First published in 1950. This edition is a reprint of a facsimile edition published by the Shetland Times in 1994.
When Captain Halcrow's book was first published in 1950 the days of working sail in Shetland were over. The book was a tribute to the hard lives these men led over the many centuries in which sail had been the only motive power other than their own physical efforts. The culmination of the sail fishing boat was the large Fifie or Zulu but these in turn were rapidly overtaken by steam drifters in the early years of the 20th century.
Times may be easier now but the resurgence of interest both locally and nationally in our maritime heritage has resulted in the last of Shetland's sailing drifters being brought back to Shetland and restored by The Swan Trust. It is a fitting memorial to Captain Halcrow that his descendants have agreed that all the royalties from this reprint of his book should be paid to the trust to help keep alive the tradition of sail for future generations of Shetlanders.
A. Halcrow
Paperback
187 pages
