FLOATING GOLD - age-of-sail nautical fiction adventure

Copper plating on the hulls of sailing ships helped to protect the vessels from infestation with shipworm. Shipworms can reduce the solid timber of a ship's hull into a sieve of tiny burrowed holes which will eventually send the vessel to the bottom.

When a coppered ship is out of the water the hull shines as though it has been gilded in gold. But this is not the reason for the name FLOATING GOLD.

Pic: I think this is a model of the Esmeralda, a 19 century sloop of war. Although she sank 130 years ago, the remains of her hull still rest at a depth of 137 feet off Chile's coast. Esmeralda is a national sunken treasure and there are plans to build a replica ship and possibly to recover the wreck.

"The Esmeralda sank on May 21, 1879 after the Peruvian monitor Huascar rammed the corvette three times and fired two cannonballs into its hull at pointblank range. Since its sinking, which left 143 dead, the vessel has become a symbol of national heritage. Six Chilean Navy ships have been named Esmeralda in its honor, and Chile's Navy has a modern version of the frigate that sails the world's oceans as a training and goodwill vessel for Chile's Navy and the government.

Each May, Chile pays its respects to those who fought in the Battle of Iquique with a ceremony above the ship's wreckage."
SOURCES: LA TERCERA By Samuel Crihfield ( editor@santiagotimes)

I took this picture in the Maritime Museum in Valpariso, Chile.

When sighted in FLOATING GOLD the island is described as 'Black on white. White on black. Completely colourless.'

The Antarctic Peninsula sticks up from the frozen continent, like a finger pointing towards Tierra del Fuego - the tip of South America
It's an uninhabited zone for most of the year apart from residents on a few Antarctic scientific stations and cruise ships which visit the area.
From around 1820 whaling began in this area and thrived for many years until the stocks of whales and seals were much depleted.

When the frigate in FLOATING GOLD sails south, the captain is quick to advise:

'Then you may tell the men that our latitude is close to 62 degrees south. That we have not crossed the Antarctic Circle. Tell them that James Cook's 'Resolution' ventured to 71 degrees south in his search for of the Great South Land and that the ship which carried Nelson to the Arctic, as a midshipman, crossed latitude 81degrees north.'

Pic: 2004 (Antarctic Peninsula)

It is however the first age-of-sail novel by this author written for a male readership.

FLOATING GOLD is a nautical fiction adventure set at the time of the Napoleonic Wars, though the story begins in 1802 during the Peace of Amiens.

Captain Oliver Quintrell is a post Captain, injured in battle 12 months earlier.
His vessel, 'Elusive' - much to his disappointment - is a frigate.
His first Lieutenant is Mr Simon Parry.

Pic: Gold sword awarded during the Napoleonic wars to select Royal Navy Captains. This remarkable item hangs in the Maritime Museum in Hobart, Tasmania.
It was awarded to Lieutenant Hanchett RN (pictured), HMS Antelope in 1804 - see plaque below.