Wind and Wave: Sea Tales from Around Our Coast

Melvin Baker is an archivist and historian at Memorial University of
Newfoundland, and the co-editor of Dictionary of Newfoundland and
Labrador Biography.

Wind and Wave is a highly readable and informative collection of 52
brief chapters that take the reader counter-clockwise around the coast
of the island of Newfoundland highlighting marine disasters of the 19th
and 20th centuries. The province’s marine historians estimate that
there are thousands of stranded and wrecked vessels scattered along
Newfoundland’s coastline, with the mishaps brought on by “fog,
unusual and powerful tides, hidden reefs, high volume of sea traffic,
too few lighthouses and fog horns.” The chapters extol the heroism of
local sailors who survived disasters and of those who risked their lives
in rescue operations to save others. The author never loses sight of the
fact that these disasters also brought great sorrow and tragedy to those
left behind in Newfoundland’s hundreds of fishing communities.

Basing his tales on archival and newspaper accounts as well as oral
interviews, Parsons writes “for the people—those who are descendants
of our hardy fishermen and those who love a yarn from the sea.” He
does not write for the “eyes of academic scholars”; rather, this
book, like his earlier works, has a strong popular appeal, with every
effort made by the author to confirm accuracy. An index of communities,
towns, individuals, and businesses covered in the book is included.