From the tragic ends of several family owned cargo schooners of the nineteenth century to the improbable outcome of a fishing trip on Lake Ontario taken in 2002, Gateley’s newest book chronicles a variety of maritime disasters, acts of heroism, and near misses. Shipwrecks, the result of bad luck, bad management, or some combination of the two, were an all too common event on Lake Ontario in the 19^th and early 20^th century. In this collection you’ll read of the unfortunate end of the

schooner Ariadne and the difficult death of the Noyes, both destroyed by winter gales. Steamers, too, were at risk as the story of the Quinte’s  end by fire and the Lady of the Lakes’ close call show. The book also describes  mishaps that occurred at the port of Oswego, the most lethal harbor for old sailing ships on the lake for a number of years, and ends on a lighter note with tall tales from the past and a couple of really close calls from the twenty first century.

available April 8 2006