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In Peril On The Sea: Nova Scotian ShipwrecksRobert C. ParsonsMaritime History, Disasters Order this book from:
Nimbus Publishing (1-800-Nimbus9) |
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"Truth is Stranger than Fiction" -- this old adage certainly applies to Nova Scotian schooners, steamers, and the men that sailed them. Anything that could conceivably have happened to a Nova Scotian ship probably has, and most likely it's a story within In Peril On The Sea.
Arranged chronologically, these tales of adventure range from 1873 through to the 1990s. Robert Parsons relates the dangers and hardships endured by Nova Scotia schooner men and by those who found themselves wrecked along Nova Scotian shores where treacherous seas in a high-risk occupation tested the courage, wit and endurance of seamen. But theirs was an indomitable will to survive as related in this book of ships, wrecks and sailors.
Robert Parsons has been reading, researching and writing about ships and wrecks for fifteen years. His articles and stories have been published locally and nationally in Legion Magazine, Reader's Digest and The Evening Telegram. As well, he has published seven books of shipwrecks and sea stories.
With only seconds to decide, Captain Joseph Emberley jumped away from the sinking schooner and struggled in the heaving wreckage, trying to find a piece to hold on to. He reached a large section of the deck planking. The captain knew his young nephew, Billy Emberley, was still holding on at the stern and it was the captain's intention to push this makeshift life raft near the stern section.
Wind and sea prevented him from manoeuvring near, but he called to young Billy, whom he had taken on this voyage with him, to let go the wreckage and swim to him. The young man was either too weak or too frightened to let go. Eventually, Billy lost his hold and slipped unconscious into the sea. Joe Emberley recalled the sad moment: "I kept telling him to swim for the raft but he wouldn't. He clung to the stern. Sometimes he would give one or the other arm a rest when he managed to throw a leg up over the stern. The sea was sweeping over him and what remained of the ship. Then he called out, 'I can't hold on any longer, Uncle Joe' and went down."
Captain Joe Emberley, a man with only one arm, survived by clinging to wreckage for twelve hours.
Included in the scores of unique, mysterious and strange shipwrecks are some of the following:
| Lunenburg | Dodging Bombs and Storms: War Casualties |
| Mahone Bay | "Rum Row" and Weather: A Deadly Combination |
| Halifax | Hawaitha Explodes in Halifax Harbour |
| Shelburne | Crew Wrecked at Fourchu; Stranded at Sydney |
| Canso | One Survivor near Canso |
| Sydney/North Sydney | Capsized off North Sydney |
| Yarmouth | Rich Bounty from the Yarmouth Coast |
| Liverpool | Schooner Gold Seeker Wrecked near South America |
| Lockeport | Polly and Robbie a Victim of February Gales |
| Scaterie Island | Stranded and Captive on the Island |
| Glace Bay | "Given Up as Lost?" |
| Louisbourg | Whatever Happened to S.S. Morien and her Crew? |
| LaHave | Schooner in a Fatal Collision |
Included are other unusual stories out of Gabarus, Digby, Neil's Harbour, Bras d'Or Lake, Arichat, Parrsboro, Cheticamp, Advocate Harbour and many more.
Also by the author: Wrecked and Ruined: True Sea Disasters from the Eastern Edge, Shipwrecks of New Brunswick, Ocean of Storms, Sea of Disaster and The Edge of Yesterday: Sea Disasters of Nova Scotia.