On a calm September night in 1882 off the coast of Bardsey Island a brig called the Rowland Evans sank.

Luckily the captain, his wife and crew survived by rowing the long boat to the captain’s home at Saxatile in Borth.

In a new book called Bells Across Cardigan Bay: The Memoir of a Borth Master Mariner, Jan Williams has retold the story and much more to reveal some of the history of shipping and life on the Welsh coast at the end of the 19th century.

The captain was John Evans and he was Jan Williams’ great grandfather.

Jan realised that here was a fascinating story which deserved a wider audience.

She began by going back to the village of her childhood and its rich heritage of folk tales.

She found a wealth of family stories and their treasures. An exciting picture of the lives of the master mariners emerged.

Jan said: “It’s an extraordinary story, how master mariners built and sailed their amazing ships as far as South America.

“There are so many colourful characters with the ‘worthy captain’ and his log book had many hilarious adventures, all included in the book.”

Bells Across Cardigan Bay is published by Y Lolfa and includes photos of the old ships, the family, the sailors and their houses and belongings.

The book will be published in the second week of August with many events in mid Wales.

This Thursday, 11 August, from 2pm to 5pm, there will be a chance to meet the author and explore a pop-up shop for books – including Bells Across Cardigan Bay – at the Star of the Sea arts centre, Borth.

Then on Friday, 12 August, from 3.30pm to 4.30pm, there will be a family storytelling session at Ceredigion Museum in Aberystwyth called Tales of Ceredigion with Jan, where there will also with another chance to buy the book.

Jan was born in Borth, educated at Ardwyn Grammar School and Aberystwyth University. Her mother came from a family of Ceredigion seafarers and her father from Machynlleth farmers.

Jan has been a teacher, writer, oral storyteller and a grand talker. She taught in Birmingham, Maidstone, Brightlingsea and spent years in Canada in the provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. She now lives in Essex.