906-7 Nov. 1906 The logbook
is described as follows:
Log, kept by Hartson H. Bodfish, relating to a
whaling voyage to the North Pacific Ocean; 1906 March 10-1906 Nov. 6; Includes
descriptions of types of whales (bowhead, finback, killer, sperm, white),
seals, and walrus seen or taken, death at sea, shipboard medicine, smoked ship
to kill rats, and the arrest of Captain Bodfish for murder; and inventory of
whale oil and bone. Other places represented include Dutch Harbor and Nome.
Some
of the logbooks or journals of ships have names of the crew. Also search
archive.org for crew lists, ship logbook, ship jounal, and slave ships.
Relevant
Links:
Almanac of stars and tides, and small appendice in french)
Royal naval
biography, or, Memoirs of the services of all the flag-officers,
superannuated rear-admirals, retired-captains, post-captains and commanders
[microform] : whose names appeared on the admiralty list of sea-officers at the
commencement of the year 1823, or who have since been promoted : illustrated by
a series of historical and explanatory notes, which will be found to contain an
account of all the naval actions, and other important events, from the
commencement of the late reign, in 1760 to the present period : with copious
addenda.
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