AustLit

Epigraph: Here's to the luck of the second mate, Bright as a morning breeze On the ocean Blue, with his yarns (all true) Of sailing the Seven Seas; And here's to his dream of his 'little lass', And the gift of that golden day When, waiting past, he shall stand at last At home with his English May.

Lines written by an American lady passenger in R. M. S. Carpathia, at sea, July, 1912.

Author's Preface:..This is the second of an intended set of three volumes, describing nautical life as I enjoyed it in fifty years of seagoing service, from 1898 to 1947...Having kept diaries and other records, throughout my seagoing career, I am now enabled, with the encouragement and assistance of my friend P. R. Stephensen, to tell my story systematically, in chronological sequence... James Bisset, Manly, Sydney Australia (vii-ix).