Tall Ship Stories

Sicilian of Belfast
This story was in development for over a year or two. I drew up artwork for the book, finalized it and then tossed it aside. The story started out in one form and then as I wrote other ship stories I found myself revisiting the Sicilian story and making significant alterations. Returning to the newspaper archives, I did additional research about the ship (there was another ship existing at the same time called Sicilian, adding to the complexity of this search). New features to the story, like the connection to the Hecla (Hekla) and the Lesbian, transformed the nature of the Sicilian saga. The Sicilian yarn became one of a bad ship finally reaching a breaking point, and then the unexpected finale of being rescued from this spiritual ‘low-water mark’ of her life and being returned to her ‘structural dignity’.

In addition, this book is an expansion upon the history of steamship Sicilian that was featured in my book “Dress Rehearsal Mrs Gibson versus the Sea.” In that book, the Sicilian plays the role of the villainous ship that sinks the barque Ada, yet at the same time she also plays the role of rescue ship in the collision. The dual role and complexity of the Sicilian probably is quite appropriate for her name, as the cultural blend of Sicilian people is equally complex. Without further adieu, here is the tale of Sicilian and the String of Violence.

Collision Queen
It seemed that the Steamer Sicilian collided with everything over the course of her troubled career. She struck other ships, weirs and even the very gates of hell. Most ships don't even survive one collision, but here the Sicilian started to accumulate a tally of ships she had either sunk or damaged.

String of Violence
As if being a "collision queen" wasn't bad enough, the Sicilian of Belfast always had strange association with violent events. My story includes the remarkable spearing incident that occurred at the docks of Constantinople in 1862, as well of other fights, thefts and assaults involving the crew members of the vessel.