Schooner Sunset
The Last British Sailing Coasters
Douglas Bennet
Found in: History of Sail
All Chatham Books
Hardback 224 pages
ISBN: 9781861761767
Published: 1 July 2003
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• A unique insight into the last days of sail. • A remarkable collection of authentic and detailed drawings. • An invaluable practical source book for modellers and practical sailors alike. Owing to their simplicity of rig the small fore-and-afters, the coastal schooners were among the last commercial sailing vessels to remain in existence; today they are gone, as are nearly all the men who sailed in them, and with them the knowledge which was needed to work the vessels by the power of the wind alone. One of them was Douglas Bennet, and in this posthumously published book he tells, in remarkable detail, of the working life aboard and describes all the facets of construction and fitting out. This book contains no gripping dramas of the sea, nor wild adventures; instead, it was primarily intended to paint the authentic picture of life at sea of the men who worked the craft, and describe the seamanship which was employed from ship to ship. These practices, and the changes which occurred down the years, have only ever been recorded in the barest outline. Many maritime historians have written broadly of the building and trading and have, indeed, dealt with the ships themselves but never in the detail presented here. One of the most remarkable aspects of Bennet's work is the unique collection of drawings that depict every aspect of the ships' construction and rig. Information on the smallest item of equipment is to be found in these pages and is presented in a way which could only ever have been done by one who had first-hand experience. With the passing of the years and the of the men who sailed the last merchant schooners we have lost most of the detailed knowledge that was needed to build and sail them; Douglas Bennet's contribution is as unique as it is clear and will delight all enthusiasts of the last days of sail, practical sailors and, not least, those many modellers who until now sought in vain for a clear image of some small shipboard detail. DOUGLAS BENNET was born in 1916 to a Cheshire farming family. He was to form a close attachment to the last trading coastwise schooners and joined the Alert in 1934 and the Brooklands in 1939. After the War he always maintained his close interest in the few remaining craft and never missed an opportunity to record their finer details in his meticulous drawings. DAVID CLEMENT, who has carefully edited Bennet's work, has nurtured a deep interest in ships and the sea since an early age. He was a founder of the Southwest Maritime History Society, and is editor of its journal. Amongst other maritime associations he is a council member of the Society for Nautical Research, and Chairman of the Topsham Museum.
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