The Sea Shall Embrace Them: The Tragic Story of the Steamship Arctic
Registered by 
GoryDetails
of Nashua, New Hampshire USA on 2/12/2014
This Book is Currently in the Wild!
GoryDetails of Nashua, New Hampshire USA on 2/12/2014 This Book is Currently in the Wild!
1 journaler for this copy...
I got this fair-condition ex-library hardcover from Better World Books; it's an account of a deadly collision at sea, one I hadn't heard of before.
The paddle steamship Arctic struck another ship off of Cape Race, Newfoundland in 1854. The book goes into detail as to navigation concerns and weather, but the real problems kicked in after the collision, once the crew of the Arctic realized how badly damaged it was. The ship only carried lifeboats for half of the passengers (sound familiar?), and many of those were launched by crew members without attempting to fill them. While there were examples of heroism, sometimes to the point of death, there were many more examples of panic and selfishness, resulting in a tremendous loss of life, often under pathetic circumstances: parents lost their children, husbands their wives...
The book goes into great detail as to the events on board the ship and the various boats and rafts, based on survivors' accounts with some extrapolation by the author. It's highly dramatic, and I can't help wondering why nobody's tried to use this as the basis for a film - though perhaps it's too bleak for general appeal. But I was fascinated by the details of this kind of ship, of the people on board who'd been involved in or witnesses to other tragedies at sea, and the increasingly difficult situation the survivors found themselves in as the ship sank. And, given the situation, I was impressed at the number of survivors who were rescued, some of them after floating long distances from the site of the wreck on their individual boats, rafts, or flotsam. Fascinating, heart-wrenching story!
There's a tragic addendum, too: traveler and artist Frederick Catherwood, of Incidents of Travel in Yucatan fame, was among the lost - though his name wasn't included in the lists for months after the wreck...
The paddle steamship Arctic struck another ship off of Cape Race, Newfoundland in 1854. The book goes into detail as to navigation concerns and weather, but the real problems kicked in after the collision, once the crew of the Arctic realized how badly damaged it was. The ship only carried lifeboats for half of the passengers (sound familiar?), and many of those were launched by crew members without attempting to fill them. While there were examples of heroism, sometimes to the point of death, there were many more examples of panic and selfishness, resulting in a tremendous loss of life, often under pathetic circumstances: parents lost their children, husbands their wives...
The book goes into great detail as to the events on board the ship and the various boats and rafts, based on survivors' accounts with some extrapolation by the author. It's highly dramatic, and I can't help wondering why nobody's tried to use this as the basis for a film - though perhaps it's too bleak for general appeal. But I was fascinated by the details of this kind of ship, of the people on board who'd been involved in or witnesses to other tragedies at sea, and the increasingly difficult situation the survivors found themselves in as the ship sank. And, given the situation, I was impressed at the number of survivors who were rescued, some of them after floating long distances from the site of the wreck on their individual boats, rafts, or flotsam. Fascinating, heart-wrenching story!
There's a tragic addendum, too: traveler and artist Frederick Catherwood, of Incidents of Travel in Yucatan fame, was among the lost - though his name wasn't included in the lists for months after the wreck...
I plan to leave this book somewhere at or near Red's Eats, when stopping by for one of their fabulous lobster rolls. Hope the finder enjoys the book! *** Released for 2014 Travel challenge. ***
