Account of a sealing voyage (starting May 1820) off the Cape of Good Hope which led to shipwreck and abandonment (in Crozet Islands). Curious blend of adventure, piety, and natural history (esp. birds). The unpaginated preliminaries include a preface, index (contents), opinions of the press, and lengthy subscriber lists organized by place and edition.
1820-22 British Sealing Voyage (aboard Princess of Wales)
Charles Medyett Goodridge was born in Paignton Devon and at the age of thirteen became a cabin boy. He was later to sail on the princess of wales to hunt seals on the island of Crozets. After the ship was wrecked he and the crew were to become stranded here for 2 years surviving on a diet of seals, sea elephants, birds and eggs.
The latitudes of these islands mean they are a cold and inhospitable place to survive on. But they had with them the ships Bible and this holy book helped them survive the coming months from the cold and hardship.
They were eventually rescued by an American ship but even then his adventure was not over after being marooned on Amsterdam island and St Paul’s. He lived on Van Diemans Island.—Now Tasmania for a further 9 years before he returned finally to England. [Summary from Amazon online 3/2/17]