Bluenose Coasting: A Tradition Lost

A.A. den Otter is a professor of history at The Memorial University of
Newfoundland, and the co-author of Lethbridge: A Centennial History.

The coastal trade among various communities in the Maritimes was an
important factor in the economic as well as the social development of
the region. Whether it involved small shallops navigating between local
ports, ferries plying across a strait, bay, or river, or larger
schooners sailing to major centres, the coastal trade produced
employment, wealth, and a host of heroes, stories, and legends. The
latter have become an integral part of Atlantic-Canadian culture.

Robert Cunningham has attempted to tell the human tale associated with
the coastal trade. Using veteran mariner Captain Rand Merriam as a focal
point, Cunningham recounts the history of the trade in lumber, salt, and
many other products. It is a fascinating account for readers who are
willing to be taken helter-skelter from story to story, with little
regard for chronology, Bluenose Coasting will be an entertaining read.
Those who are looking for an organized analysis of the genesis and
development of this important contributor to life in the Maritimes will
be disappointed and at times even frustrated at the lack of thematic or
temporal organization. This is a pity. Cunningham has an important story
to relate, but he does not tell it well.