The Heart of a Ship
GAZELA BOOK NOW ON SALE
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For PSPG members: discount is available by contacting the PSPG office at (215) 238-0280 or office@gazela.org
GAZELA now has a book published about her history and those who have sailed her, thanks to Mary Smith.
At an annual guild dinner a few years ago, Naomi Kaminsky was telling Mary that although we give GAZELA's history a lot of attention, what she found most interesting was how GAZELA has affected so many lives of those who have toiled and sailed on her. Mary agreed and challenged Naomi to write a book about it. To back it up, Mary said she would pay to have the book produced.
Well, it wasn't easy, but Mary's challenge has been met. Thanks to 40+ past and present shipmates who contributed stories, and Donald Little and Naomi Kaminsky who collected and edited the stories, we now have a wonderful 140 page book called "The Heart of a Ship -- Stories from the Crew of Gazela Primeiro". Mary provided the shipboard diary that her late husband, William Wikoff Smith, kept during GAZELA's crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in 1971. Three other shipmates from that historic voyage also contributed stories.
We know there are far more stories out there than the ones we were able to collect by the deadline for this first book. We also suspect that some of the recollections in the book may have some inaccuracies due to the limits of memory. Therefore, we are providing a forum (CLICK HERE) to allow readers and shipmates to post their comments about the book, to suggest clarifications or corrections, and of course, to add stories of their own.
If we get enough new stories to fill a second book, we will certainly try to get a follow-up book printed.