Rum Shoppe By The Sea

Rum Shoppe By The Sea is an anthology of nautical yarns, true stories, and anecdotes of the Sea Captains of Stann Creek Town, British Honduras, now Dangriga, Belize. It is written with some nautical language and flavour of the 'Days of the Great Sailing Ships.' The book includes footnotes and photographs/images; the Appendix has biographies and additional images/photos pertaining to the seamen and seafolk of Stann Creek Town/Dangriga, past and present. The author's Grandfather, Captain Aurelio Pilar Kuylen, sailed the Western Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico which gave rise to many tales including one that occurred during Prohibition in the USA. The book is dedicated to him and his wife, Amy, and also includes their biographies and a short history of the Kuylen and Robertson families Scottish and European backgrounds. It is 1954 and the setting is in a rum shop owned by retired Captain Kuylen. He and his fellow captains are celebrating his birthday, telling yarns and anecdotes, singing, and drinking 'grog,' a blend known as 'Captain Kuylen's Special Blend.' Other captains, known to the author, also tell their tales of the seas, tales of tragedy, mermaids, whale sharks, storms, fear, revelry, pirates and Ghost Ships, all alleged to be true, irrespective of how fantastic they are. And, of course, there are the funny ones. Yet, within Rum Shoppe By The Sea lies the Seaman's theme: 'The sea is beautiful to look at and to sail, but she has many perils in the crossing. You give her the best years of your life and, like that, she drowns you, or sends you home to die alone, purposeless, for ships and seamen rot in harbour.'Rum Shoppe By The Sea is US Trade trim size 6 x 9 inches and has a total of 634 pages and 100 images/illustrations. The Front-Material has 40 pages including 10 illustrations; the Manuscript per se has 440 pages including 40 illustrations; the Appendix has 154 pages including 60 illustrations.