The diary of Laura Jernegan, a young girl who traveled with her family on her father's whaling ship in the 1860s who records her schooling, dangerous whale hunts, and the activities of her baby brother. Includes activities and a timeline related to this era.

In 1910, twelve-year-old Savannah Dawson lives with her widowed father on a whaling station in New South Wales, Australia. For generations, the Dawson family has carried on a very unusual way of life there. They use orcas to help them hunt whales. But Savannah believes the orcas hunted something else - her older brothers, who died mysteriously while fishing. Haunted by their deaths, Savannah wants to become a whaler to prove to her father that she's good enough to carry on the family legacy and avenge her slain brothers. Meeting an aboriginal boy, Figgie, changes that. Figgie helps Savannah to hone her whaling skills and teaches her about the Law of the Bay. When she is finally able to join the crew, Savannah learns just how dangerous the whole business is. A whale destroys her boat and Savannah sinks into the shark-infested waters. That's when the mysterious spirit orca Jungay returns to rescue her. Savannah starts questioning everything she thought she knew about the orcas, her family and herself. She vows to protect the creatures. That vow tests her mettle when the rapacious owner of a fishing fleet captures the orca pod and plans to slaughter them.

Adventures of the Williams family are told first hand from manuscripts. A stirring adventure - the account of a great whaling captain who took his family to sea.

The diary of a wife who, with their five-year old daughter, accompanied her husband on a three-and-a-half year whaling voyage.

First US Edition -- The first comprehensive book on whaling wives at sea written for a general audience.