AMERICA'S PRIVATEER
Lynx and the War of 1812
It’s okay if you are clueless about the War of 1812. I was too until I wrote this book about two schooners named Lynx. One was a sleek Chesapeake privateer captured by the British in the “Forgotten War.” The second is a $3 million reinterpretation that is currently sailing the Atlantic Coast during the bicentennial of that little known era in American history. My job was to weave the two exciting tales together. If you know about Old Ironsides, the Star Spangled Banner and the rock tune “The Battle of New Orleans,” you’re already on your way to understanding Mr. Madison’s War, a war in which we invaded Canada and the British burned Washington, DC.
I first saw the modern Lynx in Portsmouth Harbor just after 9/11. She had set sail from Rockport, Maine just days before and was on her maiden voyage to the West Coast. Her owner, Woodson K. Woods, was aboard dressed in 1812-era garb. Although Woods is from Hawaii, he hired famed Annapolis designer Melbourne Smith (US Brig Niagara, Californian, Spirit of Massachusetts, Pride of Baltimore). Lynx was built at Maine and registered at Portsmouth, New Hampshire. I kept in touch with Woods and the nonprofit Lynx Educational Foundation for years until they asked me to write their story.
And a great yarn it is, two yarns in one. The project took about 18 months and sent me to Fells Point in Baltimore, to Rockport Marine, and to the “OC” in California. I was aboard Lynx during a battle sail in San Diego Bay when she collided with another tall ship. Besides incredible photographs, the book includes sidebars by Melbourne Smith and other experts on ship design and the War of 1812. AMERICA’S PRIVATEER is my tenth and prettiest history book so far. It is my defense of the neglected American privateers who were not simply “legalized pirates”, but patriots in an era when our nascent nation took on the greatest seafaring power in the world with scarcely a navy of our own.
MARITIME HISTORY/ WAR OF 1812
180 color pages, fully illustrated
Lynx Educational Foundation
I first saw the modern Lynx in Portsmouth Harbor just after 9/11. She had set sail from Rockport, Maine just days before and was on her maiden voyage to the West Coast. Her owner, Woodson K. Woods, was aboard dressed in 1812-era garb. Although Woods is from Hawaii, he hired famed Annapolis designer Melbourne Smith (US Brig Niagara, Californian, Spirit of Massachusetts, Pride of Baltimore). Lynx was built at Maine and registered at Portsmouth, New Hampshire. I kept in touch with Woods and the nonprofit Lynx Educational Foundation for years until they asked me to write their story.
And a great yarn it is, two yarns in one. The project took about 18 months and sent me to Fells Point in Baltimore, to Rockport Marine, and to the “OC” in California. I was aboard Lynx during a battle sail in San Diego Bay when she collided with another tall ship. Besides incredible photographs, the book includes sidebars by Melbourne Smith and other experts on ship design and the War of 1812. AMERICA’S PRIVATEER is my tenth and prettiest history book so far. It is my defense of the neglected American privateers who were not simply “legalized pirates”, but patriots in an era when our nascent nation took on the greatest seafaring power in the world with scarcely a navy of our own.
MARITIME HISTORY/ WAR OF 1812
180 color pages, fully illustrated
Lynx Educational Foundation
|
|
AUTHOR'S NOTES I'm not sure how much I influenced the decision to bring the Lynx from the West Coast back to its "berth place" of New England for the bicentennial of the War of 1812. But it is back now and currently managed by a New Hampshire nonprofit agency. It is one gorgeous ship and, although I spent only a couple of days aboard, I came to know her and her history well. The editing process was, let's just say, a tussle, but the final product, beautifully designed, is a joy to behold. The Lynx spends much of its time at Nantucket these days and you can learn much more about her here. Back to MY BOOKS |
