SENTINEL of the SEAS: LIFE AND DEATH AT THE MOST DANGEROUS LIGHTHOUSE EVER BUILT (The Maritime Series of Sea Ventures Press), by DENNIS M. POWERS
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SENTINEL of the SEAS: LIFE AND DEATH AT THE MOST DANGEROUS LIGHTHOUSE EVER BUILT (The Maritime Series of Sea Ventures Press), by DENNIS M. POWERS
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Miles off the coast of northern California lies a mariner’s nightmare. Concealed by a roiling sea and thick fog, the jagged edges of a submerged volcanic mountain chain await approaching vessels like a predator in the mist. This is one of the most hazardous reefs off the West Coast. And for over a century, it has been home to the most remote, most expensive, and most dangerous lighthouse ever built in America. Called “Dragon Rocks” in 1792 by British explorer George Vancouver, the area became known as St. George Reef in the hope that its new namesake might slay the dragon. But the beast claimed its greatest victim in 1865 when the side-wheel steamer S.S. Brother Jonathan sank on one of the rocks with the loss of 225 souls, inspiring an extraordinary effort to make the waters safe. The result took ten years to construct and cost as much as twenty-five typical lighthouses on land. In Sentinel of the Seas, Dennis M. Powers chronicles the heroic stories of men and women who have gone where land and sea collide. To build the St. George Reef Lighthouse, Alexander Ballantyne--probably the only man alive who was qualified and brave enough to supervise such a project--faced incredible hurdles, including the haul of six-ton granite blocks onto a spit of washed-over land from a quarry that was seventy-five miles away. In 1937 George Roux, the tough, long-time head lighthouse keeper, was trapped for two months by howling winds and stories-high waves with his crew on the verge of mutiny. His career soon ended abruptly when he attempted later to cross the twelve savage miles between St. George Reef and the nearest port. In 1951 a rogue wave capsized a Coast Guard launch being lowered from the lighthouse, challenging keeper Fred Permenter to attempt a nearly impossible rescue that would ensure him a place in Coast Guard history. Based on five years of extensive research that draws on the National Archives, original journals, and personal interviews, Sentinel of the Seas is the first book to capture the tumultuous history of this astounding engineering feat and the lives that have been influenced by it. The author takes readers back to the dawn of lighthouse design, charting the dramatic moments and courageous people that have shaped a struggle against the oceans that culminate in the singular experience of St. George Reef. A vivid, comprehensive work of history that reads like the best adventure writing, this portrait of human tenacity and the raw fury of nature solidifies the author’s reputation as one of our finest chroniclers of the sea.
SENTINEL of the SEAS: LIFE AND DEATH AT THE MOST DANGEROUS LIGHTHOUSE EVER BUILT (The Maritime Series of Sea Ventures Press), by DENNIS M. POWERS - Amazon Sales Rank: #773987 in eBooks
- Published on: 2015-06-02
- Released on: 2015-06-02
- Format: Kindle eBook
SENTINEL of the SEAS: LIFE AND DEATH AT THE MOST DANGEROUS LIGHTHOUSE EVER BUILT (The Maritime Series of Sea Ventures Press), by DENNIS M. POWERS From Publishers Weekly One of the most rugged expanses in the continental U.S., the coast of northern California and Oregon saw frequent shipping disasters in the 19th century, before Congress ordered the construction of lighthouses on such dangerous promontories as Heceta Head, Cape Mendocino and a seaward-trending pile of rocks called St. George Reef. The brave, resourceful engineer who directed the Tillamook Rock lighthouse construction, Alexander Ballantyne, was later engaged for the St. George job, and it's this story that author Powers (Treasure Ship) chronicles here. Without any maps to illustrate it, however, readers will need an atlas to follow the movement of men and ships up and down the coast. Later chapters describing lighthouse life prove less problematic; lighthouse keepers were fascinating, courageous characters (and included a good number of women) who not only kept lights burning and fog horns sounding, but also risked life and limb to rescue people stranded in torrential weather. Unfortunately, Powers' wordy style does not do his subjects justice, making this a less-than-enjoyable read despite a worthy topic. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist Powers returns to the northern California setting of the excellent The Raging Sea (2005) and Treasure Ship (2006) to tell the story of the St. George's Reef Lighthouse, built in response to the wreck recounted in Treasure Ship. Twelve miles from the nearest harbor and subject to consistently vile weather, the lighthouse took 10 years to build, and resupplying it, relieving crews, and basic maintenance were always challenging during the 75 years it was a manned station. In traversing its career, Powers offers an informative introduction to the promise and the peril of the old-fashioned lighthouse, whose crews often risked their own lives to guard those of sailors, especially in winter. Thoroughly researched and written in fluent prose as well as with infectious love of the sea and those who go down to it, this book is Powers' third consecutive high-priority addition for maritime collections. Green, Roland
From the Publisher "Masterful, comprehensive . . . Sentinel of the Seas catches feelings of a fresh sea breeze blowing through eons of time. From its creation like a castle in the ocean, the history of St. George's Reef lighthouse, full of drama, is an intriguing story of men against the sea." --Jim Gibbs, author of Pacific Graveyard and Peril at Sea; owner/operator, Cleft of the Rock Lighthouse, Yachats, Oregon
"A page-turning thriller that pits man against nature; a true story of raging seas and ghost ships; an entertaining and informative read." -- Tim Wohlforth, author of No Time to Mourn
"Waves of danger and drama crash over this gripping account of the building of the St. George Reef lighthouse, taking the reader on an action-packed roller-coaster ride that shines a lasting light on the indomitable human spirit. Dennis Powers, with meticulous research, powerfully presents the brilliant and fearless Superintendent Ballantyne in his ongoing challenges with unpredictable weather, the federal bureaucracy, and concerns for his workers in a most memorable way." --Sandra MacLean Clunies, Historian, Chesapeake Chapter, U.S. Lighthouse Society
"From the moment I opened Sentinel of the Seas, I found myself aboard the little top-sail schooner La Ninfa, soaking wet, clutching the rail, wondering how anyone could survive, much less erect a lighthouse on that wave-battered spire of hell known as St. George Reef. Author Dennis M. Powers satisfied my curiosity step by step with an amazing amount of research. This is a must for historians, lighthouse aficionados, and armchair travelers." --Don Marshall, author of California Shipwrecks
"Sentinel of the Seas is a magnificent story of hardship, isolation, and human achievement . . . Powers takes you on a remarkable journey to the remotest of lighthouses while providing powerful insights into the struggles and heroics of the men who have dedicated their lives to protect mariners from the dreaded `Dragon Rocks.'"-- James Clifford, author of Double Daggers
"Dennis Powers is one of the more masterful nonfiction writers today. He proves it with Sentinel of the Seas, a thrilling account of the steel-willed men who built the St. George Reef Lighthouse on an ocean-scoured speck of rock miles from solid land, and of the keepers who combated storms and maddening isolation so its warning light would remain burning. I'm still shivering from the cold sea spray."--Phil Scott, author of Hemingway's Hurricane
"Sentinel of the Seas is an absorbing narrative about the spectacular and dangerous engineering feat required to build and maintain the St. George Reef Lighthouse. This story of the men who conquered the sea with engineering and fortitude is a classic American tale told in impressive detail. It also gives pause to any of us who ever wildly imagined being (or marrying) a lighthouse keeper." --Cherie Burns, author of The Great Hurricane: 1938
"With Sentinel of the Seas, Powers completes a trilogy on the amazing maritime history surrounding Crescent City. A fitting tribute to the men who toiled, suffered, and even sacrificed all to build and keep America's most expensive lighthouse is finally available. chronicle of one of marine engineering's greatest achievements―the struggle to build a lighthouse on a wave-washed shelf of rock off the coast of Northern California. Dennis Powers' bittersweet story of this monolith of metal and stone reads like a novel, minus the fiction."--Elinor DeWire, author of The Lightkeepers' Menagerie and Guardians of the Lights
"This is great adventure reading, brilliantly written. I highly recommend Sentinel of the Seas to everyone who loves epic adventure stories of nautical history."-- Richard R. Blake for Reader Views
"A uniquely comprehensive, extensively researched maritime history. . . . A fascinating, informative tale related with powerful, intimate urgency."--Kirkus Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful. An other great book from Dennis Powers By Sandra S. Nuss Really enjoyed this book, Keeps you interested and the tale of building St. George Lighthouse is amazing. A harrowing tale of perseverance for ten years in all kinds of weather.Also included is Lighthouse keepers at other lighthouses and a chaper on Women Lighhouse keepers. Mr Powers really does his homework when he writes his books and I have enjoyed working with him on three of his books at the Del Norte Conty Historical Society Museum in Crescent City California where three of his books have their roots.Sandra Nuss Researcher, Del Norte Co. Historical Society
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful. Just imagine... By Audrey I loved this book! Dennis Powers's "Sentinel of the Seas..." is thoroughly captivating. Each chapter is filled with fascinating descriptions of the men---and there were heroic women too---who risked everything in order to secure the west coast. There are tales of immigrants who could only find work that no one else wanted, so those men took brutally hard jobs. Powers ties together the social, economic, and political scenes to portray life at a time when if a man was out of a job for whatever reason, he was simply out of luck.Before the Oregon Territory was settled, a few hardy pioneers ventured west via wagon train, but that kind of travel was inefficient. It took months and it was full of hardships and hazards. There were no railroads or other methods of transporting goods to the developing west coast, so ships were essential to transport men and materials. And the stormy, rock-strewn Oregon coast caused too many ships to go down; that was expensive in terms of lost lives and lost fortunes as well. So the lighthouses were essential. But imagine building one amidst the raging, murderous sea with thunderous tides that could--and did--carry off men along with tons of desperatly needed goods.This book is is a thriller.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. This is great adventure reading, brilliantly written. By Reader Views Reviewed by Richard R. Blake for Reader Views (5/07)"Sentinel of the Seas" reads like a novel. Dennis Powers has written another classic masterpiece which chronicles man battling the sea. As in his earlier works "Treasure Ship" and "The Raging Sea," Powers has thoroughly researched his work. He spent five years in preparation, searching archives, original journals, dairies, ship logs, Lighthouse Board Reports, and doing personal interviews of survivors, and their families. The lighthouse was built on St. George Reef which is one of the most hazardous reefs off the West Coast.Powers recounts the history, engineering and construction of the lighthouse. He also explains the various lighting and sound warning devices used over the history of the lighthouse. Powers masterfully weaves into the record heroic stories of the men and women who designed, built, and maintained the St. George Reef Lighthouse from it's completion in 1892 until it's abandonment in 1975, and renewal in 2002."Sentinel of the Seas" heralds the career of Alexander Ballantyne, who supervised the project, as well as the careers of George Roux, and Fred Permenter the lighthouse keepers. Powers details the work of the "wickies," lighthouse life, the history and the development of other U. S. lighthouses. He shows a deep appreciation for the courage the lighthouse keepers demonstrated in the midst of crashing waves, tumultuous storms, and hurricane force winds which they faced on a recurring basis.Turnover among the personal was significant. Powers explained it this way: "This station was one of the least sought-after assignments in the service. Potential wickies had already heard what duty would be like on Dragon Rocks. It had earned its reputation." I personally enjoyed the insight into the contrast between routine work and boredom of the assignment with hazardous way of life of the lighthouse keepers. Powers uses descriptive phrases that made me feel "the enveloping curtains of cold mists" or hear the "barks of the seals, cries of the seagulls, and the crashing surf."This is great adventure reading, brilliantly written. I highly recommend "Sentinel of the Seas" to everyone who loves epic adventure stories of the adventure of the sea, shipwreck, and nautical history.Book received free of charge.
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SENTINEL of the SEAS: LIFE AND DEATH AT THE MOST DANGEROUS LIGHTHOUSE EVER BUILT (The Maritime Series of Sea Ventures Press), by DENNIS M. POWERS
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SENTINEL of the SEAS: LIFE AND DEATH AT THE MOST DANGEROUS LIGHTHOUSE EVER BUILT (The Maritime Series of Sea Ventures Press), by DENNIS M. POWERS
