Here’s best book to land on our shelf in September 2003 . . . get it for your shelf today! It’s a gem. . .
o The voyages of Capt. W.W. Burgess, 1854-1885 . . . by William W. Burgess, from his 19th century logbooks
[$28.50 — ISBN 0-9628738-8-8 — 6 x 9, 200+ pages; maps, nautical charts and photographs; index]
William W. Burgess was born 1838 at the lighthouse tended by his father on the Gurnet, a promentory guarding the entrance to the harbor at Plymouth, Mass. He went to sea as a lad of 16 but quickly rose to first mate and then to command vessels while still a young man.
He was involved in many trips around treacherous Cape Horn —gathering guano off the coast of Chile, trips to booming San Francisco, Honolulu and Hong Kong — freighting in the Bight of Benin off Africa’s west coast — mutiny and brushes with would-be pirates. Inbetween the often dangerous trips there were peaceful interludes: train trips from New York to Boston to Plymouth to spend relaxing weeks with his family . . . a summer away from the "tall ships," skippering a catboat as a party boat for summer visitors to Plymouth.
After 31 years of sailing adventure, Capt. Burgess went to work for Boston Tow Boat Co. rescuing sailing vessels, sunken steamers and even locomotives. After retiring in the early 20th century, he began writing this memoir from his log books.


Controversy about this Revolutionary War privateer wreck may never die down. . .
o The wreck of the General Arnold . . . by David W. Bowley
with Doris M. Johnson
[$15 — ISBN 0-9628738-3-7 — 53/8 x 83/8, 130 pages; photos, drawings, index; LCCCN 92-70659; 1995]
The people of Plymouth, Mass. watched in horror — and frustration — as the Revolutionary War privateer General Arnold came to grief on a harbor sandbar, unreachable from land in the December 26, 1778 gale. Of the 105 men and boys seeking their fortunes aboard the brig, 72 perished as the vessel disappeared under pounding waves.
Two hundred years later, other men envisioned different rewards when they found what they believed to be the bones of the storm-shattered privateer. The cast of characters included the marine salvage expert who later found the pirate ship Whidah, the leaders of the prestigious Pilgrim Society, a land surveyor in financial trouble and a shipyard worker. Disputes over permits, lawsuits, delays due to lack of funding . . . and the question isn’t answered yet: is that old wreck really the General Arnold?


While you’re afloat, bring out the fishing tackle, snatch a few fish from the depths. . .
o The Bottom Dunkers Bible - How to Find and Fish for the Finest Finny Food . . . by Cap’n Roger Jarvis
[$15.00 — ISBN 1-888964-07-3 — 53/8 x 83/8, 128 pages; illustrated; index]
If anyone knows where to find bottom fish – cod, halibut, flounder, monkfish, etc. – it’s charter company owner Cap’n Roger Jarvis. The book is crammed with how and where to fish, with illustrations of fishing gear, useful non-slip knots for slippery lines, and plenty of fish portraits.
Jarvis’ fishing grounds today are Cape Cod Bay but he first became acquainted with ocean fishing while growing up in New Jersey. Jarvis began a summertime charter fishing business while a secondary school teacher in the Duxbury, Mass. He was also sought out for his Huntress custom rods and retired early from teaching to devote all his attention to fishing.
Cap’n Jarvis’ articles appear regularly in The New England Fisherman; he is past president of the Cape Cod Charter Boat Association, and shares his experience through work with state and federal fisheries programs.