Chatham Sea Captains in the Age of Sail chronicles the lives and adventures of twenty-five men who traveled the seas from the eighteenth through the twentieth century. These were extraordinary men�masters of navigation who charted paths from the Cape to the Far East with their regal clipper ships; deep-sea fishermen whose fearless spirit drove them to the Grand Banks and Newfoundland in the quest for their catch; and coastal captains who skirted America�s eastern seaboard in pursuit of trade. Spurred on by the Industrial Revolution�s demands, these mariners continued their pelagic exploration while pirates, privateers and Confederate raiders tested their mettle. The sea was both foe and ally. To meet the foe was the challenge; to sail her waters and return home as true masters was the force that drove these men to excellence.