The Seaman’s Friend

I was just on another blogger’s site ( gr4c5 is the handle of the blogger). She was celebrating “Celebrate Our Ocean Month” with a post on Richard Henry Dana’s Two Years Before the Mast. Her post sent me scrurrying to my maritime collection, and there alongside my copy of Two Years Before the Mast was my copy of Dana’s The Seaman’s Friend. My copy is an 1879 edition inscribe for Harry Seaton Rand, November 30, 1888.

The Seaman’s Friend was a work of practical seamanship for men going to sea. Remember that in those days, you didn’t take some courses, you just went. The transition from shore to sea could be rough. There were whole vocabularies you needed to master, techniques, and even laws that related to the seaman. All that could be found in The Seaman’s Friend.

I guess the interesting thing about the book to me is that so much of it remains relevant, details have changed, but it still is a worthwhile read for the Mariner.

Happy Celebrate Our Ocean Month! June 2025.