This amusing and often moving book consists of 59 short tales about real-life events at sea:

The amorous captain who showed chosen women passengers the stars after midnight; the zoo-bound warthog who escaped; the good and bad behaviour of ships’ crews at times of disaster; the alcoholic ship’s doctor who feared having to perform an operation on the high seas; the albatross who followed the ship for three days; the eagle who landed on the wing of the bridge; the ship’s dartboard that was bartered for sex. Then there was the ship’s cat who survived three wartime sinkings; the Irish barber on a cruise ship who shaved the legs of a voluptuous duchess; the Christmas pudding so saturated with spirits that it became a fire hazard.

Also included are stories about the tragic loss of life when the Principessa Mafalda went down off the coast of Brazil; of the Nordic nerve that saved all on board when the Skaubryn was engulfed by fire; of the ship’s cook whose fare improved greatly after he had been bitten by a snake; the terrifying temptation to jump over the side of the moving ship; getting the better of the Prohibition police in Bombay; and the great sea battle of Lepanto.

These are among the true stories of love and liaisons, risks and dangers, events funny, sad, memorable and informative that abound in this absorbing collection of anecdotes. Most of these pieces were first told on the RTÉ Radio 1 maritime programme Seascapes, although a few first surfaced on RTÉ’s Sunday Miscellany, the Irishman’s Diary column in The Irish Times and elsewhere.