The Final Voyage of the Valencia

The Final Voyage of the Valencia
Author: Michael C. Neitzel
Publisher: Heritage House Publishing Co
Total Pages: 145
Release: 2020-05-19
Genre: History
ISBN: 1772033162

A dynamic retelling of the deadly 1906 sinking of the SS Valencia off the southwest coast of Vancouver Island, one of the worst maritime disasters in Canadian history. There are few places on earth that have such a high record of marine casualties as the short yet treacherous stretch of coastline known as the Graveyard of the Pacific. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, the fifty-six kilometres between Port Renfrew and Cape Beale off Vancouver Island saw dozens of shipwrecks and claimed hundreds of lives. On a blustery night in late January 1906, the steamship SS Valencia, heading from San Francisco to Seattle and Victoria, met its tragic fate on the rocks near Pachena Point. With over one hundred passengers and sixty-five crew members on board, only thirty-seven people survived the wreck. All of the women and children perished. With journalistic precision, compassion for the victims, and condemnation for those who neglected to prevent the tragedy, author Michael C. Neitzel recounts the Valencia’s ill-fated final voyage, drawing heavily on first-hand accounts of the survivors and witnesses. The Final Voyage of the Valencia is a must-read for anyone interested in the maritime history of Canada’s west coast.

Ship of Lost Souls

Ship of Lost Souls
Author: Rod Scher
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2024-11-05
Genre: History
ISBN: 1493081365

Of all the stories of ships lost in what has come to be called the “Graveyard of the Pacific,” that of the steamship Valencia is among the saddest. In January 1906, the Valencia set out from San Francisco, bound for Seattle with 108 passengers and some sixty-five crew members aboard. Owing to bad weather and the captain’s mistakes, the ship struck a reef eleven miles off Cape Beale on the southwest coast of Vancouver Island. Rocks gashed open the ship’s hull, and a series of further missteps soon compounded the tragedy a hundredfold. Only thirty-seven people survived, largely because of a lack of lifesaving infrastructure in the rugged area where the Valencia ran aground. The wreck of the Valencia was an especially tragic one. To begin with, most on board perished, including every woman and child, many of whom had been lashed to the rigging high above the deck in an attempt to save them from the crashing waves. Additionally, the wreck itself was almost certainly avoidable, due almost entirely to navigational errors the captain made. Finally, rescue efforts—such as they were—were hampered by not just the sea and weather but by the mistakes (and some say the cowardice) of the would-be rescuers. This book pieces together the story of the Valencia and her tragic end, weaving together not just the threads of the ill-fated voyage itself but also relevant contextual history, including the development of radio technologies and lifesaving equipment and services that simply came too late to help the doomed voyagers.

The Routledge Handbook of Maritime Trade around Europe 1300-1600

The Routledge Handbook of Maritime Trade around Europe 1300-1600
Author: Wim Blockmans
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 523
Release: 2017-02-17
Genre: History
ISBN: 1315278561

The Routledge Handbook of Maritime Trade around Europe 1300-1600 explores the links between maritime trading networks around Europe, from the Mediterranean and the Atlantic to the North and Baltic Seas. Maritime trade routes connected diverse geographical and cultural spheres, contributing to a more integrated Europe in both cultural and material terms. This volume explores networks’ economic functions alongside their intercultural exchanges, contacts and practical arrangements in ports on the European coasts. The collection takes as its central question how shippers and merchants were able to connect regional and interregional trade circuits around and beyond Europe in the late medieval period. It is divided into four parts, with chapters in Part I looking across broad themes such as ships and sailing routes, maritime law, financial linkages and linguistic exchanges. In the following parts - divided into the Mediterranean, the Baltic Sea, and the Atlantic and North Seas - contributors present case studies addressing themes including conflict resolution, relations between different types of main ports and their hinterland, the local institutional arrangements supporting maritime trade, and the advantages and challenges of locations around the continent. The volume concludes with a summary that points to the extraterritorial character of trading systems during this fascinating period of expansion. Drawing together an international team of contributors, The Routledge Handbook of Maritime Trade around Europe is a vital contribution to the study of maritime history and the history of trade. It is essential reading for students and scholars in these fields.

John Cabot

John Cabot
Author: Earle Rice Jr.
Publisher: Mitchell Lane
Total Pages: 71
Release: 2020-02-11
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 1545749949

Learn about the life of the famous explorer.

The Unforgiving Coast

The Unforgiving Coast
Author: David Hubert Grover
Publisher:
Total Pages: 232
Release: 2002
Genre: History
ISBN:

Drawing on a wide variety of sources, Grover tries to explain not just what happened in each disaster, but how and why it happened. The stories vary considerably -- some are mysteries, some are adventure thrillers, and some defy categorization. Book jacket.

By Comparison Only: A Memoir of Friendship, Betrayal and Enlightenment in Three Acts.

By Comparison Only: A Memoir of Friendship, Betrayal and Enlightenment in Three Acts.
Author: Linette Reynolds
Publisher: Lulu.com
Total Pages: 202
Release: 2016-11-28
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1326813986

""It was a secret that I harboured until the final act in my life began to unfold. It was easier to convince myself that stoics are brave characters who plod on unaided"". In this book, Linette Reynolds tells her life story. A story filled with abuse and betrayals, gut-wrenching fears and episodes of manic depression. Her life is a set of secrets that she has locked away in an attempt to sooth her soul and make meaning out of disappointment. This is a moving story of hope over challenge and personal grief over belief and love. In this book Linette reveals how other people's dishonesty and their lack of integrity cast her life's journey. She's adamant in her story that anger was not an option. She chose not to a invoke it, because she knew she needed all her energy just to survive.