Members are invited to attend the launch of the book “Minnehaha. The Princess and the Maiden City” by former Commodore, Owen McGonagle.
The book will be launched by Mr. William McCarter at the Clubhouse on Tuesday 23rd October, 2012, at 8pm.
This book is a fictionalised account of the voyage of the emigrant clipper ship, Minnehaha, from Derry/Londonderry in Ireland to New York, with passengers, in the Autumn of 1870. A voyage to Darien in Georgia and the return passage homeward is integrated into the narrative. The story of emigrant passengers and the bricolage of life on board the ship and ashore is dealt with sensitively. Technical aspects of sailing and navigation are authentic and the reader is provided with a sailplan and a glossary of terms, including idioms of the times. The frontispiece is a full-colour reproduction of a ship portrait of the Minnehaha, dated 1880, courtesy of Mr.McCorkell. There are copies of documents from 1870, and maps and charts as well as line drawings. The book is based on substantial historical research, motivated by the presence of the author’s great grandfather, able-bodied seaman, George White, on the crew of the ship.
Off Malin Head: The cover painting shows the Minnehaha shortening sail, off the Head, in February 1864, following a record-breaking return from New York in sixteen days.
Paperback Price: £8.60 / €10, plus p&p