Neil Hanson – Custom of the Sea

Review by Brian Lowen on 15th Jan '09.
A shocking true tale of shipwreck, murder and the last taboo.

In 1884 Captain Tom Dudley is commissioned by a rich yachting enthusiast in Australia to sail the yacht, he has recently bought, from England to Australia.
The Mignonette was a twenty year old racing yawl that was heavily canvassed and when they left Tollesbury in Essex to set sail on their voyage it was obvious that alterations had to be made to the rig and so they called in to a boatyard on the river Itchen in Southampton water for the alterations to be made to reduce the sail area. Also, repairs were needed to the hull where several planks wee rotten and water was leaking into the bilge.
Tom’s wife had tried to persuade him not to take on this commission but once the boat was made seaworthy he decided to complete his contract and so on the 15th July 1884, he set sail for Southampton with a crew of three bound for Sydney. Halfway through their voyage they were beset by a monstrous storm off the coast of Africa. After four days of battling towering seas and hurricane gales, their yacht was finally crushed by a ferocious 40 foot wave.
The four survivors were cast adrift a thousand miles from the nearest landfall in a 13foot dinghy, without provisions, water or shelter from the burning sun. When after 24 days adrift they were finally rescued by a passing ship, only three men were left and they were in an appalling condition. The ordeal they endured and the trial that followed their eventual return to England held the whole nation – from the lowliest ship’s deckhand to Queen Victoria herself – spellbound during the following winter.
From yellowing newspaper files, personal letters and diaries and first person accounts, Neil Hanson has pieced together the extraordinary true tale of Captain Tom Dudley and his crew. Their routine voyage culminated in unimaginable hardship and horror during which the survivors of the storm had to make some impossible decisions.
Adrift in an open boat, with no food or water and at deaths door, the normal practice was for lots to be cast, the loser to provide sustenance for the remaining men. In this case the cabin boy was dying as he had drunk sea water and was delirious and so it was decided to kill him, which the Captain did and his blood and flesh kept the other three alive until the were rescued. Captain Tom’s “mistake” was to tell the truth when he got back to Falmouth, which resulted in his trial for murder.
This is the true story of the voyage and the subsequent court case that outlawed forever the practice followed since men first put to sea in boats – the Custom of the Sea.
I found it a very interesting book if somewhat gruesome in parts. He explains a lot of the background to the voyage as to what it was like for seafaring folk in those times. It also goes into great detail concerning the legal paraphernalia of the extended trial.
A great read if you are interested in true stories of the sea.