The voyage of the Norman D.: As told by the cabin-boy

"The voyage of the Norman D." by Barbara Newhall Follett is a nautical memoir written in the early 20th century. Drawn from a long letter to a friend, it recounts a young girl’s self-appointed stint as “cabin-boy” aboard a New England lumber schooner, blending exact seamanship with exuberant pirate dreams. The focus is her initiation into shipboard life—crews, gear, and sails—through the talkative Captain Avery, a mysterious mate, and a crusty old cook, as she tests her nerve aloft and at sea.

The opening of this memoir sets the stage with a publisher’s note explaining that the text is a lightly edited carbon copy of a letter written just after the voyage by a thirteen-year-old, with names altered and some personal passages removed. The narrator writes to her friend Alan, describing how a pirate-story project drove her to master nautical terms, seek out an old sailor, and discover the schooner Norman D. in New Haven. She visits the ship with her family, bonds with the crew, climbs to the crosstrees, edges out on the jibboom, and grows desperate to sail; family debates and practical hurdles (including Canadian entry papers) nearly derail the plan until a companion is found and an affidavit secured. The section culminates with her boarding day: friendly wagers about seasickness, tow out of the harbor, the thrill of sails rising, first chores and galley talk, a fading breeze and sunset calm, and a night watch beside the piratical-looking mate as the ship rolls under the stars.