Jul
Saturday Salon – Ships Are Sexy
I find ships incredibly sexy.
Particularly sailing ships — powerful, beautiful, graceful and dangerous. They fly in the face of Nature’s strongest force, the sea. In the era before electricity and the engine, they were a nation’s greatest weapon. To master the sea was to be master of the world.
Ships. Are. Sexy.
The men who captain them are sexier yet. The sea offers a hard life. A man (or woman!) needs extraordinary strength of character and courage to tame it.
Now, don’t get me wrong; I adore a gentleman of land and society who can drive a pair with ease and lead a lady in a waltz dressed to the nines. 
But while Mr. Darcy makes me swoon and Mr. Knightley speeds my pulse, it is Captain Wentworth who commands my heart. He is gentleman, warrior and adventurer all at once — a perfectly breathtaking combination.
So I write books with ships in them, and my office is papered in images of ships. Sailing ships from the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries line my walls — stately brigantines, massive frigates, punky little sloops, sturdy barques, and graceful schooners. I have ship calendars and books about historical sailing ships, some of them gorgeous coffee table volumes filled with period paintings, others technical manuals, and others that were actually used by sailors during the Regency period (like Falconer’s Dictionary of the Marine, which plays a role in my upcoming book, In the Arms of a Marquess).
Online images of ships inspire me too. The Yale Digital Commons is marvelous for this, and other sites like the British Library‘s online gallery offer all sorts of tasty visual treats.
Take a little stroll through one of these image databases, or even google, if you will. Search whatever you wish: “ships”, “captain”, “hunky Regency sailor”. Find anything sexy?
Jul 23, 2011
1:52 am
I agree, ships are definitely sexy. We have an old sailing ship (like the ones in the picture above) in San Diego called the Star of India. When my best friend got married she got married on an old ferryboat next to the Star of India (also a cool ship), but all of us in the wedding party got to go on the Star of India for wedding photos. We were the only people on the ship, and the photos came out beautiful.
Jul 23, 2011
8:58 am
It sounds beautiful, Linda! What lovely pictures they must be.
Jul 23, 2011
2:09 am
Captain Jack Aubrey from Master and Commander.
I too have always loved all things nautical. Especially anchors for some reason. Not quite sure why, but they have always appealed to me. Maybe because they represent hope and strength.
But enough about thoughtful things, navy or sea fairing men are sexy. Who can resist that uniform (or ANY uniform)?
Jul 23, 2011
9:02 am
I certainly can’t resist a man in uniform, Elizabeth, especially a naval uniform! I love what you’ve said about anchors, too–hope and strength. Lovely.
Jul 23, 2011
2:10 am
I’m a Wentworth fan too.
Jul 23, 2011
9:03 am
I must say, his long-time love for the same woman also appeals to me like nobody’s business.
Jul 23, 2011
9:02 am
Lovely post, Katharine. I agree seamen are sexy, especially when written by you, but I’d rather not experience sea life at close quarters.
1. My ex-husband used to watch the Americas’ Cup on TV – a sporting event that makes cricket and paint-drying seem thrilling.
2. There’s a saying that ocean sailing is like standing in a cold shower tearing up $100 bills. From my single experience of it I’d have to concur. Never been so cold in my life.
But sailing ships are beautiful and I will admire them from the shore. Here’s a painting by Monet. I’m the woman in white, sitting behind her parasol.
Jul 23, 2011
10:23 am
LOL, Miranda. The sea is certainly a challenge — which is why my heroes love it.
You are simply lovely in white amidst the blossoms!
Jul 23, 2011
10:28 am
And that’s why I prefer to admire your brave heroes (and heroines!) from a position of comfort.
Jul 23, 2011
1:17 pm
I have seen this painting in real life. What a beautiful sight.
So romantic.
Jul 23, 2011
2:27 pm
This past December, I went on one of the America’s Cup style yachts (single hull though), and it was so much fun! First time I hadn’t been sea sick on the water in a decade. I fully intend to take up sailing at some point.
Jul 23, 2011
5:25 pm
Wow, Sabrina — what fun! I’m glad to hear you won your sea legs on that jaunt.
Jul 23, 2011
9:34 am
But I totally agree with you about ships and captains being sexy, Katharine! For me, part of it is also the clothes they where. There is just something about a man in uniform that really does it for me! lol
Jul 23, 2011
10:26 am
Lisa, how wonderful! This image is so marvelously dramatic, dangerously sexy indeed, definitely how I hoped to portray the coast by Savege Park. Thank you.
As for men in uniforms, in college I had a big (very big) crush on a Navy ROTC man. When he wore his uniform around campus I swooned (it wasn’t very conducive to my study habits, frankly). It also probably didn’t hurt that he was a classic bad boy.
Jul 23, 2011
9:43 am
I love a dashing sea captain. All that work on deck does wonders for the calf muscles. And Albert adores pirates because they so often come with parrots.
Jul 23, 2011
10:15 am
Uhm…James Mallory, anyone?
Jul 23, 2011
10:29 am
I’ll take him! Er- That is- What I mean to say is… I’ll take him!
Jul 24, 2011
3:35 pm
OMG! One of my all time favs! I was just thinking how I could submit a pic but you beat me to it! The step-back in Johanna Lindsey’s the Magic of You is also I good one! Warren Anderson! YUMMY!
Jul 23, 2011
10:21 am
Asher Flint from Julie Anne Long’s I Kissed An Earl!
Jul 23, 2011
10:29 am
Delicious!
Jul 23, 2011
10:45 am
Wonderful post Katherine! I love historical with ships-be they pirates or military. I’ll have to take a look at the databases!
Jul 23, 2011
10:55 am
Me too. I’m very excited because I just learned that my Royal Navy hero, Nikolas Acton (from A LADY’S WISH), will be available in print next month. Huzzah for men of the sea, be they the king’s men or wanted men!
Jul 23, 2011
11:32 am
Sea captains are the yum! And Wentworth is my favorite Austen hero (sorry, Darcy). There’s something about having to survive the hardships of a life at sea and the natural honing that occurs with it. Plus…. navy uniforms.
Dear me! Where did I put my fan. It’s getting a little warm in here. *fans self with hand*
Jul 23, 2011
2:05 pm
Bren, I’m so glad to know another Wentworth devotee!
Jul 23, 2011
11:44 am
Oh! And also…
The man of my dreams for my entire youth!
Jul 23, 2011
2:09 pm
ME TOO! Rather, my young womanhood. Loved loved loved. Actually, present tense: love. It is entirely possible that I wrote a Robin Hood pirate book because of him. Must check with my subconscious on that.
Jul 23, 2011
2:29 pm
Yes. For me too. You’ve seen him in Lady Jane, right?
Jul 23, 2011
5:27 pm
Yeeesss. Loved. Generally there is much feeling of love toward him.
Jul 23, 2011
8:23 pm
Oh, my sweet Westley!
Let us not speak of that lame tornado movie.
Jul 23, 2011
11:52 am
My favorite sailor is my father, Captain Valentine. He can navigate the ocean with a sextant and a cloudless night. It’s a dying art, methinks!
Jul 23, 2011
2:11 pm
How exciting to have a seafaring father! I’ll bet he brought you all sorts of trinkets from all over the world when he returned to port, yes? What a wonderful daddy for a girl with an adventuresome spirit.
Jul 23, 2011
4:50 pm
-squawk!- You said sextant! -squawk!-
Oh, Albert, you naughty bird. Have a lobster patty.
Jul 23, 2011
1:16 pm
I’ve always been a fan of the sea and by extension ships. I love to watch as they glide through the water with ease. Books with a ship in them bring a new side to the romance. The tight quarters, the danger..all adds an element a gentleman with a pair can’t touch. The ruggedness the strength of the male characters is enough to sweep even the most seasoned lady off her feet.
Jul 23, 2011
2:16 pm
The tight quarters are fabulously fun to write, too! I’ve just finished penning a sequel of sorts to CAPTURED BY A ROGUE LORD (to come in my next series starting in 2012), featuring two very important characters in Alex and Serena’s book, and a ship voyage. Many tight quarters… many many many.
Jul 23, 2011
1:19 pm
I just read an article about a woman who decorated her beach house with ebay finds. She used sea painting without ships because they always are cheaper than paintings with ships. Just goes to show how much power and appeal there is to a ship sailing on the sea.
Katherine, I am looking forward to your hero!
Jul 23, 2011
2:12 pm
Fabulous, Julie! I love this. Thank you!
Jul 23, 2011
8:29 pm
I love the sea, ships, and seafaring heroes! Though I tend more toward rogues than those Navy types (no offense, Wentworth). I may have written one of my own (*cough*Gray*cough).
All the swooniness of close quarters and everpresent danger aside, I also love that the sea was a place of such relative freedom during otherwise rigid historical periods. Pirate ships were often democracies, and men (and a few women!) of all races, nationalities, and status could be equals on the sea.
I really need to write another boat book. Hmmm.
Jul 23, 2011
9:04 pm
Oh yes please, Tessa! I loved SIREN, loved Gray, loved the shipboard shenanigans. Do write another boat book!
Jul 23, 2011
11:25 pm
I so agree with Ciaran Hinds as Capt. Wentworth! I also really enjoyed the Horatio Hornblower series – didn’t A&E produce those with a young Ioan Gruffudd? He’s not too shabby in the looks department – he’s got a smirk that rivals that best of them!
Jul 24, 2011
1:58 pm
A nice smirk goes a long way, it’s so true–as long as it’s a sexy smirk.
Jul 24, 2011
12:36 pm
I love men in uniform so much I married a Navy man! Okay so he was on an aircraft carrier but at least it was a ship just a very big one. Not quite as sexy as a “sailing vessel”.
When I got engaged to a sailor my dad wasn’t surprised after all our family left Glascow on a ship captained by a great-great-great grandfather who sailed to the New World and landed in Connecticut to start are beginnings here. My maiden name was Ryon and my Dad always told us we were Irishmen that got thrown out of Ireland and landed in Scotland. From research it appears that the Ryon part of the family may originally have been Border Lords from England but there are Loucks from Inverness in the family as well so until I find proof overwise I’m sticking with being of Scotish and English descent. Since there are Hastings in my lineage (and my middle name) I’m hoping it was the titled side of the Hastings!
I think both my sons got their good looks from my side of the family because they both look good in uniform (my husband is Italian and English). One son served in the Navy and the other went to The Citadel so wearing uniforms runs in the family!
I also had a great-uncle who joined the Merchant Marines when he was 14 (he was big for his age and lied about how old he was) and went on to become a Lieutenant Commander in the Coast Guard. His achievements were amazing since he only went to school until he was 8 and had to go to work to help support his family. He was a self-made man who never stopped learning and an inspiration to all.
Now if they would just bring back hose, briches and those get boots I’d move near a Navy base just to watch the ships come in!
Jul 24, 2011
2:03 pm
LOL, Jeanne. I’ll second that!
What a lucky lady you are to have such ancestry and so many proud men of the sea in your family. Your great-uncle sounds like a character from right out of a novel.
Jul 24, 2011
9:15 pm
I must admit, there are some very good looking sailors out there. To stand on-deck dressed in your cracker jacks watching the shore line fade away is an awesome sight. A friend took a picture of my daughter as she watched the ship I was on sail down the Puget Sound. Being out to sea for months on end has its challenges. To escape from reality, I would curl up in my rack and read a romance novel. Kinda funny cause you could hear the planes when the landed, their tail hook grabbing the cable. But it made me realize how much I loved my family and missed my hubby. Coming home was the best! It takes a special person to love a sailor, or sea captain. I can’t put into words the feeling but I can feel it in my heart.
I fell in love with the Navy when I received a Navy goat charm bracelet from my sister and brother-in-law decades ago. He was a Navy Petty-Officer. A few short months later he was gone. My brother joined the Marines, I joined the Navy. My son joined the Navy, my daughter the Marines. Both look sharp in their uniforms.
Guess it is time for me to take a cruise on the “Love Boat”.
Jul 25, 2011
1:52 pm
I thought of you when I went to Boston last spring and took a tour of Old Ironsides.
Dec 16, 2011
5:17 am
I feel certain that my Sister, Lady Celestine can testify to finding Gentleman of the Sea far from unattractive.
We have recently returned from an unexpected, and lengthy stay in the Scilly Iles due to said Gentleman of the Sea finding her far from unattractive too.
Personally, I can’t resist a man in red.
Dec 31, 2011
1:02 am
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