The Sea Journal: Seafarers' Sketchbooks

by LEWIS-JONES HUW

The sea has been an endless source of fascination, at once both alluring and mysterious, a place of wonder and terror. The Sea Journal contains first-hand records by a great range of travellers of their encounters with strange creatures and new lands, full of dangers and delights, pleasures and perils.

In this remarkable gathering of private journals, log books, letters and diaries, we follow the voyages of intrepid sailors, from the frozen polar wastes to South Seas paradise islands, as they set down their immediate impressions of all they saw. They capture their experiences while at sea, giving us a precious view of the oceans and the creatures that live in them as they were when they were scarcely known and right up to the present day. In a series of biographical portraits, we meet officers and ordinary sailors, cooks and whalers, surgeons and artists, explorers and adventurers. A handful of contemporary mariners provide their thoughts on how art remains integral to their voyaging lives.

Often still bearing the traces of their nautical past, the intriguing and enchanting sketches and drawings in this book brilliantly capture the spirit of the oceans and the magic of the sea.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Art, Travel, Nautical, Nature

304 pages, Paperback

Published May 9, 2019

Reviews

[JaumeMuntane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Si "Exploradores. Cuadernos de viaje y aventura" era una absoluta joya, el presente "Navegantes. Diarios y cuadernos de bitácora" es su perfecto compañero. Preciosamente editado, es un placer recorrer sus páginas que reproducen diarios y cuadernos de bitácora de viajeros de todos los tiempos. Un libro que es una mezcla genial de pasión por la historia, el mar y el arte. Disfrutar de las reproducciones de los diarios y cuadernos de bitácora, con esplendidos dibujos, que contiene este libro merece la máxima puntuación posible.

[reading is my hustle · Rating 4 out of 5]

beautiful book of various sketches made by people traveling by sea to faraway lands. filled with fascinating insights of ocean travel in a time of new discovery, too. this would be a great choice for homeschooling families as a supplemental text.

[Jorge García · Rating 4 out of 5]

El libro es una preciosidad, con las fotografías de los diarios y los dibujos e ilutraciones de los viajeros y marinos. Va acompañado de pequeñas historias que nos ilustran sobre la vida y aventuras de estos hombres y mujeres navegantes. Qué más se puede pedir.

[Kerree Kendall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bloody beautiful book! If you love all things nautical, get it! Get it now!

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most breathtaking and visually alive book about sea travel and the incredible journals created by the artists/captain artists/scientist artists who were on the voyages. These men and women, with paints and charcoal, captured shipwrecks and battles as they were actually occurring, so be prepared to witness (and grasp bravery that no longer exists in the world of exploration. There is also a massive amount of talent on every page. Additionally, reading the book and enjoying the art will only lead you to seek out the artists' individual work, so you can read all about the adventures in their entirety. In this day and age of lousy cell phone history-collection, to see real art made from so long ago, capturing everything from polar journeys to dangerous encounters in the Caribbean, marks this book a winner.

[Neil Crowle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. It deals with a number of people (some well-known, some not) who went to sea and recorded their experiences in journals and sketchbooks. The work is lavishly illustrated with images from the sketchbooks, which are highly interesting.

[Taryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful collection of images, stories and extracts from actual sketches. It's insightful for the sailor's way of life and the things they thought about. It's a private glimpse, and that's the great part about it in many respects.
A very cute and likeable book.

[Eliza Lloyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! What a collection.

[MARTIN JOHN CORFE · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has been a delight, artists and sailors known and unknown with so many super pictures.

[Allegra Goodman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these pages of journals and sketchbooks by sailors. This volume is gorgeous. The images are beautifully presented, and the commentary is illuminating. This book swept me away.

[Benazir · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an inspiring book filled with so much history. Loved reading every page of it.