Bode, Richard
Blue Sloop at Dawn. Dodd, Mead, 1979. 277 pages
Small boat sailing off Long Island, from duckboats to the "sloop of dreams."
Bodett, Tom (1955- )
Williwaw!. Knopf, 1999. 192 pages
In their father's absence, thirteen-year-old September and her younger brother Ivan disobey his orders by taking the boat out on their Alaska bay, where they are caught in a terrifying storm called a williwaw. For younger readers.
Bolger, Philip C. (1927-2009)
Schorpioen: a novel of southern Africa. Duff & Duff, 1986. 203 pages
In an alternate universe a family from the Kingdom of Hawaii are rescued by Dutch speaking Africans from the pariah state that rules most of southern Africa when their old George Lawley built schooner FLYING CLOUD is dismasted off the Cape of Good Hope. In this world there is no apartheid or racism in south Africa, but the country is boycotted by much of the world because women are considered mere posessions. In order to get FLYING CLOUD repaired her owner must accomodate himself to the customs of the country, and the women in his family begin accomodating themselves to the customs all too well for his taste! Men own women to do all their thinking and all the skilled work, thus women are valued for their brains and what they can do. One of the main spectator sports in Africa is racing large lateen rigged "chebecs" on Lake Chad, a giant inland sea where the southern Sahara exists in our universe. Women who can steer a chebec are highly prized, so our hero's wife and daughter join in the fun.
Bond, Alaric
Fighting Sail series:.
In the spring of 1795 HMS Vigilant, a 64 gun ship-of-the- line, is about to leave Spithead as senior escort to a small, seemingly innocent, convoy. The crew is a jumble of trained seamen, volunteers, and the sweepings of the press; yet, somehow, the officers have to mold them into an effective fighting unit before the French discover the convoy's true significance.
December 1796. It was a time of unrest and discontent for Britain, made even worse by the war with Revolutionary France and the possibility of imminent invasion. Fresh from the dockyard, HMS Pandora, a 28-gun frigate, is about to set sail to join the Mediterranean fleet. Revised by the author in 2009 for the Fireship Press edition.
While Great Britain's major home fleets are immobilised by a vicious mutiny, Adam Duncan, commander of the North Sea Squadron, has to maintain a constant watch over the Dutch coast, where a powerful invasion force is ready to take advantage of Britannia's weakest moment.
Disillusioned by the lack of opportunity in the Royal Navy, Lieutenant King opts for a spell with the Honourable East India Company. But, a trip in an Indiaman is anything but the easy option when his captain is revealed to be an old enemy.
It is 1798 and Ireland rises up against years of repression and injustice. Rebels, supported by a mighty French invasion fleet, prepare to claim their land but find themselves countered by a powerful British battle squadron. Two friends and former allies, separated by chance and circumstance, witness developments from opposing sides while storms, political intrigue and personal dynamics abound.
A tired ship with a worn out crew, but HMS Scylla has one more trip to make before her much-postponed re-fit. Bound for St Helena, she is to deliver the island's next governor; a simple enough mission and, as peace looks likely to be declared, no one is expecting difficulties. Except, perhaps, the commander of a powerful French battle squadron, who has other ideas...
The uneasy peace with France is over, and Britain has once more been plunged into the turmoil of war. After a spell on the beach, Sir Richard Banks is appointed to HMS Prometheus, a seventy-four gun line-of-battleship which an eager Admiralty loses no time in ordering to sea. The ship is fresh from a major re-fit, but Banks has spent the last year with his wife and young family: will he prove himself worthy of such a powerful vessel, and can he rely on his officers to support him?
HMS Prometheus is needed to reinforce Nelson's squadron blockading the French off Toulon, but a major action has left her severely damaged and the British Fleet outnumbered. Prometheus must be brought back to fighting order without delay, and the work proves more than a simple refit. Barbary pirates, shore batteries and the powerful French Navy are conventional foes, although the men of Prometheus encounter equally dangerous enemies within their own ranks.
Christmas 1803, although the group of shipwrecked Royal Navy seamen have anything but festivities in mind as they pitch their wits against a French force sent to catch them. And all the while rescue, in the shape of a British frigate, lies temptingly close, yet just beyond their reach... Encompassing vicious sea battles, spirited land action and treachery from friend as much as foe, The Blackstrap Station tells a stirring tale of courage, honour and loyalty, set against the backdrop of what becomes a broiling Mediterranean summer.
Satisfied that he has forged HMS Kestrel into a formidable weapon, Commander King is keen to take her to sea once more. But the war is not progressing well for Britain, and his hopes of remaining in Malta are shattered as Kestrel is moved closer to the action. And so begins a story that covers two seas and one ocean, as well as a cross-country trek through enemy territory, a closer look at the French prison system and a reunion with several familiar faces.
Captain Thomas King finds himself dispatched on an urgent deep-sea mission so secret only sealed orders will reveal the final objective. Facing enemies that range from French privateers to powerful battle fleets, extremes of weather and the unpredictable behavior of their Commander-in-Chief, the men of HMS Hare learn as much about themselves as any distant adversary and discover who their friends truly are.
HMS Mistral has emerged from a major refit with one vital element missing – her captain. But Tom King is many miles away aboard a different warship and facing an apparently unbeatable enemy force. Will he survive to claim his rightful place, or is Mistral destined to sail under another’s command?
The North Atlantic in spring is a perilous place and, with a valuable convoy to protect, HMS Tenacious has a tough job ahead. But she is fresh from refit, fully manned and seemingly up to the task; the only factor likely to invite defeat is her captain.
1811 and the war with France continues although conflict of another kind is raging on America’s Eastern Seaboard. For many years oppressive trade sanctions have soured Britain’s relations with the newly formed United States; tensions rise further as seamen are illegally pressed and what had been a purely economic dispute soon turns into something far more deadly. Amid the conflict and confusion of fierce political debate, those aboard the frigate HMS Tenacious must also do battle with illegal slavery, powerful privateers, violent tropical storms and enemies that had once been the best of friends.
Spring 1814 and, after four exhausting years on the North American Station, HMS Tenacious is finally heading home. With the war in Europe drawing to a close, it is even doubtful whether she will be needed again while her captain has his own reasons to reach England. But their journey is broken by a strange encounter, and many are soon robbed of the peace they have earned as a new and particularly wicked enemy emerges, one that threatens far more than their personal safety.
Turn a Blind Eye. Old Salt Press, 2013. 315 pages
Autumn, 1801. Newly appointed to the local revenue cutter, Commander Griffin is determined to make his mark, and defeat a major gang of smugglers. But the country is still at war with France and it is an unequal struggle; can he depend on support from the local community, or are they yet another enemy for him to fight?
The Guinea Boat. Old Salt Press, 2015. 306 pages
Set in Hastings, Sussex during the early part of 1803, The Guinea Boat tells the story of two young lads, and the diverse paths they take to make a living on the water. Private fights and family feuds abound; a hot press threatens the livelihoods of many, while the newly re-formed Sea Fencibles begin a careful watch on Bonaparte's ever growing invasion fleet.
Hellfire Corner. Old Salt Press, 2020. 302 pages
Book 1 of Coastal Forces. Autumn 1941 and a fierce war rages amid the treacherous waters of the Dover Strait. It is fought by the gun and torpedo boats of Britain’s Coastal Forces: fast, frail vessels that do battle against the best of Germany’s Kriegsmarine. The crews are mainly volunteers; men plucked from civilian life and new to the maelstrom of brutal combat. Each take a different route to meet such a personal challenge and prove every bit as powerful, and vulnerable, as the craft in which they serve.
Bone, David William (1874-1959)
The Brassbounder : A Tale of the Sea. Duckworth, 1910. 293 pages
Adventures of an apprentice aboard a 19th Century sailing barque. A "brassbounder" is a youthful apprentice whose parents pay a premium for his appointment to a vessel, where for three years he does the work of an ordinary seaman, eats no better and gets no more pay, on the theory that he is learning to be an officer. This "brassbounder" who tells this story sailed from Glasgow round the Horn and back, meeting the dangers of storm and fog.
'Broken Stowage'. Duckworth, 1915. 286 pages
The Lookoutman : A descriptive account of mercantile marine steamship types. Harcourt, Brace, 1923. 220 pages
The Queerfella. Duckworth, 1952. 288 pages
Bonehill, Captain Ralph (1862-1930)
A Sailor Boy With Dewey. Mershon, 1899. 250 pages
Oliver Raymond, a young civilian entrepreneur, tries to save his father's business from the ravages of the Spanish conquerors of Manila and the rebellious Tagals the local population. Caught between both sides, alternately captured by both and also beset by the evil intentions of his villainous captain, Oliver and his chum Ken persevere and eventually end up with Commodore Dewey during the battle of Manila Bay. For young readers.
The young naval captain, or, The war of all nations. Thompson & Thomas, 1902. 211 pages
A future war against the United States (now encompassing all of North America) by all the nations of the world, which is fought by submarines. Also published under the title: Oscar, the Naval cadet, or, Under the sea : an interesting and instructive story of adventures on a submarine boat.
Bonfiglioli, Kyril (1928-1985)
All the tea in China: which tells how Carolus Mortdecai Van Cleaf set out to seek his fortune in London Town, on the high seas, in India, the treaty ports of China, and even in darkest Africa, and how he found it, predictably, in a place which has no longitude and precious little latitude. A (distant) prequel to the Charlie Mortdecai novels.. Pantheon Books, 1978. 258 pages
Inspired by a shotgun blast in the seat of his breeches, Karli Van Cleef quits his native Holland to seek his fortune. He sees that true opportunity flowers in India's fields of opium poppies and the treaty ports of China. So he takes a birth in an opium clipper hell-bent for the Indies.
Bonham, Frank
War Beneath the Sea. Crowell, 1962. 263 pages
Young Keith Stockton serves aboard the submarine Mako during World War II, growing from boy to man and learning to face danger and responsibility.
Deepwater Challenge. Crowell, 1963. 192 pages
A youth tries to pay off his family's debts through abalone diving but finds himself forced to take greater risks than he intended.
Bonnecarrere, Paul
Ultimatum. Ballantine, 1976. 202 pages
Strange crew steals big oil tanker, threatens to flood the entire coast of the western Mediterranean with oil unless their demands are met.
Borodin, George [pseud. George Sava] (1903-1996)
Friendly Ocean. Staples, 1946. 179 pages
Personal dramas of a group of passengers on a merchant ship in wartime.
Bostrum, Hank
Ocean Black. Kensington, 1995. 310 pages
18,000 feet below the surface of the Pacific, billionaire industrialist Paul Deride has hit a motherlode of manganese. But the only way to retrieve the precious ore is through a series of strategically placed nuclear detonators that could trigger a massive earthquake along California's San Andreas fault.
Bostwick, Ronald
The Iron Ring. Avon, 1963. 181 pages
Iron Joe Ring, the mustang ex-UDT captain of the worn out minesweeper DEAN patrolling the Korean coast during the Korean War, is finishing up his 20 years in the navy. He and the DEAN will be retired in 20 days. Before he hangs it up, he wants to destroy a railroad tunnel along the coast through which the Chinese are running their supplies to the front.
Bosworth, Allan R. (1901-1986)
Full Crash Dive. Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1942. 271 pages
"An Admiral Wetherbee Mystery". Also published as The Submarine Signaled ... Murder! and Murder Goes to Sea.
Storm Tide. Harper & Row, 1965. 268 pages
Aboard one of the first steam-powered whalers in the mid-1800s, the captain must contend with the rivalry of a fellow captain and former mate who has impugned his courage, and the owner of the ship -- a woman who joins the expedition to "rescue" her native half-sister from life among Pacific island "savages."
Boulle, Pierre (1912-1994)
The Whale of the Victoria Cross. Vanguard, 1983. 182 pages
Translation of: La baleine des Malouines. During the Falkland Islands war, a British ship takes a whale, first mistaken for a submarine, as a mascot. An admiral recommends the whale for a medal and the Home Office thinks the entire fleet has gone bonkers. An odd novel.
Bourne, Lawrence R. (1879-1941)
Stark naked.. Muller, 1934. 310 pages
A villain escapes in a ketch; a power yacht is involved in the climax.
Bowling, Tom [pseud.]
The Antigallican. Oldcastle, 2008. 283 pages
Jersey fishing captain, Jean Cotterell is rescued by a French frigate - the Hortense - off the Grand Banks of Nova Scotia in May 1794. His fishing vessel has foundered and he is the sole survivor. The Hortense is part of Republican Admiral Jan Van Stabel's great fleet of over 100 ships bringing corn to France. Lord Howe's Channel Fleet is off Brest, hoping to intercept them. A planned sequel A Ship Aground has never been published.
Boyd, Dean
Lighter Than Air. Harcourt, Brace & World, 1961. 249 pages
Lighthearted novel about life in the US Navy's blimp service during WW II. It follows the collisions between a pompous blimp expert, dragooned into service as the squadron commander, and a maverick Alaskan bush pilot, drafted in as a blimp pilot, who is wooing an uptight minister's daughter, serving as a Navy nurse.
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