A spell was cast over Graeme Cocks when he was summoned to coffee and cinnamon biscuits
at an unassuming house in Fremantle, Western Australia, in 1994. For the next 20 years, he
could not release himself from the grip of a little sailing ship called Duyfken - the Little Dove.
Against all odds, a magnificent 16th century Dutch sailing ship was conceived and
constructed in the heart of the old port city of Fremantle. Hailed as the finest 'Age of
Discovery' replica ship ever built, Duyfken was sailed on two momentous voyages across the
world's great oceans to Indonesia and then to Europe. And along the way, the old narrative of
the first ship recorded in history to visit Australia was rewritten.
Through Darkest Seas tells the previously untold story of the replica, from its genesis in the
imagination of a Dutch immigrant, to the challenge of building a remarkable ship using
traditional skills, and the people who built and sailed her.
It is the complete inside account of these achievements which has never been told before.
Graeme Cocks was there from the beginning and then he ran the project through its most
glorious and difficult years. The book documents the triumphant highs and tragic lows and
the incredible cast of personalities who shared the Duyfken dream.
It is the first time this wonderful story has been told -
a story of pain and hardship, of euphoric achievements
and of questioning the very reasons why the ship was
even built to begin with. Come aboard, for a journey
Through Darkest Seas.
