The extraordinary story of Francis Drake’s circumnavigation of the globe from 1577-1580.This account of one of the greatest navigational feats of all time is the perfect read for fans of James Seay Dean, Paul Kennedy, Brian Lavery, and John Sugden.In 1577, Francis Drake set sail from Plymouth Harbour with five other ships and 164 men and boys. They were under the Queen’s commission to explore the great South Sea by way of the Strait of Magellan. It had been nearly 60 years since the Spaniard had sailed into the unknown and discovered the natural passage between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans; no one had achieved it since.The purpose of the great voyage was to explore uncharted waters, unclaimed territories, and search for new trading possibilities to bolster England’s declining export trade. To interrupt Spanish and Portuguese dominance in sea trade and wealth flowing from the New World was also of strategic interest.Through remarkably detailed testimony that survived from the depositions made of Drake’s prisoners to Spanish Inquisitors, the ships' logs, and personal diaries, we follow the eventful journey. Through McKee’s narrative, we gain insight into the divisive Drake, what life was like on board ship and under his command, and how his seafaring brilliance led to ultimate success.‘Written from the point of view of a participant, but with the assistance of his own expertise on Tudor shipbuilding matters, the author has produced an enjoyable, racy account of that most spectacular voyage … an absorbing introduction to the circumnavigation which has much to entertain both the general reader and the more expert.’ Geographical Magazine‘The author's technical knowledge of 16th century ships has resulted in a most judicious tribute to Drake as a practical seaman, and his work will appeal to all those interested in maritime history and exploration; it will be of value too, to many critical students of the Elizabethan period who lack opportunities to consult the many primary sources Mr. McKee has used.’ British Book News Read more

'So I began thinking again of those two white blanks on the map, of penguins and humming birds, of the pampas and of gauchos, in short, of Patagonia, a place where, one was told, the natives' heads steam when they eat marmalade.'So responded H. W. 'Bill' Tilman to his own realisation that the Himalaya were too high for a mountaineer now well into his fifties. He would trade extremes of altitude for the romance of the sea with, at his journey's end, mountains and glaciers at a smaller scale; and the less explored they were, the better he would like it. Within a couple of years he had progressed from sailing a 14-foot dinghy to his own 45-foot pilot cutter Mischief, readied for her deep-sea voyaging, and recruited a crew for his most ambitious of private expeditions.Well past her prime, Mischief carried Tilman, along with an ex-dairy farmer, two army officers and a retired civil servant, safely the length of the North and South Atlantic oceans, and through the notoriously difficult Magellan Strait, against strong prevailing winds, to their icy landfall in the far south of Chile.The shore party spent six weeks crossing the Patagonian ice cap, in both directions, returning to find that their vessel had suffered a broken propeller. Edging north under sail only, Mischief put into Valparaiso for repairs, and finally made it home to Lymington via the Panama Canal, for a total of 20,000 nautical miles sailed, in addition to a major exploration 'first' all here related with the skipper's characteristic modesty and bone-dry humour, and many photographs. Read more

Easter Island is one of the most remote locations on earth.

Located over two thousand miles off the coast of Chile, the Rapa Nui people live isolated from the rest of the world.

The inhabitants, who had settled on the island at some point between 300 and 1200 A.D., had developed their own unique culture, language, mythology, art and sculpture.

Europeans had first stumbled upon the island and its inhabitants in 1722, yet even by the early twentieth century little was known or understood about Rapa Nui.

Katherine Routledge, a British archaeologist and anthropologist, decided to organize an expedition to the island and record the fascinating way of life and beliefs of the Rapa Nui.

With support from the British Association for the Advancement of Science, the British Museum and the Royal Geographical Society, and a crew borrowed from the Royal Navy, Routledge and her husband set out on their ship, the Mana, on 25th March 1913.

Routledge in her book, The Mystery of Easter Island, documents all the aspects of this lengthy expedition, including the year-long journey travelling across the Atlantic, visiting Madeira, Grand Canary, the Cape Verde Islands, Brazil, Argentina, sailing through the Strait of Magellan, and finally Chile before landing on Easter Island in March 1914.

While on the island Routledge records in brilliant detail how the inhabitants lived, their oral history and legends that had been passed down through generations, their religious beliefs and cults prior to the emergence of Christianity on Easter Island, as well as the famous the prehistoric remains on the island including the huge numbers of Moai statues.

The final section of the book covers the return section of the voyage, visiting Pitcairn Island, Tahiti, the Hawaiian islands, San Francisco, going through the Panama canal, Jamaica and various other Caribbean islands before finally finishing the journey in Southampton.

Katherine Routledge published her survey of Easter Island 1919 as The Mystery of Easter Island, which became a popular travel book in the early twentieth century. She suffered from schizophrenia for most of her life and was eventually institutionalized in 1929 and she passed away there in 1935.
Read more

CHILEAN FJORDS WATERPROOF TEAR-RESISTANT CHART. Historical and hydrographical map. Highly improved new edition! Cruise log for the intrincate coast of the south of South America. Insets of Beagle Channel (Glaciers Avenue), Agostini Fjord, Wulaia Inlet and Romanche Bay.Carta hidrografica historica. Permite seguir el derrotero de los cruceros que recorren los fiordos chilenos en la intrincada costa del sur de Sudamerica. Ampliaciones del Seno Agostini, de la Avenida de los Glaciares del Canal Beagle, de la Caleta Wulaia y Bahia Romanche.Nueva edicion impresa en papel irrompible a prueba de agua. Read more