Ebb & flow : the story of maritime Lyme Regis /Peter Lacey.

"The sea has shaped Lyme Regis's character, charting the ebb and flow of its fortunes from flourishing port into much-loved seaside resort. Lyme's wealth was founded on the export of wool, its ships returning laden with wine. It has survived a Civil War siege and been battered by storms. Thanks to the Cobb, the ancient stone breakwater that helps protect it, small medieval vessels carrying pilgrims, veterans of the Spanish Armada, smugglers, privateers, West African slavers, fishing boats, coasting colliers, lifeboats and wartime air sea rescue launches, have all taken shelter in its harbour. Ships launched on Lyme's slips once brought back sugar from the West Indies, or traded as far afield as California and Newfoundland. But this book is as much about people as ships: its merchants, captains and crews on whose seamanship Lyme once depended. Peter Lacey's remarkable account of Lyme Regis's maritime history has taken seven years to research and write, and has over 100 illustrations, of whcih soem are in colour and many ahve never been published before."--Provided by the publisher.