Before the Wind : The Memoir of an American Sea Captain, 1808-1833

In seafaring literature, no fictional sailor's story can match this true, real-life adventure. Before the Wind is the memoir of early nineteenth-century sea captain Charles Tyng— from his childhood and love affair with the sea to his rise through the ranks to captain and ship owner in the tea and sugar trade. Before the Wind takes listeners on a trip around the world— from visits to Lord Byron in Italy and King Kamehameha in Hawaii to Napoleon's prison isle of St. Helena. We relive the historic battle of The Bulwark and The Chesapeake, learn how to siphon rum from the captain's cask, and witness an encounter with a mermaid. Sailors, armchair travelers, history buffs, and lovers of pulse-quickening maritime stories will find this account as seductive as the siren song of the sea.