An account of the long, adventurous and varied life of Captain James Fairweather of Dundee, from his childhood attempt to run away to sea, through his years in the Dundee Whaling Fleet voyaging to the Arctic and north-eastern Canada; his years in the merchant service, particularly in the Indian Ocean, his last voyage to the Arctic in 1914, Wartime Service and lastly as Captain of the Discovery for the 1916 Shackleton Relief expedition. His personal life is also recounted. The Captain displays his robust sense of humour in extracts from his privately printed memoirs.