New favorite nautical book!

When I was at Mystic Seaport on Sept 2nd I saw a book in the gift shop that immediately interested me. It was called WHALE HUNT and was the narrative of a young man that had been the harpooner on the Charles W. Morgan from 1849 to 1853. The price was a little steep so I decided to write the name of the book down and then I'd try to find it in Amazon for a better price. I forgot all about it until my eyes caught hold of the words WHALE HUNT on a used book in a thrift store in North Syracuse, NY where my daughter's family lives. As I pulled the book out of the shelf and my eyes caught the words "Charles W. Morgan" my heart surged with excitement. I may sound cheap but I love being a thrifty shopper when it comes to books. The price was 99 cents. I couldn't wait to get home and curl up and delve into the book. I finished it yesterday (Oct 5, 2013) and I must say that it is right up there with TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST and MOBY DICK.

Having had the opportunity to crawl all over that whaling ship and then read such an interesting narrative that is not fiction was great. As I would read about them tangling with cannibals on south sea islands, or in combat with sperm whales, I would then close my eyes and visualize the exact location on the deck where the occurrence happened. 

That is real reading to me.

Now, some may say, "you who have captained hundreds of whale watching excursions, how can you enjoy reading about whales being killed?" My answer is that back in those days if I was from New Bedford or Nantucket and I needed to feed my family, I would have done what I needed to do to take care of the temporal needs of my family. I believe in "saving the whales". Thank goodness that nowadays, we know better! Some specie populations are still dangerously low but many are rebounding like the success story of the Gray Whale. Still, when I here Nic Jones sing "The Humpback Whale" it stirs me to my core. .  .  .  when I walk the water front in New Bedford, it stirs me to my core,  .   .  . when I crawl in the dark spaces of the Charles W. Morgan, it stirs me to my core!

My dad and mom introduced me to nautical books. For my birthday when I lived in Guam they bought me a book called, "THE VOYAGE of the BARK STEFANO".  Since then I try to devour every good nautical books that I can get my hands on.

My dad also introduced me to the book, "TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST", which is definitely one of the top nautical books of the genre.

My top 5 favorite nautical books are:

1. Two Years Before the Mast

2. Moby Dick

3. The Sea Wolf

4. Whale Hunt

5. The Bark Stefano

Honorable mention:

1. Captains Courages

2. 20,000 leagues Under The Sea

3. Mutiny On THe Bounty

For a real treat  .  .  .  read WHALE HUNT!