Settler's Under Sail' is Don Charlwood's account of the days of the sailing ships and a fascinating reconstruction of the wreck of the Loch Ard.
On 31 May 1878, the Loch Ard foundered in the thick fog off Mutton Bird Island, west of Cape Otway. The Loch Ard was by no means the only vessel to go down in the treacherous waters of Bass Strait, but coming at the time when the passage from England to Australia was ommonplace, and so close to landfall, the wreck caught the nation's imagination. Out of a crew and passenger list of fifty four, only two survived, and the disaster ushered in the end of the Age of Sail.
Don Charlwood is one of Australia's most respected writers. This new edition of Settlers Under Sail is brilliantly researched and evocative testament to the men and women who braved the long and often hazardous sea journey to star a new life in a strange country.
Contents:
Foreword
Settlers Under Sail
The Realities of Sail
Sailing the Great Circle Route
'Bully' Forbes
The Challenge of Steam
The Loch Ard
The Closing of an Era
Acknowledgements
