Tall sailing ships came to the Pacific Northwest beginning in the mid-1700s. Met by native Salish people, the ships brought Spanish, British, Russian, and American explorers, as well as settlers and entrepreneurs to the Puget Sound region. Over the next two centuries, during boom and bust periods, these majestic vessels continued to ply the waters of Puget Sound. Today the proud tall ships operate in a training and education rather than commercial context.

This engaging pictorial history tells of the tall sailing ships that came to the Pacific Northwest beginning in the mid-1700s. Met by native Salish people, the ships brought Spanish, British, Russian, and American explorers, as well as settlers and entrepreneurs, to the region. Over the next two centuries, during boom and bust periods, these majestic vessels have continued to ply the waters of Puget Sound. Today the proud tall ships operate in a training and education rather than commercial context; however, the commitment to preserving and promoting their heritage remains strong within the region, as well as throughout the United States and around the globe. This groundbreaking book features 180 rare photographs and illustrations that chronicle the colorful history of tall ships on Puget Sound.

While square-rigged sailing ships, steamboats and ferries, and ever-larger cruise and cargo-carrying vessels have made their mark on Puget Sound's maritime history, no other vessels have captured the imagination of shore-bound seafarers like tugboats. Beginning in the 1850s when the first steam-powered tugboats arrived in the Sound from the East Coast via San Francisco, company owners and their crews competed fiercely for business, towing ships, log rafts, and barges. The magnetic attraction of powerful, tough tugs both large and small is unexplainable but enduring. This book, featuring about 200 rare historic images and carefully researched text, tells the colorful story of tug boating on Puget Sound.

The history of impressive battleships, aircraft carriers, and submarines on Puget Sound has been well chronicled. However, the story of the smaller, fast patrol and rescue boats that have protected its vast inland waters is largely unknown. This book, through more than 200 rare images and engaging text, reveals the fascinating story. It covers Navy, Coast Guard, and Army Air Force craft in the sound, including the famed patrol torpedo boats of World War II. Featuring evocative photographs from the National Archives, as well as veterans' personal collections, this book highlights these military craft, their proud crews, and essential wartime and peacetime operations.