The schooner rig has always been associated with speed and elegance, and with the romance of privateers and illicit trade; but it has also been employed in just about every conceivable seafaring role over four centuries and across the world's seas and oceans. This book is a comprehensive history of the rig's development from its emergence in Holland in the early years of the seventeenth century right up to the present when it is experiencing a renaissance in the world of luxury charter. In this broad-ranging survey the author describes in detail the development of this beautiful rig and gives examples of all these types; in doing so he tells a rich and varied story which delves into every corner of maritime history.