In 1803, at the age of fourteen, Robert Hay joined the Royal Navy and spent the next eight years at sea. His colorful memoir describes a sailor s hard life during the period and includes actions off the French coast and in the East Indies, where he was badly wounded. When his ship ran aground off Plymouth, he deserted but was quickly taken by a press gang, escaped, and eventually reached home in Scotland. A talented writer, Hay offers not only an entertaining yarn, but thoughtful observations of early nineteenth-century naval life and the human condition.