Life and Adventures of Captain Thomas Crapo and Wife
by Captain Thomas Crapo
In 1877, Captain Crapo and his wife set out from New Bedford, Massachusetts for England in a nineteen-foot dory boat which he had designed and had built and named the New Bedford. The boat was modeled much on the lines of a whaleboat, since this was an important part of his seagoing experience. He had found that these boats were very well-suited to rough usage and tempestuous conditions when chasing the sperm and humpback whale. This book is the journal compiled by him with the aid of an un-named journalist. The first part of the book deals with his life as a whaler and contains some of the best whaling details that we have yet come across. He even speaks the Cachelot in mid-ocean in the Pacific on one occasion. Following his whaling years, he joins up with the U.S. Navy to fight in the "rebellion" and serves with Farrugut. After a stint as a merchant seaman, he decides to follow his dream to single-hand a small boat across the Atlantic. His wife, (plucky woman), decides that if he goes, she is going with him; much as she had done on many of his voyages. He has the boat built and successfully arrives in Penzance, Cornwall, to the cheers and kudo's of the populace. Following his successful transatlantic, he enters the coasting trade and is ultimately lost when attempting a single-handed voyage to Cuba aboard a nine-foot boat named the Volunteer.
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