Reads OnBoard: Whales of Lake Erie
Dec 17, 2020
It’s a voyage everyone wants to undertake, but few get to make.
The Whales of Lake Erie is the diary of a trip Canadian author and photographer, Bruce Kemp, made in the late summer of 2000 aboard the Canadian Leader – last of the traditional Great Lakes fore-aft’ers built in Canada at the Collingwood yard.
A combination of facts, observations and the stories told by the sailors – from captain to cadet – it is a portrait of life aboard a Great Lakes freighter and rare examination of that peculiar maritime culture. As an award-winning journalist, Kemp took a lot of time to include specific facts regarding the Seaway trade and the construction of the ship, but there was more that drew him in. Each sailor has his own tale and what results is a very human and sometimes outrageously funny travel book that focuses around the Lake. Btw, whales is a metaphor – no real ones in Lake Erie.
Bruce’ first book was “Weather Bomb 1913: Life and Death on the Great Lakes” which appeared in 2017. He has also written a novel about the Civil War and Underground Railroad: The Fugitive’s Son. His upcoming marine book deals with the history of navigation and he has a science fiction and a detective novel in the works.
You can buy Whales of Lake Erie at brucekempphotography.net/waypoint and soon at Amazon and others.
