Captain Joe Prim was born in St. John’s, Newfoundland. He went to sea in 1943 at age sixteen and served for nine years in the foreign trade. He served for twenty-four years as master of various CN vessels, including the William Carson and the Ambrose Shea. In 1985 he was appointed Assistant Marine Superintendent and served in that capacity until his retirement in 1990. He has published several charts of shipwrecks and ships sunk by enemy action along the Newfoundland and Labrador coast, and he has written articles on navigational changes to shipping along the coast. He is co-author of three books. Captain Joe Prim is married to the former Geraldine O’Brien of Cape Broyle. They have seven children and presently reside in St. John’s.