East Antrim author making waves with book on sea battles, shipwrecks and shipyards

David, a former Larne Times journalist, utilised free time during the Covid lockdown earlier in the year to complete ‘Tides of Time. A Coastal History of East Antrim’ but says the material has been accrued over many years.

“I have been collecting material relating to seafaring, lighthouses, coastal history, shipwrecks and shipyards for many years, and felt it was time to bring it all together in a book,” he said.

“As an area bordered by the sea, our history has always been bound up in seafaring and maritime traditions, and my book hopefully will provide a sense of the breadth of that history,

“Many families have close connections to the sea and my own is no exception, one of our family members was a ship’s carpenter called Hugh Hume who was born in 1876 and went to sea at the age of 16 with a Captain McMurtry of Islandmagee.

“Hugh later settled in Edmonton, Alberta, and he has left behind a few heirlooms including a painted oilcloth with a scene of ships and lighthouses which was probably completed on a voyage when he had some free time. He is just one of so many local men who travelled the oceans of the world in the past.”

Tides of Time looks at seafarers, shipwrecks, lighthouses, shipbuilding, regattas, historical events including sea battles off the coast and the area in two world wars.

The new book has had to be launched online, as a marker of the unusual times in which we find ourselves in.

“Book launches are always great for an author with the chance to meet up with and thank people who are supporting your work, but this was impossible due to Covid-19, so direct marketing has been very important to compensate for the lack of a launch,” David said.

Sales have been very encouraging and copies have been ordered as far away as the USA, Australia and Japan, as well as more locally.

Several bookshops are stocking Tides of Time, including the Book Nook in Larne, C. F. Beattie in Ballycarry, the Secret Bookshelf in Carrickfergus, the Rinkha in Islandmagee, the Bank House in Whitehead and the Gobbins Centre in Islandmagee.

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