The description of Joseph Lawson's first ship - a large white liner bound for South America - was the sweetest music to his ears. It was everything a sea-struck fifteen-year-old could desire. Imagine his dismay when he first saw the Princess Tara in reality. Rather than being a white liner, it was an old, black-hulled cargo boat, crewed by the motliest collection of seamen possible. But Joe - a graduate of the TS Vindicatrix sea-training school, berthed at Sharpness - soon realised that the most important thing was being at sea, regardless of the ship, and that even among the motley, he could still find supportive company. Voyage of a Vindi Boy is a dramatic, informative, and at times poignant account of a young lad's Merchant Navy experiences in the early 1950s. Not an advised read for mothers Or those of a prim disposition.