Sailing Seven Seas: History of the Canadian Pacific Line

Front Cover and Spine, Sailing Seven Seas: A History of the Canadian Pacific Line by Peter Pigott, 2010. Jacket Design by Jesse Hooper. GGA Image ID # 20d023f9d5

Front Cover Image: The Empress of Britain, The Canadian Pacific's Largest-Ever Liner, Famous for Her Enormous Funnels. Kenneth Shoesmith/Canadian Pacific.

From the Dustjacket Flaps

Under Canadian Pacific's red-and- white-checkered flag, the company's founders, George Stephen and William C. Van Horne, created a rail/sea service from Liverpool to Hong Kong.

Boasting sternwheelers, Great Lakes bulk carriers, ferries, and luxurious ocean-going liner leviathans, the Canadian Pacific shipping line sailed around the globe. In both world wars the entire fleet served gallantly as Allied troop carriers.

After the Second World War, the company staved off the realities of the jet age for as long as it could, replacing liners with container ships, until what was left of the legendary maritime operation was sold off in 2005.

With a witty and informative style, author Peter Pigott evokes-not only the nostalgic heyday of ocean travel but reveals a slice of almost-forgotten Canadiana.

From the stifling steerage quarters of immigrant ships to the elegant drawing rooms of nautical titans such as the ill-fated Empress of Ireland and the Empress of Asia, from U-boat-haunted convoys to container ships, shore dwellers and old salts alike will be delighted with Sailing Seven Seas.

Contents

• Preface
• Introduction
• One: From Rail to Sea
• Two: The First Empresses
• Three: Braving the Atlantic
• Four: The Era of the Great Ships
• Five: War
• Six: The Inter-War Years
• Seven: Fit for a King
• Eight: War Service Once More
• Nine: The Pacific Arena
• Ten: The Age of Air Travel
• Eleven: The Last Great Ships
• Epilogue
• Bibliography
• Index

Back Cover, Sailing Seven Seas: A History of the Canadian Pacific Line by Peter Pigott, 2010. GGA Image ID # 20d041af4d

Back Cover Image: Canada Was Closer to Europe Than The United States, Cutting 400 Miles off a Voyage An Advantage That Canadian Pacific Capitalized on With Slogans Such as "Only Three to Four Days of Open Sea." Robert Opie Collection/Canadian Pacific.

From the Back Cover

These splendid ships, each with her grace, her glory,
Her memory of old song or comrades story,
Still in my mind the image of life's need,
Beauty in hardest action, beauty indeed ...
They are my country's line, her great art done ...
I hey mark our passage as a race of men,
Earth will not see such ships as those again.
— John Masefield, excerpt from "Ships"

About the Author

Peter Pigott is the author of fifteen previous books, including the bestselling Camilla in Afghanistan and Canada in Sudan. A well-known aviation writer, he has also published Wings Across Canada: An Illustrated History of Canadian Aviation and Wingwalkers:The Rise and Fall of Canada's Other Airline. He lives in Ottawa.

Steamship Lines Referenced in This Book

• Alaska Steamship Company
• Allan Line
• Allan Royal Mail Line
• American White Star Line
• Anchor Line
• Beaver Line
• British and North American Steam Packet Company
• British Columbia Coastal Steamship Services (BCCSS)
• Canadian-Australian Royal Mail Line
• Canadian Pacific Line
• Canadian Pacific Navigation Company
• Canadian Pacific Ocean Services (CPOS)
• Canadian Pacific Ocean Steamship Services (CPOSS)
• Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR)
• Canadian Pacifie Railway Steamship Services
• Canadian Pacific Steam Ship Line (CPSL)
• Canadian Pacific Steamship Services
• Canadian Pacific Steamships Ltd. (CPS)
• Carnival Cruise Lines
• Columbia and Kootenay Steam Navigation
• Compagnie Générale Transatlantique (CGT)
• Cunard Line
• Donaldson Line
• Epirotiki Lines
• French Line
• Greek Line
• Grimaldi-Siosa Line
• Guión Line
• Hamburg Atlantic Line
• Hamburg-Amerika Line
• Hamburg-Amerikanische Packetfahrt- Actien-Gesellschaft (Hapag)
• Hapag-Lloyd AG
• Holland-Amerika Line
• Inman Line
• Italian Grimaldi-Siosa Line
• Kootenay Steam Navigation Company
• Lykes Lines
• Manchester Lines
• Montreal Ocean Steamship Company
• Norddeutscher Lloyd (NDL)
• North American Steamship Company
• North German Lloyd Line
• Peninsula & Orient Steam Navigation Company (P&O)
• Shaw, Savill & Albion
• Shaw Savill Line
• Straits Steamship Company
• Union Line
• Union Steamship Company of New Zealand
• White Star

Steamship Captains Referenced in This Book

• Captain Sandy Allan
• Captain John Arton
• Captain Ashwanik
• Captain W. G. Busk-Wood
• Captain L.D. Douglas
• Captain Draper
• Captain "Dick" Hickey
• Captain Hopcroft
• Kapitän Theodore Krancke
• Kapitänleutnant Hans-Werner Kraus
• Kapitänleutnant Otto Kretschmer
• Captain R. A. Leicester
• Captain Leonard Locke
• Captain O. P. Marshall
• Captain Archibald Meikle
• Captain Moore
• Captain H. Pearsons
• Captain R. G. Perry
• Captain Peters
• Captain Hugh Pettigrew
• Captain Edward John Smith
• Captain J. B. Smith
• Captain R. N. Stuart
• Captain J. W. Thomas, OBE
• Captain O. J. Williams

Library of Congress Catalog Listing

• Personal name: Pigott, Peter.
• Main title: Sailing seven seas : a history of the Canadian Pacific Line / Peter Pigott.
• Published/Created: Toronto ; Tonawanda, N.Y. : Dundurn Press, c2010.
• Description: 228 p., [16] p. of plates : ill. (some col.), ports. ; 24 cm.
• ISBN: 1554887658 and 9781554887651
• LC Classification: HE945.C3 P54 2010
• LC Subjects: Canadian Pacific Steamships--History. Ocean liners--Canada--History. Shipping--Canada--History.
• Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [207]-208) and index.
• Additional formats: Issued also in an electronic format.
• LCCN: 2010674443
• Dewey class no.: 387.50971
• Other system no.: (OCoLC)ocn630497121
• Type of material: Book