The natural hazards of the sea were an accepted part of a sailor's life. In fog or bad weather, with visibility down to zero a captain might have to navigate by dead reckoning, and if forced on to a lee shore there was little he and the crew could do to save their vessel.
The author's fascination with shipwrecks over the past thirty years has led to the impressive collection of thousands of photographs and illustrations of wrecked ships of all types and sizes, and a detailed knowledge of more than 10,000 vessels lost in Australian waters between 1622 and 1992.
Shipwreck Strait, the coasts and waters of Bass Strait are among the most lethal in the world and this book, record not only pictorially accidents to many great ships of the past, but also presenting numerous examples of skill and ingenuity of long forgotten illustrators and masters of pioneering photography.
Contents:
Foreword
Wrecks Under Sail
Wrecks Under Steam
Swallowed by the Strait
Some Escaped
Relics
Guardians of the Strait
Index
