Preparation of this paper has been, quite literally, a labor of love;
not because it has been done without compensation, for the compensation
has been great indeed, but because of the warm affection I held for
the man who is its subject. He contributed enormously to my life, to
my happiness and, I like to think, to my character. He was in many
ways like a second father and I could not have thought more of him if
he had been my father. Thus I count myself doubly blessed in having
had two male parents to respect, to try to emulate and to love. This
circumstance may not be the best qualification for writing a biography.
If I seem to focus as much on the vessels as on the man, it is because
it was he who taught me to appreciate their individuality and to
recognize their particular identities.
He entered my life after he had retired to a shore position and came
home every evening. I was an attentive and responsive listener eager to
learn all the lore he could pass on to me. My Grandfather Whitmore, who
had sailed in Bath ships in his youth, had kindled my interest in the
lore of the sea when I was an early teenager. I had read a lot about
clippers and whalers and fishermen. But there was precious little to
read then that told the story of the schooners which by that time were
slipping rapidly into oblivion. Knowing very little about the coasting
schooners, like many another fireside sailor, I thought very little of
them in those days. Captain Peterson brought it all to life for me and
started me on a course of avocation that has brought me countless hours
of happiness and satisfaction. He offered me wise counsel when I needed
it and did many things for which I am eternally grateful.
His sons were my friends and to most of his grandchildren I was happily
“Uncle Charles” until, in time, they outgrew the affectionate title. It
is really for them and their children that this biographical sketch has
been prepared.