Lone Voyager - the extaordinary adventures of Howard Blackburn, hero fisherman of Gloucester
by Garland, Joseph E.
pub by - Touchstone - Simon and Schuster, NY - 2000, previous editions 1963, 1978 - isbn 0-684-87263-3 - - LCCN = 00-027733 - - Forward p.9 - - Contents p. 11 - - Gloucester 1883 p. 12 - - maps on pages 24, 61, 125-126, 209. 251 - - various black and white photos support the text - - Indian Summer (last days of Howard Blackburn) p.285-297 - - Afterword p, 299-309 - - Chapter notes p.311-326 - - Sources and Acknowledgements p.327-330 - - total book length 330 p.
Joseph E. Garland did an excellent job putting together and writing this biography of Howard Blackburn. The facts are presented in a straightforward manner, and in places it is amost poetic in description.
Howard Blackburn was born in 1859. He worked in sawmills and also cutting trees in the forest. He sailed before the mast from 1872 - 1879 and after that began sailing aboard fishing schooners out of Gloucester.
In January 1883 he signed on the fishing schooner Grace L. Fears to fish for halibut and cod. This schooner was the most successful in its time. After the schooner was anchored down on the Burgeo Bank the dories were set out. Blackburn had as partner Tom Welch. As a storm approached they rowed out to retrieve their gear. They were caught in a fierce storm with high winds and snow. They lost their way, and could not get back to the schooner. Eventually they tried to row back. Tom Welch gave up and died. Blackburn formed his hands around the oars as they froze so he could still row. He arrived in a little river coming out of Newfoundland. He was rescued by people in a tiny vilage who nursed him to relative health, but could not save his fingers, which, being totally frozen were lost except for a nub of a thumb on each hand. His toes did not fare well either. He was eventually taken to civilization and eventually back to Glouchester. The populace there took up a sizeable collection to assist him.
Not being able to earn his way at sea, he opened a small tobacco shop which grew into a fishermans saloon. Blackburn was quite successful. He was a celebrity and other fishermen and dorymen enjoyed visiting hiS saloon. He was very generous with various charities as well with any who needed assistance. He married Teresa. They lost their child in a terrible medical accident.
He gathered with some friends, bought a schooner and sailed around Cape Horn to San Francisco in an effort to join those in the Yukon gold rush. In a disagrement he left and took a train back to Glouchester. Some of the friends made to the gold fields, few were successful or survived.
He decided to sail alone to Gloucester in England. In 1899, he sailed to England in a purpose built modified Gloucester Fishing Sloop, the Great Western , and reached England after 62 days at sea.
He had a 25 ft sloop he called the Great Republic built and in 1901 sailed it alone to Portugal in 39 days.
In May 1902-February 1903 he took the Great Republic up the Hudson river, and Erie Canal, Lake Erie, Lake Huron and Lake Michigan on to Chicago, then via canal to the Mississippi River to Cairo-Columbus, Kentucky, from there on a flatcar to Mobile, Alabama. from there he saile around the southern tip of Florida and on up to Sanford, between Fort Lauderdale and Jacksonville, where he sold the boat and returned to Gloucester.
Blackburn was up to another solo sailing adventure and challenged others to a race across the Atlantic to France. There were no credible takers. Nontheless he had a Swampscot dory, the America made and set off in June 1903. He met up with bad and worse weather and finally gave up in Nova Scotia after several disasters. This was his last attempt at major adventure.
Later he had a sloop, the Cruising Club built just for puttering around the east coast. He was being awarded a great honor by the Cruising Club of America, and named his boat after that organization. He ran his saloon some years more, living as he did, with his wife, above the saloon. He died after a fairly short illness in 1932.
During his life he had other adventures often with law enforcement as Gloucester shifted back and forth from being a DRY city not allowing sale of liquor to a WET city. After national prohibition he got a license to sell soft drinks and what was called near beer. Sometimes harder beverages were sold and sometimes he got caught, each time paying his fine and straightening up, at least for a while. His funeral was well attended and he was considered a great man, and local philanthropist. A couple of his boats are viewable in museums. His saloon still stands.
This is a very readable and enjoyable biography of Howard Blackburn, a man who lived larger than life. It is a very good read. Do read the Chapter Notes at the end of the later editions. They are themselves a good read.
~ 2018-11-13 ~

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