Tidewrack: Neglected Facts and Intriguing Stories from the age of the Wooden Ships

Olaf Uwe Janzen is an associate professor of history at Sir Wilfred
Grenfell College, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

According to its cover, “Tidewrack tells of the great age of sailing
vessels between 1775 and 1875.” And indeed, in his discussion of the
technical side of sailing and shipping, the author provides useful
information (such as how the size of a vessel was measured, or that
models and half-models were used when building a vessel). Unfortunately,
the book is poorly organized, there is no index or reference notes, and
the bibliography is superficial—all of which severely limits the use
of the book for readers seeking specific information. More seriously,
the book is replete with historical inaccuracy: John Paul Jones could
not have served in the War of 1812 since he died in 1792; the standard
line-of-battle warship of that era was a ’74, not a ’72; the Basques
first appeared in Labrador in the 1540s, not the 1590s. This, combined
with the author’s obvious willingness to give credence to historically
dubious or apocryphal figures like Prince Henry Sinclair (whom he touts
as “the first Bluenose shipwright”), raises serious concerns about
the reliability of the rest of the book, including Cunningham’s
technical details and interpretations. Overall, then, this is not a book
to be recommended.