Between 1853 and 1953, ships of all types – clipper ships, barks, schooners, steamers — sailing the central California Coast fell victim to Pigeon Point’s unpredictable weather and rocky shoreline. Mariners knew the hazards well. Engulfed in the dense “pea soup” fog common along these shores, navigational readings were often unreliable. Even signals from fog horns and other vessels could be easily misinterpreted. Shipwrecks tell their own unique stories. Sailors and salvagers, hard work and bad luck, business schemes and personal dreams all appear. Yet, each represents more than colorful sea lore. Each shipwreck is an important portal to our past, a significant part of our maritime heritage, linking us to unforgettable times. If it is true that every ship has her own soul, then every shipwreck has a spirit waiting to be rediscovered. It is a voyage worth taking.

SHIPWRECKS, SCALAWAGS, AND SCAVENGERS; THE STORIED WATERS OF PIGEON POINT

by JoAnn Semones

• Hard-cover, 160 pages, 70 photos and illustrations.
• ISBN 978-1-889901-42-8
• Price: $24.95

A marvelously detailed and illustrated book about the Glory of the Seas, built in 1869— the exciting grain runs between Sydney and San Francisco, bucking dirty weather off Cape Horn, plying the Atlantic to England; the men who sailed her, owners, brokers, charterers. Good human interest stories.

GLORY OF THE SEAS

by Michael Jay Mjelde

• Hard cover, 320 pp, 40+ photos & illustrations
• ISBN 1-889901-18-0
• Price: $30

The wonderfully-named Glory of the Seas was the last clipper built by Donald McKay, builder of Flying Cloud, Stag Hound and other legendary ships.

This is a fascinating look at ships in the Cape Horn trade, racing from San Francisco to Europe, and at the life of a master of a crack clipper ship in the last days of the Age of Sail.

CLIPPER SHIP CAPTAIN

Daniel McLaughlin and the GLORY OF THE SEAS

by Michael Jay Mjelde

• Hard cover, 256 pp, 60 photos & illustrations
• ISBN 1-889901-04-9
• Price: $30

Opens a window on the 19th century when sailing ships traversed the globe in search of cargo. And what cargoes they were! Coal, brooms, ice, laths, skins, staves, hay, bacon, nails, oil, peas, guano, grain, rum...

Revere’s 123 voyages provide a unique look back at merchant shipping in the Age of Sail.

THE VOYAGES OF THE SHIP REVERE, 1849-1883

by M. R. Gleason

• Soft cover, 192 pp, 43 charts, tables, photos
• ISBN 0-9637586-2-4
• Price: $15.95