Synopses & Reviews
In one of the most triumphant high sea stories ever told, Kieran Doherty brings to life the remarkable true story of the ship that rescued the struggling Jamestown settlement in 1610 and single-handedly ensured England's place in the New World. When the Sea Venture left England in 1609, it was flagship in a fleet of nine bound for Jamestown with roughly 600 settlers and badly needed supplies aboard. But after four weeks at sea, as the voyage neared its end, a hurricane hit devastating the fleetone ship sank, the rest scattered, and the Sea Venture was shipwrecked on the island of Bermuda. It would take Sea Ventures passengers nearly a year and half to reach their destination. Awaiting them was not the thriving, populated colony they expected, but instead the grim reality of a remaining fifty colonistsbeleaguered, desperate, and hungry. But, the question remains, would the English have lost their place in the New World if the Sea Venture had never arrived? A story of strife and triumph, but above all, endurance, Sea Venture begins and ends in hope and remains one of the greatest What Ifs?” in history. With the bravado of a legendary sea saga, Doherty braves the elements in Sea Venture, delivering a powerful history willed by a people destined to change the New World forever. Kieran Doherty is a freelance journalist and award-winning author of numerous biographies for young adults. Sea Venture marks his first history for adults. He lives in Lake Worth, Florida. Kieran Doherty brings to life the true story of the ship that rescued the Jamestown settlement in 1610 and ensured England's place in the New World. When the Sea Venture left England in 1609, it was flagship in a fleet of nine bound for Jamestown with roughly 600 settlers and badly needed supplies aboard. But after four weeks at sea, as the voyage neared its end, a hurricane devastated the fleet, leaving the Sea Venture shipwrecked on the island of Bermuda. It took passengers nearly a year and a half to reach their destination. Awaiting them was not a thriving colony, but instead the remaining fifty colonistsbeleaguered, desperate and hungry. But, the question remains, would the English have lost their place in the New World if the ship never arrived?
A story of endurance, Sea Venture begins and ends in hope and remains one of the greatest What Ifs?” in history. With a bravado reminiscent of Patrick OBrians legendary sea sagas, Doherty braves the elements, delivering a powerful history willed by a people destined to change the New World forever.
"Young-adult biographer Doherty recounts a fascinating saga of shipwreck and survival. Readers intrigued by the last-minute-rescue subplot in Benjamin Woolley's . . . Savage Kingdom will especially welcome this detailed treatment of the 1609 voyage intended to re-supply the struggling Jamestown colony. A violent storm forced the flagship Sea Venture aground in Bermuda, whose dangerous reefs and treacherous shoals had hitherto protected the islands from exploration by Europeans. Charmed by the climate, surprised by the abundance of fish and fowl, the survivors pieced together two ships and carried on to Virginia, arriving at the tail end of the Starving Time that had reduced the colony of 500 to 60. The provisions brought from Bermuda swiftly ran out, and the colonists were about to abandon Jamestown on the very day Lord De La Warre's relief fleet arrived. Returning to Bermuda for more food, Sea Venture veteran Admiral George Somers died there, prompting his nephew to sail straight for England with tales of the marvelous new opportunity the islands offered. He left behind three Englishmen who discovered ambergris; the huge potential value of this rare substance engendered suspicion and avarice among them and conflict with the colonists who finally arrived in 1612. Doherty is especially deft at sorting out the roles of Sea Venture survivors in guaranteeing the success of the new colonies. Among those he spotlights: Virginia governor-designate Sir Thomas Gates, whose strong hand subdued mutinies in Bermuda; impoverished gentleman-poet William Strachey, whose account of the shipwreck and life on Bermuda provided Shakespeare with a template for The Tempest; and John Rolfe, husband-to-be of Pocahontas, whose experiments in tobacco cultivation ensured the colony's survival. Doherty's well-told yarn reveals the impulses both noble and base underlying any colonial enterprise, but it's even more effective in showing the unsettling degree to which luck stirs human destinies.”Kirkus Reviews
"In 1609, the two-year-old English settlement in Jamestown was struggling to survive, having been decimated by hostile Native Americans, disease, political mismanagement and lack of food. Early in the summer, a fleet of nine ships and over 600 hopeful settlers left England to bring supplies and new life to the beleaguered colony. The flagship, Sea Venture, never made it to Jamestown: swept off course by a hurricane, it landed in Bermuda. Doherty, an author of biographies for young adults, vividly recreates the journey of the Sea Venture, the survival of its passengers and the eventual rebuilding of two new ships (Patience and Deliverance) from the Sea Venture's timbers. A year and a half after leaving England, the Sea Venture's passengers landed at the Virginia settlement only to find it on the verge of extinction. The ship's leaders refashioned the charter of the settlement, strove to establish new relationships with the Native Americans and restored the colony's agricultural fortunes, assuring the English a foothold in the New World. The most famous account of this shipwreck is Shakespeare's The Tempest, but Doherty's fast-paced and colorful blow-by-blow account is a swashbuckling tale of adventure in the age of exploration."Publishers Weekly
Review
"Doherty's fast-paced and colorful blow-by-blow account is a swashbuckling tale of adventure in the age of exploration."-Publishers Weekly
"Doherty's well-told yarn reveals the impulses both noble and base underlying any colonial enterprise, but it's even more effective in showing the unsettling degree to which luck stirs human destinies."-Kirkus Reviews
Synopsis
In one of the most triumphant high sea stories ever told, Kieran Doherty brings to life the remarkable true story of the ship that rescued the struggling Jamestown settlement in 1610 and single-handedly ensured England's place in the New World. When the Sea Venture left England in 1609, it was flagship in a fleet of nine bound for Jamestown with roughly 600 settlers and badly needed supplies aboard. But after four weeks at sea, as the voyage neared its end, a hurricane hit devastating the fleet—one ship sank, the rest scattered, and the Sea Venture was shipwrecked on the island of Bermuda. It would take Sea Ventures passengers nearly a year and half to reach their destination. Awaiting them was not the thriving, populated colony they expected, but instead the grim reality of a remaining fifty colonists—beleaguered, desperate, and hungry. But, the question remains, would the English have lost their place in the New World if the Sea Venture had never arrived? A story of strife and triumph, but above all, endurance, Sea Venture begins and ends in hope and remains one of the greatest “What Ifs?” in history. With the bravado of a legendary sea saga, Doherty braves the elements in Sea Venture, delivering a powerful history willed by a people destined to change the New World forever.
About the Author
KIERAN DOHERTY is a freelance journalist and award-winning author of numerous biographies for young adults. Sea Venture marks his first history for adults. He lives in Lake Worth, Florida.