Pirate Hunters: Treasure, Obsession and the Search for a Legendary Pirate Ship

Book Review by Lisa Norato

PIRATE HUNTERS
Treasure, Obsession, and the Search for a Legendary Pirate Ship
by Robert Kurson 
Random House © June 2015

Recently, I had the opportunity to read this remarkable true account of a pirate who, as incredible as his story was, I had never heard of before and the search to find his sunken ship, the Golden Fleece.  I wanted to share it here because I feel it is a must-read for both fans and writers of historical seafaring and/or pirate adventure.

In 1686, Joseph Bannister, a wealthy, successful and respected merchant sea captain turned pirate for no apparent reason and led the Royal Navy on a chase that is the stuff of novels, except it was all true. Three hundred years later, John Chatterton and John Mattera, both experienced divers and treasure hunters, set out to find the illusive wreck and unlock the mystery of the pirate Bannister. This book is the story of all three mens’ adventures. And what adventures they are!

If, like me, you’re lured by the mystique of the sea in your reading or have an interest in pirates, wooden sailing ships, treasure or history, you will thoroughly enjoy this book. Within its pages, learn about about what life was like for seafarers and why men turned to piracy. Experience the times and dangers of the age of piracy. Or if you’re simply looking for an exciting read−fascinating but true−you will enjoy this book. I could not stop turning pages, hungry for any details about John Bannister and would still be thinking about the story after I put the book down, anxious to get back to it. This book is the closest one can come to diving beneath the sea in a search for treasure without getting out of your chair.

This is a truly awesome read that satisfied my desire for suspense, adventure, romance and mystery, and at its conclusion it impressed me as an inspiring story about never, never giving up.

 

Lisa Norato is the author of the seafaring inspirational suspense novels Prize of My Heart and The Promise Keeper.

In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

Book Review by Lisa Norato

In The Heart Of The Sea

The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex
by Nathaniel Philbrick
Penguin Books © 2000

Several years ago, I received a copy of this amazing book. A good friend and critique partner urged me to read it, but because I felt squeamish about the mention of cannibalism in the description, I decided I wouldn’t enjoy it and tucked it away. Then recently, I caught the trailer for the upcoming 2015 movie based on the book. Wow! On the screen were New England sailors of the Federal era on a dangerous sea journey – the very same period and setting of which I write my novels. I searched out my copy and, for curiosity’s sake, read the preface. I was hooked. More than hooked, I was sucked into an unbelievable yet true, suspense-filled sea voyage. A monumental historical event that not only made for one of the best reads I’ve even experienced, but a rich resource of everything seafaring and a peek into early nineteenth century society.

In its day the tragedy of the whaling ship Essex was received with the same global shock and horror as the sinking of the Titanic. It is the true story which later inspired Herman Melville to pen his classic novel, Moby Dick.

In August of 1819, the Essex left Nantucket with a newly-promoted captain and a crew of twenty to hunt and harvest whales for their oil. Shortly after leaving port, the Essex was caught in a storm of such proportions it knocked down the great sailing vessel, leaving her crew clinging to the rails for their lives. To my mind, there could be no coming back from that, but the Essex is put to straights and sails again. Against his better instincts, her captain is persuaded by his mates to continue the expedition despite damage to the ship and the loss of much-needed whaleboats. What ensues is a harrowing journey of disaster and setbacks, the most amazing of which is the attack of a giant sperm whale out for vengeance. It rams the Essex with humanlike intent and calculation, striking a devastating blow in defense of his own kind. The Essex crumbles and sinks beneath the whale’s massive skull, yet not a single seaman is lost.



Actual drawing my Essex cabin boy, Thomas Nickerson, of the whale's attack. Notice the whaleboats on the bottom edge manned with crew members.

Nathaniel Philbrick has pulled together extensive research and firsthand accounts to tell a tale that reads like a suspense novel and puts you right there in the open boats, bobbing on a vast ocean, along with the awestruck survivors.  I felt their breathless shock at the loss of their ship as they sat divided among three whaleboats, unable to believe their eyes. Fearing tales of cannibalism, they chart a course to avoid the nearby islands and instead head towards South America, over 2000 miles away. Although I find nothing heroic about the business of whaling, I felt deeply for these whaling men and was amazed at their courage and fortitude as they persevered in a desperate battle for survival.

If seafaring adventure is your passion, I promise you will be swept into this detailed historical account with the same enjoyment as you would a novel or a movie. Like me, you will have to stop and remind yourself – this really happened!  For writers and nautical history buffs, In the Heart of the Sea is a valuable resource on ships, sailing, navigation, boat construction, whales, rank aboard ship, Nantucket and social class during the Federal era. Also included are pages of informative notes and a bibliography.

A major motion picture based on Nathaniel Philbrick’s In the Heart of the Sea is set to be released March 2015, directed by Ron Howard and starring Chris Helmsworth (People magazine’s sexiest man of the year 2014). I can’t wait to see this story on the big screen! I hope to come back then with a review of the movie. To view the trailer that led me to discover this incredible book, click here.

New Year's Blessings to All!

Lisa Norato is the author of the seafaring inspirational suspense novels Prize of My Heart and The Promise Keeper.  She lives with her family on the New England coast in a cozy historic village with homes and churches dating into the eighteenth century.

Guest Review of Lisa Norato's The Promise Keeper by Lynne Erickson Valle

The Promise Keeper

by Lisa Norato

a Sea Heroes of Duxbury novel

Danger reunites a sea captain's daughter with her childhood protector,

who is now a reclusive lighthouse keeper on an island across the bay.

Review by Guest Reviewer, Lynne Erickson Valle

Lisa Norato’s masterfully written inspirational romance novel, The Promise Keeper, is utterly captivating. This intriguing tale of the truest of love transpires in nineteenth century Duxbury, Massachusetts. The story unfolds two lives that were impacted by one remarkable man of valor-Captain Ezra Moon. In his character Norato eloquently demonstrates how one individual exemplifying Christ can make a monumental difference in our world. Her characters and scenes are so vividly depicted that the reader can’t help becoming eagerly invested in the great mystery that shadows Captain Moon’s daughter, Iris, and the promise that a young lad vowed to keep. One of the many aspects of this book that makes it stand out in the sea of Christian fiction is how Norato-true to real life-reveals the full spectrum of God’s power in the lives of believers. I enjoyed this book to such a high degree that The Promise Keeper has earned a place on my “Favorites” list in my home library.

and now for a quick peek into the novel:

     Johnny withdrew his spyglass from his waistcoat pocket and trained it across the deep waters of Duxbury Bay at Captain Moon’s rooftop. As expected, the visage of a young woman took focus in the lens. Pale ash blond hair, the color of moonlight, swirled around her, obscuring her face. It spilled to her waist, straight and unbound, then blew and danced around her head on a fresh breeze. Ethereal as an angel, a finely-made dressing gown billowed over her tall figure. Surely that garment was not warm enough to ward off the chill of this late December air.

     A moment passed, one quick glimpse, and then she disappeared. Johnny lowered the glass in disappointment.

     “Two things keep me sane on this island, Salty. Your faithful companionship and the Bible that was once my mother’s.” He tossed the rapt and eager gull another meat strip.

     It was a welcomed relief to exercise his voice, to hear the sound of it aloud and watch his breath steam in the frosty air. “Sometimes I find this tower lonelier than prison.”

     Pilgrim Light was an isolated place. There were no roads on the eighty-acre Clark’s Island. No homes, except for the Watson farm on the southernmost tip. The family raised hay and turnips and were in the process of replacing their farmhouse with a twelve-room Dutch Colonial.

     A two-day liberty was granted him every three weeks. More frequently Johnny found himself rowing to Duxbury to spend his earnings on grog in the old ordinary. He liked to sit quietly by the fire and listen to tongues wag. It mattered little what they said. It was the hearty rumble of other men’s voices that soothed him after weeks of nothing but silence.

     “What do you make of her, Salty? Iris has grown into an extremely beautiful woman, yet she remains the wide-eyed sea urchin I remember. Imagine her rowing out here alone to have a look at me and assuage her curiosity. How would she have reacted, do you think, had I told her we were once warm friends?”



The Promise Keeper is available on Amazon in trade paperback or ebook and on Barnes & Noble as an ebook.

GIVEAWAY! Lisa will be giving away a kindle or nook ebook of The Promise Keeper to one commenter. To enter, please be sure to include your name and email address with your comment.

Lynne Erickson Valle is a lyricist, storyteller, inspirational writer and the author of The Double Rose, a contemporary, Christian romance of predestined love.  Over two hundred of her articles have been featured on SUSIE magazine, King Cat Christian Music and Examiner. com.







Shipbuilding in Colonial America

Shipbuilding was an important enterprise in Colonial America and quickly grew into one of the most thriving industries of our young United States.  East coast settlements as well as those in Philadelphia and New Hampshire provided protected harbors and bays, small coves and riverbanks, all suitable for construction.  Dense forests provided the necessary raw materials.

Building a brigantine

The simple shallops of the Pilgrim era soon diversified into small utility craft for local work and smaller boats for fishing and for transporting people and goods among the colonies.  At the turn of the eighteen century, a small sloop typically weighed about 35 tons, but by century’s end, experienced shipbuilders had begun contracting heartier seagoing vessels of up to 200 or more tons.  The need for vessels increased and soon every seaport on the Atlantic coast was constructing wooden ships.  Timber grew scarce in England, and it became cheaper to purchase vessels built in the colonies.  Before the American Revolution, about one-third of the British merchant fleet had been built in America.

The production of these vessels required the skills of various tradesmen and industries, beginning with the Shipwright who drafted the design and directed the craftsmen in their work.  A great number of shipwrights were born with shipbuilding in their blood.  From an early age they received hands-on training in the family shipyard, many of these yards having been passed down from generation to generation.  Others honed their skills through an apprenticeship.  Ship design required a genius for mathematics and geometry with its countless calculations.  A shipwright had to assure the ship would float, taking into account the hull’s volume and height.  He strove to increase the vessel’s forward motion while carrying a maximum amount of cargo.  And he must have a talent for drawing and drafting to create the life-sized patterns the builders would follow. Although it took about 20-30 craftsmen and able-bodied workers to complete a vessel, it was the master shipwright who remained in control.

Once plans had been drawn, Sawyers were hired, also known as “saw gangs.”  These men were sent to chop down oak and pine timbers to match the drawing’s measurements.  They cut the wood to the pattern’s size and seasoned the planks.  White pine made for the choicest masts, while yellow pine was best used for decks for its high resin content and resistance to sun and salt.  Hackmatack roots were utilized for their naturally crooked growth.  They fashioned the angular pieces and gave strength to “knees” which supported deck timbers and braces.

One of the oldest tools of ship construction was called an adze.  It was a type of axe with a long-shaped blade and bore a slight curve near its handle.  Adzemen were skilled craftsmen employed in shaping and smoothing the timbers of wood.

Driving in the trunnels

The vessel’s frame was built primarily of oak.  Carpenters laid the keel—the vessel’s backbone which consisted of a long, curved beam that ran along the bottom from bow to stern.  Joiners scarfed two pieces of wood together to fashion a solid beam the exact length of the keel.  The vessel’s ribs were next fastened to the keel, completing the vessel’s framework.  The ribs were covered with oak planks, steamed and softened to render them pliable and capable of being curved to assure a form fit.  The planks were fastened with wooden pegs called trunnels or tree nails.  Borers drilled the holes and Fasteners drove in the trunnels.  Dubbers smoothed and planed the surfaces, and finally the Caulkers were called to drive oakum between the planks with a flat-edged caulking iron and mallet.  Oakum was a pitch substance consisting of tarred hemp fibers.  Oakum Boys carried the pails of pitch.  The seams and cracks around the trunnels would next be sealed with boiling pine tar to make them watertight.  Finally, the hardened surfaces were scraped until smooth.

A launch in 1751

Launchings were grand affairs.  Businesses and schools closed for the day so the locals could come out to watch.  Standing on the riverbank and supported by a huge cradle, the vessel would be held in place by a set of stocks resembling extremely wide railroad tracks.  The owner would speak a few words to the crowd, then the minister would confer a blessing and a sponsor would be chosen to christen the ship by name.  The restraints were cut away, the blocks removed, and the vessel inched down the greased stocks into the sea with a great splash.  Music played and folks cheered, waving flags and partaking of the refreshments.

Once afloat, the vessel would be moored to a fitting dock where she would receive her finishing touches and the complex rigging required to support and control her sails.  Additional artisans and tradesmen were hired for this work—windlass-makers, anchor smiths, carvers, sailmakers, blacksmiths, pumpmakers, sparmakers and ropemakers.  With the combined the talents of so many laborers contributing to the extensive enterprise of building a wooden ship in colonial times, it is no wonder that launchings were celebrated by the entire town!

Lisa Norato is the author of Prize of My Heart, an inspirational seafaring historical from Bethany House. A life-long New Englander, Lisa lives in a historic village with homes and churches dating as far back as the eighteenth century.

Superstitions upon the Sea!!

The Age of Sail was not only a time of great exploration and adventure, it was also a time of deep superstition. So much about our world was yet unknown and most people were deeply religious. And I don't mean that in a good way, either. The Christianity Christ preached had long since been twisted and convoluted with Pagan practices, good luck charms, idols, amulets and other ungodly beliefs.  And since sailing was a large and prominent profession fraught with many dangers, it was inevitable that many superstitions rose regarding the sea. Here are just a few of the more interesting ones!

Rats! Every ship had rats and most sailors believed that these rodents who inhabited the dankest, darkest parts of the ship knew when misfortune was about to strike. If rats scurried off a ship at dock before it set sail, the voyage was sure to be doomed.

http://alturl.com/fo5at

If a Shark followed in the wake of a ship, someone on board would soon die

It was bad luck to kill a turtle and not eat it, but good luck to carry its bones around in your pocket 

Storm Petrels, also known as the Birds of our Lady, by the French were believed to be sent by the Virgin Mary to warn ships of coming storms.

Sailors believed Manta Rays could attach themselves to anchors and drag a ship down to Davy Jones' Locker.

http://alturl.com/e6w8p

The Albatross could bring both good luck and bad. Good luck in its appearing, and bad luck if it was shot and killed because it was believed to be the restless soul of a dead sailor, as we see in Samuel Taylor Coleridge's The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner

‘God save thee, ancient Mariner!
From the fiends, that plague thee thus!--
Why look’st thou so?’--With my cross-bow
I shot the ALBATROSS.

And I had done an hellish thing,
And it would work ’em woe:
For all averred, I had killed the bird
That made the breeze to blow.

In fact, if a storm arose after the bird was shot, the bird's carcass was strung around the neck of the sailor responsible and he was lashed to the mainmast where he had to stay until the tempest passed.  

http://alturl.com/rwxpi

The figurehead at the bow prevented the ship from sinking in a storm, and since it was also believed that if a woman bared her breasts during a storm, it would abate, many figureheads are of bare-breasted women.

It was bad luck to set sail on a Friday because according to Norse myths, Friday was the day when witches gathered. It was also the day Jesus was crucified. Friday the 13th was particularly bad luck.  

Saint Erasmus, also known as St. Elmo died in a terrible storm at sea. Right before he died, he promised the crew he would come back and give them a sign if they were to survive. Not long after, the sailors saw a weird bright light in the sky. They believed it was St. Elmo's sign and every time that electrical charge was seen thereafter, if it remained high on the masts, the ship would survive. If it shown on the deck, the ship was doomed. It is known still today as St. Elmo's fire.

In order to prevent a departed sailor from following a ship, his body was rolled up in his hammock and 13 stitches were used to sew him up, the last stitch going through his nose to ensure he was dead and keep him from appearing on the ship as a ghost. Then two cannonballs were attached to his feet so he couldn't follow them. 

And my personal favorite, mermaids! Mermaids were greatly feared because they were known to lure a man to his death. In 1608 Henry Hudson wrote that two of his sailors had spotted one of the seductive creatures. 

This morning one of our companie looking over boord saw a mermaid, and calling up some of the companie to see her, one more came up and by that time she was come close to the ships side, looking earnestly on the men. A little after the sea came and overturned her. From the navill upward her backe and breasts were like a womans, as they say that saw her, but her body as big as one of us. Her skin very white, and long haire hanging downe behinde of colour blacke. In her going doune they saw her tayle, which was like the tayle of a porposse, and speckld like a macrell.

Pretty Fascinating, huh? 

Think the Colonial Sea was a Man's Domain??

We've all read history books and heard tales of male pirates, privateers, explorers, and navy men, but rarely have we heard stories of the large numbers of women who went to sea.  Why is that?  One reason is that from earliest times, superstitious sailors insisted that women on board brought nothing but bad luck.

Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood wrote in 1808 "I never knew a woman brought to sea in a ship that some mischief did not befall the vessel."

Another reason, however, is that women on board ships were virtual ghosts. They were not listed on muster roll, nor were their deaths recorded in ships' records, even though in most cases, they performed vital tasks aboard the ship.

Despite that, we now know that hundreds of women boarded ships with their husbands, choosing a difficult life at sea rather then bear living as widows ashore for years at a time.  And a difficult life it was! Especially if you were the wife of a regular seaman in the navy.  These women were not provided rations of food, but were forced to share their husband's daily allowance. They also had to share their husband's hammock located in the cramped quarters allotted to the rest of the crew.  There was no privacy whatsoever!! I wouldn't last a day!  In the morning when the boatswain's mate went around to wake up the sleeping crew, he would shout "show a leg"! and the women would push a limb outside of their blankets so he could see what gender they were and not tip over the hammock to wake a sleeping sailor!

However, if you were the wife of an officer (and especially the Captain), your life on board was far better. You were permitted to share your husband's tiny cabin and perhaps even have the service of a cabin boy who, much like a house servant, polished shoes, ran errands, and did a variety of tasks for you.  As the wife of an officer you were permitted to eat with the officers and enjoy a varied diet of fresh meats, delicacies and wines.  But life on board could be very lonely. While your husband was busy running the ship, you had to find something to pass the long hours. Many women brought sewing and crafts on board, as well as books and scrapbooks.

Here's an account of Susan Hathorn who joined her husband Jode as a new bride and sailed with him for nine months, She spent 75 days sewing, 35 days embroidering, 23 days laundering, 19 days mending, 18 days crocheting, 15 days knitting, 13 days leather working, 10 days housekeeping, 9 days quilting, 4 days scrap-booking, 3 days copying receipts for cooking and 2 days rug-braiding.  Susan was also a prolific reader. Some of her books included Lord Byron, Thomas Moore, and Harriet Beecher Stowe.

Some wives assisted in the running of the ship, from helping out during battle, to repairing sails, to cooking, and to doctoring.  Recalling the 1798 Battle of the Nile, a seaman wrote "The women behaved as well as the men. . .There are some of the women wounded and one woman belonging to Leith died of her wounds." Women assisted the surgeon and his mates in attending the wounded and even aided the gun crews as powder monkeys.

Nineteen year old Mary Ann Patten was on a honeymoon voyage when her husband became ill and was rendered both deaf and blind.  With the first mate in the brig for insubordination and the second mate unskilled in navigation, Mary, now pregnant with her first child, took over command of the ship, safely navigating it around dangerous Cape Horn and bringing them all safely to home port!

So the next time you think that the sea was only a man's domain, think again!