The Cruise of the Snark

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The Cruise of the Snark (1911)[1] is a non-fictional, illustrated book by Jack London chronicling his sailing adventure in 1907 across the south Pacific in his schooner "The Snark". Accompanying London on this voyage was his wife Charmian and a small crew. London taught himself celestial navigation and the basics of sailing and of boats during the course of this adventure and describes these details to the reader. He visits exotic locations including the Solomon Islands and Hawaii and his first person accounts and photographs provide insight into these remote places at the beginning of the 20th century.

Caption: 'The Nature Man comes on Board the Snark' pg 180
Caption: 'The Nature Man comes on Board the Snark' pg 180

Contents

[edit] About the Snark

The snark was named after Lewis Carroll's poem The Hunting of the Snark.[2] The Snark had two masts and was 43 foot long at the waterline for which London claims to have paid thirty thousand dollars. The snark was primarily a sailboat, however, it also had an auxiliary 70 hp engine. It was further equipped with one life boat.

[edit] Locations Visited by the Snark

The Snark first set sail out of San Francisco on April 23, 1907 following construction and several months of delay.

While in Hawaii, London learns the "Royal Sport" of surfing, visits the Leper colony on Molokai and travels by horse back on Maui around Haleakala and to Hana.

London ends his voyage in Sydney, spending five weeks in a hospital recovering from an illness.

[edit] Media Coverage

London's voyage garnered some media attention from the point when he first set out into the Pacific.[3] Concern was raised that the Snark might be lost when London was failed to arrive in the Marquesas Islands on schedule.[4]

[edit] Related Works

Jack London's "The Lepers of Molokai" first appeared as articles in the Woman's Home Comapanion (1908) and the Contemporary Review (1909). [5] Additional essays from the voyage also appeared in Pacific Monthly and Harper's Weekly prior to publication of the Cruise of the snark. [6]

Charmain London subsequently authored two novels detailing their adventures aboard The Snark and their extended visits in Hawaii:

  • The Log of the Snark (1915) [2]
  • Our Hawaii (1917) [7]

[edit] References

  1. ^ London, Jack (1911). "The Cruise of the Snark". "The Macmillan company". Retrieved on 2008-01-16. 
  2. ^ a b London, Charmain Kittredge (1915). "The Log of the Snark". "The Macmillan company". Retrieved on 2008-01-17. 
  3. ^ “Jack London Starts on a Long Cruise”, The New York Times, April 24, 1907, <http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9A0DE1D6123EE033A25757C2A9629C946697D6CF>. Retrieved on 17 March 2008 
  4. ^ “FEAR JACK LONDON IS LOST IN PACIFIC”, The New York Times, January 10, 1908, <http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9A04E0DE1639E333A25753C1A9679C946997D6CF>. Retrieved on 17 March 2008 
  5. ^ The Huntington Library: Tales from the South Pacific. Retrieved on 2008-01-25.
  6. ^ The Huntington Library: The Cruise of the Snark. Retrieved on 2008-01-25.
  7. ^ London, Charmain Kittredge (1917). "Our Hawaii". "Patten Company, Ltd.". Retrieved on 2008-01-17.