![]() Slocum was afforded the finest ships and learned to sail nearly every type of vessel – barques, schooners, sloops, junks, clippers, and even a steam-powered torpedo boat. In the late 1800s, much as today, captains were hired to run the ships of wealthy owners. They even endured a shipwreck in Alaska, in which Slocum is credited for saving the lives of all aboard, along with most of the cargo. As a family, they visited Japan, China, the Spice Islands, and other exotic South Pacific ports of call. They had seven children (only five survived) who were born abroad. His main route across the Pacific remained San Francisco-Australia, via Alaska on the eastbound journey. Together, the couple sailed the world for 13 years – his reputation as a skilled and reliable captain growing each year. They dated for just over a month when Slocum proposed. The stars aligned for Slocum, because in Walker he found a woman with an equal taste for adventure and a willingness to live life on a boat. Walker and Slocum met in Australia, which was slightly odd given they both were American. But when it came to meeting the love of his life, Virginia Walker, luck was on his side. He endured challenges and escaped peril through skill and grit. By many considerations, Joshua Slocum was not a lucky man. When your life is spent at sea, time is limited to develop the bonds of a marriage. It takes a special kind of person to live with a man (or woman) who prefers water to land. Before long, he was captaining the route between San Francisco and Australia. At 21 years old, he had earned the opportunity to be in command, as captain, of a local San Francisco-Seattle cargo run. But his quick ascension through the ranks also indicates that he was driven and focused on learning about seamanship and boats. Very little is written about this time in Slocum’s life, so it’s tempting to assume that he was living a young sailor’s dream of a girl in every port. Soon thereafter, he was promoted to first mate on the route. After securing a solid, recurring gig on a Britain-San Francisco cargo route at 18 years old, he passed his second mate exam, a critical step to taking on more leadership and responsibility aboard ship. He rounded Cape Horn twice in that short yet eventful era and eventually landed in San Francisco. In two short years, he sailed to Ireland, England, China, Jakarta, the Maluka Islands, Manila, Hong Kong, and Singapore. In 1860, 16 was old enough to be hired as a full-time seaman on a merchant ship. Slocum’s boat, the sloop ‘Spray,’ being hauled up the Erie Canal to the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo in 1901. ![]()
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