Before the Wind: The Memoir of an American Sea Captain, 1808-1833

From mermaids to mutinies, the life of Charles Tyng was a non-stop adventure as the 19th century opened. His quarter century under sail took him around the world half a dozen times. Fortunately, he proved to be as natural a storyteller as he was a sailor. Both Tyng’s life and the way he recounts his years at sea are full of wonder. At 13 he takes his first voyage to China, where he wanders into dark opium dens. He survives shipwrecks, squalls, and pirates. He makes and loses fortunes in tea, sugar and cotton. He meets Lord Byron as well as the British princess (later queen) Victoria. Whether you’re a sailor yourself, an armchair traveller, a history buff, or a lover of pulse-quickening maritime adventure stories, you’ll be as drawn to this book as Charles Tyng was to the siren song of the sea.

‘No admirer of Americana or sailing ships should miss Captain Tyng’ Atlantic Monthly