Some Nautical Tales

Some Nautical Tales covers the adventures and experiences of Captain Wilbur H. Vantine, as he worked his way up from Ordinary Seaman and sailed as Ship Master on tramo freighters in the United States Merchant Marine.

Along the way he was able to "see the world" at a very interesting time in world affairs. During WWII, he served on two ships in the war zones of the southwest Pacific and on another in the North Atlantic to the United Kingdom. He obtained his first command in 1951 at age twenty-six. While sailing as Ship Master, he did difficult navigation among icebergs in the far north; had his ship breaking up and losing three of its four lifeboats in a "super" storm, was confined with his crew on a Liberty ship, in ballast, during a winter-time crossing of the North Atlantic, with a killer virus on board, sailed to Korea before, during and after the Korean War, took action to minimize damage from an un-avoidable collision and directed actions to separate the two ships which were connected by their anchor chains, made an ocean crossing with growing cracks in the main deck threatening to cause his ship to break-up, steamed transpacific with a cargo of coal undergoing spontaneous combustion, had his ship to boarded and crew attacked by a large and angry mob in Yugoslavia, had a shifting cargo of army tanks threatening to knock out the sides of his ship during a storm, and had unique interaction with both ship and shore personalities.

This book was authored during Captain Vantine's 79th and 80th years, referring to notes and records that were made at the time of the events. It is all based on actual experiences. The numerous photographs were taken by the author, except where noted otherwise.