The Life of a Ship

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About this book

Davy has grown up beside a harbour, fishing with his father and watching large ships sail beyond the horizon. When a fisherman takes him to a building yard, the unfinished Fair Nancy gives his wish to go to sea a definite shape. R. M. Ballantyne follows the boy's excitement through lessons in shipbuilding, the bustle of a public launch and the demands of work aboard a sailing vessel.

This children's sea story explains its equipment as it goes: the keel and ribs, copper sheathing, masts, yards and ropes all become part of Davy's education. His eagerness meets real danger when a climb aloft ends in a fall into the water, and a later gale tests the crew near the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. Readers interested in sailing can find practical detail within an adventure about learning a trade, taking risks and depending on other people at sea.

About the author

R. M. Ballantyne

R. M. Ballantyne (1825-1894) was a Scottish author of adventure fiction for the young. His years as a clerk for the Hudson's Bay Company in Canada gave him a taste for wild places, and he went on to write more than a hundred spirited tales of travel and survival.