It was the biggest sailing vessel ever built and the world’s first supertanker. In the winter of 1907, the T.W. Lawson, a four-hundred foot schooner with seven masts, makes her first transatlantic crossing with more than two million gallons of kerosene to be delivered to London.
With almost fifty years of sailing experience, Captain George W. Dow is not intimidated, despite the Lawson’s checkered history. But hurricane winds and an angry sea conspire to defeat man and machine. Bereft of her sails, the giant ship is trapped in treacherous shoals off the southwest coast of Britain. Seventeen lives are lost, including a local pilot trying to avert disaster. Now, Captain Dow is called to account most especially to himself.
Leviathans Master is a true story, transformed into a gripping historical novella by the captains great, great nephew.
The tale of the largest sailing vessels ocean crossing is compelling at a very human level. The author weaves the survival tale of his great, great uncle with dialogue and descriptive historical facts to create a story that ebbs and flows as waves on an ocean. It is engaging and intriguing to be brought back in time for such an event, in such a personal way.
