Sign-In
Cart
The Ferry: Island Crossings, Commuters, Storms, Accidents, and the Boat That Connects Communities
Paperback
BoatingTransportation GeneralGeneral World History
Publisher: Publishdrive
Published: Jul 16 2026
Pages: 312
Weight: 0.92
Height: 0.65 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
The ferry is one of the least celebrated yet most indispensable vessels ever built. It carries commuters across crowded harbours, tourists towards islands and distant coastlines, lorries through the night, and essential supplies to communities whose roads end at the water. For millions of passengers, it is simply part of an ordinary journey. For isolated islands, it is a lifeline.
The Ferry: Island Crossings, Commuters, Storms, Accidents, and the Boat That Connects Communities traces the remarkable development of ferry travel from ancient riverboats and rope-guided crossings to steam-powered paddle vessels, railway ferries, car carriers, vast roll-on, roll-off ships, and the emerging generation of battery-electric ferries. It explores the engineering hidden beneath familiar passenger decks, the demanding work of captains and crews, the tightly organised activity of ferry terminals, and the economic systems that depend upon vehicles and freight continuing across the sea.
The story also enters more dangerous waters. Through major accidents, fires, collisions, groundings, storms, and catastrophic losses such as the Herald of Free Enterprise, Estonia, Doña Paz, Le Joola, and Sewol, the book examines how weaknesses in stability, vehicle-deck protection, emergency procedures, corporate culture, and regulation changed international ferry safety. It follows passengers during evacuation, rescuers into hostile seas, and communities ashore as they confront loss and recovery.
More than a history of ships, this is the story of connection itself. Ferries unite islands with mainlands, neighbourhoods with city centres, roads with distant roads, and families with the places they call home. Quietly and repeatedly, they overcome the boundaries created by rivers, harbours, straits, lakes, and open sea.
Also from
Aaberg, Aaron
The Falklands Air War: Sea Harriers, Skyhawks, Bombers, and the Battle for Distance
Aaberg, Aaron
Paperback
The Attack Helicopter: Armour, Missiles, and the Low-Level Battlefield from Above
Aaberg, Aaron
Paperback
The Battle of Britain Machine: Fighters, Radar, Pilots, and the Air Defence System That Held the Line
Aaberg, Aaron
Paperback
The Vietnam Air War: Helicopters, Phantoms, MiGs, and the Conflict That Changed Air Power
Aaberg, Aaron
Paperback
The Ships That Never Came Home: Lost Vessels, Missing Crews, and the Mysteries of the Sea
Aaberg, Aaron
Paperback
The Surname Story: Family Names, Lost Jobs, Places, Nicknames, and the History Hidden in Ordinary People
Aaberg, Aaron
Paperback
The Cold War Bomber: Deterrence, Range, and the Aircraft Built for Nuclear Strategy
Aaberg, Aaron
Paperback
The Harrier Story: Vertical Flight, Small Carriers, and the Jump Jet That Defied Runways
Aaberg, Aaron
Paperback
Carrier Wings: Swing-Wing Fighters, Naval Aviation, and the Cold War Jet Age (Independent Book)
Aaberg, Aaron
Paperback
The Lighthouse Keepers: Storms, Solitude, Fog, and the People Who Guarded the Coast
Aaberg, Aaron
Paperback
The Shipwreck Map: Lost Cargoes, Broken Hulls, Rescue Attempts, and the Stories Beneath the Waves
Aaberg, Aaron
Paperback
The Lifeboat Story: Volunteers, Storm Rescues, Wrecks, and the Courage of the Shore
Aaberg, Aaron
Paperback
The Warning Signs: Cracks, Smoke, Leaks, Alarms, and the Disasters People Nearly Prevented
Aaberg, Aaron
Paperback
Fortress Islands: Sieges, Sea Power, and the Battles for Malta, Rhodes, Cyprus, and Crete
Aaberg, Aaron
Paperback
The Siege from the Sea: Blockades, Landings, Supply Lines, and the Naval Side of Famous Sieges
Aaberg, Aaron
Paperback
The Container Ship World: Ports, Cranes, Storms, Crews, and the Hidden Journey of Everything We Buy
Aaberg, Aaron
Paperback
Also in
Boating
Titanic: The Ship Magnificent - Volume Two: Interior Design and Fitting Out
Braunschweiger, Art
Hall, Steve
Beveridge, Bruce
Hardcover
In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex (National Book Award Winner)
Philbrick, Nathaniel
Paperback
Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time
Sobel, Dava
Paperback
The Great Halifax Explosion: A World War I Story of Treachery, Tragedy, and Extraordinary Heroism
Bacon, John U.
Paperback
In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette
Sides, Hampton
Paperback
Island of the Lost: An Extraordinary Story of Survival at the Edge of the World
Druett, Joan
Paperback
Ashley Book of Knots: Every Practical Knot--What It Looks Like, Who Uses It, Where It Comes From, and How to Tie It
Ashley, Clifford
Hardcover
Modern Marine Weather: From Time-honored Traditional Knowledge to the Latest Technology
Burch, David
Paperback
Long Term Almanac 2000-2050: For the Sun and Selected Stars With Concise Sight Reduction Tables, 2nd Edition
Kolbe, Geoffrey
Paperback
The Band That Played on: The Extraordinary Story of the 8 Musicians Who Went Down with the Titanic
Turner, Steve
Paperback
On a Sea of Glass: The Life & Loss of the RMS Titanic
Wormstedt, Bill
Layton, Kent
Fitch, Tad
Paperback
Ghost Ship: The Mysterious True Story of the Mary Celeste and Her Missing Crew
Hicks, Brian
Paperback
Shipwrecks and Lost Treasures: Great Lakes: Legends And Lore, Pirates And More!
Varhola, Michael
Paperback
The Lost Boys of Montauk: The True Story of the Wind Blown, Four Men Who Vanished at Sea, and the Survivors They Left Behind
Fairbanks, Amanda M.
Paperback
Shipwrecks of the Pacific Northwest: Tragedies and Legacies of a Perilous Coast
Maritime Archaeological Society
Hardcover
Into the Raging Sea: Thirty-Three Mariners, One Megastorm, and the Sinking of El Faro
Slade, Rachel
Paperback
The Captain, The Missionary, and the Bell: The Wreck of the Steamship Atlantic
Larsson, Eric
Paperback
Deadliest Sea: The Untold Story Behind the Greatest Rescue in Coast Guard History
Thompson, Kalee
Paperback
Navigation Rules and Regulations Handbook
Department of Homeland Security
United States Coast Guard
Hardcover
The Loss of the Ship Essex, Sunk by a Whale: First-Person Accounts
Nickerson, Thomas
Chase, Owen
Paperback
American Small Sailing Craft: Their Design, Development and Construction
Chapelle, Howard I.
Hardcover
We, the Navigators: The Ancient Art of Landfinding in the Pacific (Second Edition)
Lewis, David
Paperback
Secrets of the Viking Navigators: How the Vikings Used Their Amazing Sunstones and Other Techniques to Cross the Open Ocean
Karlsen, Leif K.
Paperback
Fifty Ships That Changed the Course of History: A Nautical History of the World
Graham, Ian
Paperback
Inland and Coastal Navigation: For Power-driven and Sailing Vessels, 2nd Edition
Burch, David
Paperback
Navigation Rules And Regulations Handbook (Color Print): Containing International & Inland Rules
Department of Homeland Security
United States Coast Guard
Paperback
The Great Lakes Ships of Frank E. Kirby: America's Greatest Naval Architect
Gebhart, Richard
Paperback
The Death Ship: Recovering the Bodies of Titanic's Dead
Brown, Victoria
Victoria Brown, Victoria
Hardcover
Boatbuilding: A Complete Handbook of Wooden Boat Construction (Revised)
Chapelle, Howard I.
Hardcover
Fatal Treasure: Greed and Death, Emeralds and Gold, and the Obsessive Search for the Legendary Ghost Galleon Atocha
Smith, Jedwin
Paperback
Navigation Workbook 1210 Tr: For Power-Driven and Sailing Vessels
Brandt, Larry
Burch, David
Paperback
Too Much Sea for Their Decks: Shipwrecks of Minnesota's North Shore and Isle Royale
Schumacher, Michael
Paperback
The Complete Yachtmaster 11th Edition: Sailing, Seamanship and Navigation for the Modern Yacht Skipper
Cunliffe, Tom
Hardcover
The Nazi Titanic: The Incredible Untold Story of a Doomed Ship in World War II
Watson, Robert P.
Paperback
The Star Finder Book: A Complete Guide to the Many Uses of the 2102-D Star Finder
Burch, David
Paperback
Sailing a Serious Ocean: Sailboats, Storms, Stories and Lessons Learned from 30 Years at Sea
Kretschmer, John
Hardcover
Starpath Celestial Navigation Work Forms: For All Sights and Tables, with Complete Instructions and Examples
Burch, David
Paperback
Submarine Aircraft Carriers: From World War I to the Age of Drones
Gunnarson, Jacob
Polmar, Norman
Hardcover
Long Term Almanac 2000-2050: For the Sun and Selected Stars With Concise Sight Reduction Tables, 2nd Edition (Hardcover)
Kolbe, Geoffrey
Hardcover
Fatal Forecast: An Incredible True Tale of Disaster and Survival at Sea
Tougias, Michael J.
Paperback
Nagato-Class Battleships 1920-46: The Imperial Japanese Navy's Super-Dreadnoughts
Draminski, Stefan
Paperback
101 Things You Thought You Knew about the Titanic . . . but Didn't!
Maltin, Tim
Aston, Eloise
Paperback
Guardians of the North: Canadian Warships and Maritime Aircraft, 1910-2025
Gimblett, Richard H.
Gagnon, Karl
Hardcover
From Novembers to Sierras: Soviet Nuclear-Powered Attack Submarines
Vilches Alarcón, Alejandro A.
Paperback
Shipwreck Rescues of the Outer Banks: Sensational Wrecks and Heroic Rescues by the United States Life-Saving Service
Charlet, James D.
Hardcover
The Wreck of the Portland: A Doomed Ship, a Violent Storm, and New England's Worst Maritime Disaster
Conway, J. North
Paperback
Advanced Marine Electrics and Electronics Troubleshooting: A Manual for Boatowners and Marine Technicians
Sherman, Ed
Hardcover
The Troller Yacht Book: How to Cross Oceans Without Getting Wet or Going Broke - 2nd Edition
Buehler, George
Hardcover
Ten Hours Until Dawn: The True Story of Heroism and Tragedy Aboard the Can Do
Tougias, Michael J.
Paperback
The HERO Way: The Untamed Life and Enduring Legacy of an Iconic Antarctic Research Vessel
Lagerbom, Charles H.
Hardcover
Blackbeard's Sunken Prize: The 300-Year Voyage of Queen Anne's Revenge
Carnes-McNaughton, Linda F.
Wilde-Ramsing, Mark U.
Paperback
Hawaii by Sextant: An In-Depth Exercise in Celestial Navigation Using Real Sextant Sights and Logbook Entries
Miller, Stephen
Burch, David
Paperback
Wreck of the Carl D.: A True Story of Loss, Survival, and Rescue at Sea
Schumacher, Michael
Paperback
Modern Marine Weather: From Time-honored Traditional Knowledge to the Latest Technology
Burch, David
Hardcover
Inland and Coastal Navigation: For Power-driven and Sailing Vessels, 2nd Edition
Burch, David
Hardcover
Navigation Workbook 18465 Tr: For Power-Driven and Sailing Vessels
Burch, David
Brandt, Larry
Paperback
Instant Boatbuilding with Dynamite Payson: 15 Instant Boats for Power, Sail, Oar, and Paddle
Payson, Harold H.
Paperback
From the Center of America: Steamboats and Shipyards Along the Lower Ohio River
Swenson, Robert H.
Paperback
Boat Crew Seamanship Manual (COMDTINST M16114.5C)
U. S. Department of Homeland Security
United States Coast Guard
Paperback
The Shipwright and the Schooner: Building a Windjammer in the New England Tradition
Burnham, Harold
Paperback
The Aristocrat and the Able Seaman: The Countess of Rothes, Thomas Jones, and the Tragedy of Titanic
Young, Angela
Hardcover
Ships, Swindlers, and Scalded Hogs: The Rise and Fall of the Crooker Shipyard in Bath, Maine
Hill, Frederic B.
Paperback
Introduction to Electronic Chart Navigation: With an Annotated ECDIS Chart No. 1
Burch, David
Paperback