Sam Jefferson – författare

Tasked with destroying as many British merchant ships as possible, German aristocrat Felix von Luckner and his ship the Seeadler succeeded in spectacular fashion.n 1916, a three-masted windjammer bearing Norwegian colours sailed out of a quiet anchorage in Germany, loaded with cargo and apparently bound for Australia. Her true mission was quite different.The ship was, in fact, the SMS Seeadler, commanded by swashbuckling German aristocrat Felix von Luckner. Over an epic voyage, he used cunning and deception to destroy fourteen merchant ships, all the while evading the utterly foxed and infuriated British Admiralty in a daring game of cat and mouse.This rip-roaring World War I story depicts a life of espionage, counterespionage and piracy of the most gentlemanly kind.

Tasked with destroying as many British merchant ships as possible, German aristocrat Felix von Luckner and his ship the Seeadler succeeded in spectacular fashion.n 1916, a three-masted windjammer bearing Norwegian colours sailed out of a quiet anchorage in Germany, loaded with cargo and apparently bound for Australia. Her true mission was quite different.The ship was, in fact, the SMS Seeadler, commanded by swashbuckling German aristocrat Felix von Luckner. Over an epic voyage, he used cunning and deception to destroy fourteen merchant ships, all the while evading the utterly foxed and infuriated British Admiralty in a daring game of cat and mouse.This rip-roaring World War I story depicts a life of espionage, counterespionage and piracy of the most gentlemanly kind.

In the era of commercial sail, clipper ships were the ultimate expression of speed and grace. Racing out to the gold fields of America and Australia, and breaking speed records carrying tea back from China, the ships combined beauty with breathtaking performance. With over 200 gorgeous paintings and illustrations, and thrilling descriptions of the adventures and races on the water, this beautiful book brings the era vividly to life. Chapters include:The origins of the clippers - from the gold rush to the tea tradeA hell ship voyage with ''Bully'' Waterman, one of the most successful and notorious captains of the eraMarco Polo, the fastest ship in the world - her rise to prominence and subsequent declineMary Patten''s battle with Cape Horn - a lady captain takes charge in a very male worldMutiny aboard the ''wild boat of the Atlantic''The great China tea race of 1866 - an amazingly close race across the world, only decided in the final few milesThe Sir Lancelot defies the odds - her eccentric captains and rivalry with the legendary ThermopylaeThe Cutty Sark''s longest voyageFirst-hand accounts, newspaper reports and log entries add fascinating eyewitness detail, whilst the stunning images show how the designs of these thoroughbreds developed over the years.A wonderful read and worthy celebration of these racehorses of the sea.

In the era of commercial sail, clipper ships were the ultimate expression of speed and grace. Racing out to the gold fields of America and Australia, and breaking speed records carrying tea back from China, the ships combined beauty with breathtaking performance. With over 200 gorgeous paintings and illustrations, and thrilling descriptions of the adventures and races on the water, this beautiful book brings the era vividly to life. Chapters include:The origins of the clippers - from the gold rush to the tea tradeA hell ship voyage with ''Bully'' Waterman, one of the most successful and notorious captains of the eraMarco Polo, the fastest ship in the world - her rise to prominence and subsequent declineMary Patten''s battle with Cape Horn - a lady captain takes charge in a very male worldMutiny aboard the ''wild boat of the Atlantic''The great China tea race of 1866 - an amazingly close race across the world, only decided in the final few milesThe Sir Lancelot defies the odds - her eccentric captains and rivalry with the legendary ThermopylaeThe Cutty Sark''s longest voyageFirst-hand accounts, newspaper reports and log entries add fascinating eyewitness detail, whilst the stunning images show how the designs of these thoroughbreds developed over the years.A wonderful read and worthy celebration of these racehorses of the sea.

How did a big-game fishing trip rudely interrupted by sharks inspire one of the key scenes in Hemingway''s The Old Man and the Sea? How did Robert Louis Stevenson''s cruise to the cannibal-infested South Sea islands prove instrumental in his writing of The Beach of Falesa and The Ebb Tide? How did Masefield survive Cape Horn and a near-nervous breakdown to write Sea Fever?The waters of this world have swirled through storytelling ever since the Celts spun the tale of Beowulf and Homer narrated The Odyssey. This enthralling book takes us on a tour of the most dangerous, exciting and often eccentric escapades of literature''s sailing stars, and how these true stories inspired and informed their best-loved works. Arthur Ransome, Erskine Childers, Jack London and many others are featured as we find out how extraordinary fact fed into unforgettable fiction.

How did a big-game fishing trip rudely interrupted by sharks inspire one of the key scenes in Hemingway''s The Old Man and the Sea? How did Robert Louis Stevenson''s cruise to the cannibal-infested South Sea islands prove instrumental in his writing of The Beach of Falesa and The Ebb Tide? How did Masefield survive Cape Horn and a near-nervous breakdown to write Sea Fever?The waters of this world have swirled through storytelling ever since the Celts spun the tale of Beowulf and Homer narrated The Odyssey. This enthralling book takes us on a tour of the most dangerous, exciting and often eccentric escapades of literature''s sailing stars, and how these true stories inspired and informed their best-loved works. Arthur Ransome, Erskine Childers, Jack London and many others are featured as we find out how extraordinary fact fed into unforgettable fiction.

The 1866 transatlantic yacht race was a match that saw three yachts battle their way across the Atlantic in the dead of winter in pursuit of a $90,000 prize. Six men died in the brutal and close-fought contest, and the event changed the perception of yachting from a slightly effete gentlemen''s pursuit into something altogether more rugged and adventurous. The race also symbolized the beginning of America''s ''gilded age'', with its associated obscene wealth and largesse (the $90,000 prize put up by the three contestants is about $15 million in today''s money), as well as the thawing of relations between the US and UK. The narrative focuses on the victorious yacht Henrietta and her owner James Gordon Bennett. Bennett was the son of the multimillionaire proprietor of the New York Herald, and a notorious playboy. His infamous stunts included driving his carriage through the streets of New York naked, tipping a railway porter $30,000, and turning up at his own engagement party blind drunk and mistaking the fire for a urinal, which led to the coining of the phrase ''Gordon Bennett!''. However, Bennett was also a serious yachtsman and had served with distinction during the civil war aboard Henrietta, and he was the only owner to be aboard his own boat during the race. Other characters include Bennett''s captain Samuel Samuels (legendary clipper skipper, ex-convict and occasional vaudeville actor), financier Leonard Jerome, aboard Henrietta as race invigilator (he also happened to be grandfather to Winston Churchill) and Stephen Fisk, a journalist so desperate to cover the race that he evaded a summons to appear as a witness in court and instead smuggled himself aboard Henrietta in a crate of champagne. Using the framework of the race to discuss the various historical themes, there''s ample drama, and the diverse and eccentric range of characters ensure that this is a book laced with plenty of human interest, scandal and adventure.

The 1866 transatlantic yacht race was a match that saw three yachts battle their way across the Atlantic in the dead of winter in pursuit of a $90,000 prize. Six men died in the brutal and close-fought contest, and the event changed the perception of yachting from a slightly effete gentlemen''s pursuit into something altogether more rugged and adventurous. The race also symbolized the beginning of America''s ''gilded age'', with its associated obscene wealth and largesse (the $90,000 prize put up by the three contestants is about $15 million in today''s money), as well as the thawing of relations between the US and UK. The narrative focuses on the victorious yacht Henrietta and her owner James Gordon Bennett. Bennett was the son of the multimillionaire proprietor of the New York Herald, and a notorious playboy. His infamous stunts included driving his carriage through the streets of New York naked, tipping a railway porter $30,000, and turning up at his own engagement party blind drunk and mistaking the fire for a urinal, which led to the coining of the phrase ''Gordon Bennett!''. However, Bennett was also a serious yachtsman and had served with distinction during the civil war aboard Henrietta, and he was the only owner to be aboard his own boat during the race. Other characters include Bennett''s captain Samuel Samuels (legendary clipper skipper, ex-convict and occasional vaudeville actor), financier Leonard Jerome, aboard Henrietta as race invigilator (he also happened to be grandfather to Winston Churchill) and Stephen Fisk, a journalist so desperate to cover the race that he evaded a summons to appear as a witness in court and instead smuggled himself aboard Henrietta in a crate of champagne. Using the framework of the race to discuss the various historical themes, there''s ample drama, and the diverse and eccentric range of characters ensure that this is a book laced with plenty of human interest, scandal and adventure.

The 1866 transatlantic yacht race was a match that saw three yachts battle their way across the Atlantic in the dead of winter in pursuit of a $90,000 prize. Six men died in the brutal and close-fought contest, and the event changed the perception of yachting from a slightly effete gentlemen’s pursuit into something altogether more rugged and adventurous. The race also symbolized the beginning of America’s ‘gilded age’, with its associated obscene wealth and largesse (the $90,000 prize put up by the three contestants is about $15 million in today’s money), as well as the thawing of relations between the US and UK. The narrative focuses on the victorious yacht Henrietta and her owner James Gordon Bennett. Bennett was the son of the multimillionaire proprietor of the New York Herald, and a notorious playboy. His infamous stunts included driving his carriage through the streets of New York naked, tipping a railway porter $30,000, and turning up at his own engagement party blind drunk and mistaking the fire for a urinal, which led to the coining of the phrase ‘Gordon Bennett!’. However, Bennett was also a serious yachtsman and had served with distinction during the civil war aboard Henrietta, and he was the only owner to be aboard his own boat during the race. Other characters include Bennett’s captain Samuel Samuels (legendary clipper skipper, ex-convict and occasional vaudeville actor), financier Leonard Jerome, aboard Henrietta as race invigilator (he also happened to be grandfather to Winston Churchill) and Stephen Fisk, a journalist so desperate to cover the race that he evaded a summons to appear as a witness in court and instead smuggled himself aboard Henrietta in a crate of champagne.Using the framework of the race to discuss the various historical themes, there’s ample drama, and the diverse and eccentric range of characters ensure that this is a book laced with plenty of human interest, scandal and adventure.

This unique and entertaining travel guide to Greek waters recreates parts of voyages undertaken in myth, anchoring off landmarks or ports associated with ancient legends. It follows the trails of Odysseus, Hercules, and Jason and the Argonauts, as well as visiting the sites where Poseidon lost his trident (off Paxos) and built his temple (on the Saronic Gulf), the cliff where Theseus’s father threw himself to his death after fearing his son had been killed by the minotaur, and Troy, the remains of which survive as a reminder of the city that withstood a 10-year siege.With almost 6,000 islands in the Aegean and Ionian Seas, Greece is a maritime nation like no other – and according to its mythology this has been the case since the days when seafarers believed their fortunes, good or ill, lay in the hands of Poseidon. Sailing through these crystal clear waters today is a voyage into history, whether true or legendary.Retelling all the myths, from the very well-known to the less familiar, In the Wake of the Gods is a cruising companion to be read and enjoyed in its own right. With the author's in depth knowledge of the region, it is also packed with useful and practical pointers for pilotage and passage planning, including information about prevailing winds and anchoring, along with charts and photography.

This unique and entertaining travel guide to Greek waters recreates parts of voyages undertaken in myth, anchoring off landmarks or ports associated with ancient legends. It follows the trails of Odysseus, Hercules, and Jason and the Argonauts, as well as visiting the sites where Poseidon lost his trident (off Paxos) and built his temple (on the Saronic Gulf), the cliff where Theseus''s father threw himself to his death after fearing his son had been killed by the minotaur, and Troy, the remains of which survive as a reminder of the city that withstood a 10-year siege.With almost 6,000 islands in the Aegean and Ionian Seas, Greece is a maritime nation like no other – and according to its mythology this has been the case since the days when seafarers believed their fortunes, good or ill, lay in the hands of Poseidon. Sailing through these crystal clear waters today is a voyage into history, whether true or legendary.Retelling all the myths, from the very well-known to the less familiar, In the Wake of the Gods is a cruising companion to be read and enjoyed in its own right. With the author''s in depth knowledge of the region, it is also packed with useful and practical pointers for pilotage and passage planning, including information about prevailing winds and anchoring, along with charts and photography.