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by Ingrid Arrigo-Grenon (Author)
Large, wooden-hulled schooners graced the seas of coastal Maine for more than a century as vessels of trade and commerce. With the advent of steam-powered craft, however, these elegant four-, five- or six-masted wooden ships became obsolete and vanished from the harbors and horizons. The Edward Lawrence, the last of the six-masters, became her own funeral pyre in Portland Harbor, burning to ash before everyone's eyes. The Carroll A. Deering washed ashore with no trace of her crew, empty as a ghost ship except for three cats and a pot of pea soup still cooking on the stove. In this testament to the beauty of the Maine coastal region, maritime history enthusiast Ingrid Grenon tells the story of these magnificent relics of the bygone Age of Sail and celebrates the people who devoted their lives to the sea.
Author Biography
As a child growing up in a 1799 farmhouse in rural Maine, Ingrid Grenon was surrounded by history. She lived and breathed it. She loved hearing stories about her Mayflower ancestors, who were both Saints and Strangers. She listened intently as she was told about those who fought in the Revolutionary War and about a great-great-great-grandfather who joined the Sixty-first Maine Infantry during the Civil War. She is also very proud of her great-great-great-grandfather, Captain William Peachey, who was lost at sea when his schooner sunk near Portland Harbor during a gale in December 1876. She learned, too, of a Sebago Indian from whom she is descended. These are the things that impressed her from a young age. Currently employed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Grenon has a degree in psychology and a riding master's degree. She is a member of the Maine Maritime Museum, Boothbay Region Historical Society and the Hill-Stead Museum. She is also a published poet.
