Whaler 'Round the Horn (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781931177368)

Whaler 'Round The Horn. Rodney Glenn, like many other New England boys a hundred years ago, had set his heart on being a whaler. When the chance came, he shipped out of New Bedford on the Pelican, under Captain Jonas Beale. Captain Beale had the reputation of being a lucky skipper and he needed all the luck and skill he possessed when the Pelican encountered terrible seas and storms rounding Cape Horn. The ship won through, and by the time she reached Honolulu, Rod was a well-seasoned hand. A brief shore leave left him with happy memories, particularly of Mahina Rea, the daughter of a Scots shipbuilder and his Hawaiian wife. Shortly after the Pelican put to sea again, their luck changed. The whaleboat in which Rod was stationed was destroyed like matchwood by a killer whale---and Rod found himself the only survivor, swimming frantically away from the horror he had seen. Hours later, clinging to the butt of the mast, Rod was washed ashore on an island where he was marooned for many weeks. A Hawaiian boy, who had come by chance to this inaccessible jungle valley, was is only companion. In these weeks, Rod learned much of the island lore, and when eventually they were able to return to civilization, Rod knew where his future lay. The thrill of whaling and the magic of the Pacific islands are combined in this book by a master storyteller.