As early settlers to California, Oregon and Washington came around the Horn and sailed north from San Francisco, lumber for homes and industry went south by sea from the Northwest. And with nothing to guide them but the wind, compass, sextant, stars and a sixth sense, the sturdy little ships struggled through fog and gales; more than half of them foundering.
This is the story of those ships and of the intrepid pioneers who built them. Through many old photographs and stirring true stories, an appreciation for the schooners, barkentines and other wind vessels and their crew is constructed to bring this golden age of wind ships to life. The Appendix presents lists of vessels over and under 100 tons made on the Pacific coast between 1850 and 1921, of all the skippers and all the ships specialized for the lumber and seal trades.