In 1933, a young Canadian woman rejected the expectations of society and her upper-class family and became a crew member aboard one of the last great four-masted sailing vessels that still plied the ocean.
It was not an easy task. Young Annette had to fight pressures from her family, rejection from schools of navigation, and doubts from ship owners. When she finally found a berth as an apprentice seaman, she faced hostility from officers and crew, who grumbled that she should be home "raising babies." In the end, however, Annette won their respect, taking in sails, standing night watches, hauling and coiling ropes all the tasks the men were doing, with no concession to a girl’s lesser strength.
My Year Before the Mast tells the story of Annette Brock Davis’s life on the sea as the first female crew member of a commercial sailing line. Her courage and determination to break into a closed male world are central to this book, but we cannot ignore the fact that, while this is a book about a woman’s struggle, it is also a book about the sea. Davis brings to life an era long gone, and introduces an incredible cast of characters the crew, officers, and passengers, each with his own foibles, humour, generosity, and flashes of meanness. But through it all, Annette emerges as the most remarkable character of them all.
Authors
- Bibliography, etc. Note
- Includes bibliographical references (p. [218])
- Control Number Identifier
- CaOOCEL
- Dewey Decimal Classification Number
- 387.5/092
- Dewey Decimal Edition Number
- 21
- General Note
- Originally published: Toronto [Ont.] : Hounslow Press, c1999 Issued as part of the desLibris books collection
- Geographic Area Code
- n-cn---
- ISBN
- 9781554882373 0888822073
- LCCN
- HD6073.S42
- LCCN Item number
- C3 1999eb
- Modifying agency
- CaBNVSL
- Original cataloging agency
- CaBNVSL
- Physical Description | Extent
- 1 electronic text (216, [3] p., [8] p. of plates)
- Published in
- Canada
- Publisher or Distributor Number
- CaOOCEL
- Rights
- Access restricted to authorized users and institutions
- System Control Number
- (CaBNVSL)thg00602947 (OCoLC)696033948 (CaOOCEL)410614
- System Details Note
- Mode of access: World Wide Web
- Transcribing agency
- CaBNVSL
Table of Contents
- Contents 6
- Acknowledgements 8
- Chapter 1: Getting Under Way 10
- Chapter 2: L'Avenir and I Meet 26
- Chapter 3: We Sail 36
- Chapter 4: Shipmates 46
- Chapter 5: Changing Sails 58
- Chapter 6: Work and Music Aboard 62
- Chapter 7: Crossing the Line 74
- Chapter 8: Jumbo Proposes 78
- Chapter 9: The Westerlies 84
- Chapter 10: Port Germein 112
- Chapter 11: L'Avenir Departs 134
- Chapter 12: Stowaway 140
- Chapter 13: Heavy Weather 152
- Chapter 14: Airman Has Something to Say 158
- Chapter 15: Otto 162
- Chapter 16: I Turn the Ship Around 170
- Chapter 17: Murder and Rape? 174
- Chapter 18: Doldrums 182
- Chapter 19: Spellbinding Trade Winds 188
- Chapter 20: Anchored for Good 194
- Epilogue 204
- Appendix 208
- Glossary 215
- A 215
- B 215
- C 216
- D 218
- F 218
- G 219
- H 219
- J 220
- L 220
- M 221
- N 221
- P 222
- Q 222
- R 222
- S 223
- T 225
- U 226
- V 226
- W 226
- Y 226
- Bibliography 228