So Blow Ye Winds A Diary of Oscar Rice

The old salts say a sailor's life is for the dogs yet none will say why they chose the sea as a living. The lure of the sea captured Oscar Rice, a 19 year old Boston Yankee & descendant of the Pilgrims & he signed on board a three masted merchant ship, the Peruvian, in 1862 & sailed from Boston to San Francisco. The journey around Cape Horn took 5 1/2 months. His diary describes life as a sailor; the furling, reefing, of the many sails & the many fascinating birds & fish he encounters on the journey. He saw a comet, an eclipse of the moon, admired the white beaches & hills of Brazil, saw hundreds of whales, flying fish, porpoises, albatrosses. The diary has been annotated & illustrated with pictures of ships & species of fish & birds encountered. The introduction, written by his granddaughter, Lois Rice McWilliams, describes Boston in the mid 1800's as well as the history of the tall ships & shipbuilding.McWilliams, Lois R. is the author of 'So Blow Ye Winds A Diary of Oscar Rice' with ISBN 9780962550515 and ISBN 0962550515.