About this book
Among Typhoons And Pirate Craft by Lindsay Anderson plunges listeners into the raw drama of mid-19th-century maritime life aboard the opium clipper Eamont. Anderson, serving as third officer, recounts voyages that intersect with pivotal moments in Asian history: the Eamont’s role as a dispatch boat between Nagasaki and Shanghai, early trade with Formosa, and participation in negotiations that helped open Japan to Western commerce in 1858.
Blending seafaring memoir with non-fiction maritime history, Anderson captures the clash of cultures, the mechanics of sail and anchor, and the constant threat of weather and hostile crowds—one episode even describes hundreds of Japanese attempting to tow the anchored Eamont to sea. He also recreates the terrifying September typhoon of 1858 at Double Island, when towering waves and desperate seamanship left few clippers afloat and demanded drastic measures like cutting away masts to survive.
Vivid, informative, and grounded in first-hand experience, this audiobook is perfect for fans of nautical memoirs, maritime history enthusiasts, and listeners drawn to survival-at-sea tales and the turbulent opening of East Asia to Western trade.
