Product Description

This is the page-turning story of a man who walked out of college, went to sea, and lived life on his own terms. From the 1920s until the 1980s, Captain Kenedy mastered ships delivering cargo while supporting a family and doing what was necessary as he sailed up and down the eastern seaboard of North America from Nova Scotia to the Caribbean. The incredible life of Captain Lou Kenedy was framed by the 10 vessels he owned and skippered. Preferring sail to engine power, even after the middle of the twentieth century, he made a profit hauling cargo between the Caribbean, Canada, and the northeastern United States. He lost vessels in raging hurricanes and once at the hands of a German U-boat captain during World War II. He was there during the Cuban Camarioca Boat Lift, and also chartered vessels for use in motion pictures. Through it all, Lou Kenedy's character was shaped by the hard necessities of the way of life he'd chosen, but tempered by great humor and an unsinkable zest for life. While this can certainly be termed a "nautical book," the casual observer may make the mistake of identifying The Last Schoonerman as a book only for those interested in boating and the sea. And while it is true that ships and the sea are the backdrop upon which this story is painted, the book is actually the account of the life and times of an incredibly interesting and multi-dimensional man. It doesn't take long for the reader to realize that Captain Kenedy was a unique and masterful problem solver. This characteristic, combined with his intriguing personality and the independent lifestyle he chose, created the opportunity for a talented writer to put it all together in a compelling narrative that merits the reading time of people of all stripes. This combination is what keeps the reader engaged page after page, asking "What will happen next? And what will Lou Kenedy do about it?" The Last Schoonerman is a book worth reading and a book both landlubbers and sailors will certainly find interesting, educational, and above all, enjoyable.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #358973 in Books
• Published on: 2006-11-15
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 268 pages

Customer Reviews

The Last Schoonerman
Finally, a book about sailing schooners, their captains, crews and adventures that is not contrived. No frills, just honest to goodness nautical experiences that thrill men and women alike.
The book gives us all the chance to be part of the experiences of a very special man, a man who seemed to know what he wanted from birth.
I was saddened at the end of the book. Saddened because it had ended and with it an era had ended. An era of yankee skippers, fast schooners and a time of heroes. A must read for anyone who dreams of a fast ship and a star to steer her by. Brian Kenedy...

A Story of a Unique Seaman Who Showed A Great Deal of Moxie.
That it was possible during the middle of the twentieth century to profitably haul cargo between the Caribbean, Canada and the northeast USA with sailing ships similar to those used in the 1850s will probably come as quite a surprise to many of us today.

This was how the legendary Lou Kenedy, who owned and skippered ten vessels, earned his living from the age of twenty-one during the height of the Depression until he retired and sold his last schooner in 1985.

With his clear and simple style, Joe Russell invites his readers to share the personal experiences, escapades and hardships of Captain Lou Kenedy as he paints evocative images with his tales pertaining to each one of Kenedy's schooners beginning with his first one, Abundance and ending with Sea Fox.

Russell in his The Last Schoonerman: The Remarkable Life of Captain Lou Kenedy depicts a world that is filled with excitement and much danger. And what a way to earn a living when you have to endure horrendous hurricanes, run-ins with the authorities, tragedies that at times ended in the death of some of your crew members, being attacked by German submarines during World War II, crewmen that get into all kinds of trouble, while at the same time keeping calm and making sure you don't loose your sanity.

Russell gathered his material from boxes of photos, transcripts, magazine articles, log books, and family memorabilia that were sent to him from Kenedy's daughter, Patsy who approached him offering the opportunity to write about her feisty father. It should be mentioned, as Russell asserts in the preface, that all his writing up to then was centered on cruising guides and destination pieces for Cruising World. In addition to these resources, Russell used material from a four-part, 1953-54 Saturday Evening Post series. The biography also includes many quotations from an interview conducted by Ralph Getson of the Lunenburg (Nova Scotia) Marine Museum Society that was recorded in the 1980s. And as Russell mentions, "Captain Lou Kenedy was, if anything, a master story teller, and he rarely missed an opportunity to entertain his listeners."

Rich with research and anecdote, this is a remarkable book depicting a character who exhibited a great deal of moxie or as Russell states, "this is a story of a man who successfully pounded a square lifestyle into a round society." It should be pointed out that each chapter contains a brief description of each one of Kenedy's schooners that includes its name, year of launching, rig, official number, builder, and material, length between perpendiculars, beam dimensions, draft dimensions and depth of hold. The book also contains a very useful glossary of nautical terms, the Beaufort Wind Scale, the 32 Points of the Compass and a comprehensive index.

Russell has done an excellent job of capturing the flavor of a by-gone era that we will never see again providing his readers with nuggets of fascinating tales of not only a unique individual but also of the sea with its unknowable beauty and terror.


Norm Goldman, Editor & Publisher Bookpleasures

Best Saltiest Nonfiction
The Last Schoonerman is the best saltiest nonfiction I've read in too many years ! Captain Lou was a remarkable individualist; a memorable character through which the sea and the seasons of life flowed vibrantly, and momentously with toughness, ingenuity, sensitivity, good humour and fun. So glad he (and wife Pat, and his children) were a part of Capt. Art's and my lives. Alas, nowadays cannot recreate his kind. But we can enjoy excerpts of his life, thanks to author Joe Russell's taking up the challenge to compile the vast research which was given him. History needed this recorded. Splendid ! --- Peggy Crimmins