by Simon Daniels
The Atlantic Ferry was flourishing in Southampton and many famous shipping companies moved there. The masters of the mighty liners had seen and experienced nearly everything and many were seasoned Cape Horners.
They had limited time in port but no place where they could gather and relax amongst kindred spirits. A club of their own was formed and thus was born the Southampton Master Mariners Club, whose master-members embraced the title “Cachalot” a species of whale that had the thickest skin, blows the hardest and spouts the most.
It became swiftly popular attracting many respected names: Royal Mail, White Star Line, Union-Castle, not to mention Cunard including Arthur Rostron of the Carpathia who raced to the foundering Titanic. This book is a look back at some of the people who were part of a breed of seafaring reaching from sail to steam.
The wake of the Cachalots is an intimate witness to stories of the British Master Mariner and the value of the Red Duster, ultimately the one profession upon whom the nation’s prosperity and, at times, survival depended. Great stories of experiences at sea up to and including the era of the modern ocean liner.
156 pages. Softback.
