The Captain's Wife by Douglas Kelley is a beautiful story based on the life of Mary Ann Patten - wife of Joshua A Patten, a captain of the merchant clipper ship Neptune's Car.In 1856, Mary set sail with her husband leaving from New York for San Francisco around Cape Horn. During a previous journey, Mary had convinced her husband to teach her how to use a sextant to plot the location and course of the ship.
A few weeks into the trip, that skill came in very handy when her husband took ill leaving the second mate in charge of the ship. Mary kept the ship on course while second mate Hare kept the ship sailing smoothly. Together they traversed some of the most hostile waters on the planet.
As with any sailing story, the ship herself is a main character, and none has been more lovingly described than Kelley's description of Neptune's Car, making The Captain's Wife a must-read for any fans of the sea.
Kelley, Douglas. (2001). The Captain's Wife. New York: Plume Books.
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