by Alaric Bond
As well as being something of a wag, I guessed he was one of the boys ashore the pot house girl mentioned, so persevered.
“Is there any at all hereabouts?” I asked, seriously. “I'm not so fussy.”
“Not much on the water,” he said, after thinking for a spell. “Else I'd be out there now. Billy Danton's lad is off with the measles at present, but it's a large boat, one of the biggest, and they have crew enough to cover. Besides, most round here employ local folk – that's not to say anything against Ninfield,” clearly the time for teasing was over. “But if you've grown up with the fishing, there ain't so much to learn; so mostly we relies on Hastings families, and each other.”
I nodded. That made perfect sense, but was of little use to me. “What about anything not connected with fish?” I would have far rather been involved in coastal trade or perhaps passenger transport.
He seemed unusually cautious, and eyed me carefully before replying.
“Not a lot,” he said. “Some of the boats might be used for other purposes from time to time, but I wouldn't know about that, and they don't take kindly to strangers asking, so best not to.” His tone was firm and I could tell this was more than idle conversation. “As for anything else on the water, well the choice is limited for those what don't like fish. How do you feel about lobster?”
It was getting late and would soon be dark, while there was still a fair way to go if I was to make Rye that day so I decided to move on. He apparently sensed this and stood up when I did.
“Look there's nothing to stop you helping the day boats when they lands; we all muck in and another hand is always welcome. Can't promise a job, or even payment, but you might get to hear of a berth or, if you're really unlucky, earn a few fish for your supper.”
It didn't sound like much of an opportunity, but I was pretty cocky in those days and usually reckoned on getting something out of nothing. Besides I had already made two acquaintances, and one almost seemed keen to help. It's amazing how far you can go with a few gullible folk to lean on.
ASIN: B00SG1K1Q8 ISBN: 0994115296
About Old Salt Press
Old Salt Press is an independent press catering to those who love books about ships and the sea. We are an association of writers working together to produce the very best of nautical and maritime fiction and non-fiction. We invite you to join us as we go down to the sea in books.
More Great Reading from Old Salt Press
Blackwell's Homecoming by V E Ulett
In a multigenerational saga of love, war and betrayal, Captain Blackwell and Mercedes continue their voyage in Volume III of Blackwell's Adventures. The Blackwell family's eventful journey from England to Hawaii, by way of the new and tempestuous nations of Brazil and Chile, provides an intimate portrait of family conflicts and loyalties in the late Georgian Age. Blackwell's Homecoming is an evocation of the dangers and rewards of desire.
ISBN 978-0-9882360-7-3
Britannia’s Shark by Antione Vanner
“Britannia’s Shark” is the third of the Dawlish Chronicles novels. It’s 1881 and a daring act of piracy draws the ambitious British naval officer, Nicholas Dawlish, into a deadly maelstrom of intrigue and revolution. Drawn in too is his wife Florence, for whom the glimpse of a half-forgotten face evokes memories of earlier tragedy. For both a nightmare lies ahead, amid the wealth and squalor of America’s Gilded Age and on a fever-ridden island ruled by savage tyranny. Manipulated ruthlessly from London by the shadowy Admiral Topcliffe, Nicholas and Florence Dawlish must make some very strange alliances if they are to survive – and prevail.
ISBN 978-0992263690
The Shantyman by Rick Spilman
In 1870, on the clipper ship Alahambra in Sydney, the new crew comes aboard more or less sober, except for the last man, who is hoisted aboard in a cargo sling, paralytic drunk. The drunken sailor, Jack Barlow, will prove to be an able shantyman. On a ship with a dying captain and a murderous mate, Barlow will literally keep the crew pulling together. As he struggles with a tragic past, a troubled present and an uncertain future, Barlow will guide the Alahambra through Southern Ocean ice and the horror of an Atlantic hurricane. His one goal is bringing the ship and crew safely back to New York, where he hopes to start anew. Based on a true story, The Shantyman is a gripping tale of survival against all odds at sea and ashore, and the challenge of facing a past that can never be wholly left behind.
ISBN978-0-9941152-2-5
Eleanor’s Odyssey by Joan Druett
It was 1799, and French privateers lurked in the Atlantic and the Bay of Bengal. Yet Eleanor Reid, newly married and just twenty-one years old, made up her mind to sail with her husband, Captain Hugh Reid, to the penal colony of New South Wales, the Spice Islands and India. Danger threatened not just from the barely charted seas they would be sailing, yet, confident in her love and her husband’s seamanship, Eleanor insisted on going along. Joan Druett, writer of many books about the sea, including the bestseller Island of the Lost and the groundbreaking story of women under sail, Hen Frigates, embellishes Eleanor’s journal with a commentary that illuminates the strange story of a remarkable young woman.
ISBN 978-0-9941152-1-8
Water Ghosts by Linda Collison
Fifteen-year-old James McCafferty is an unwilling sailor aboard a traditional Chinese junk, operated as adventure-therapy for troubled teens. Once at sea, the ship is gradually taken over by the spirits of courtiers who fled the Imperial court during the Ming Dynasty, more than 600 years ago. One particular ghost wants what James has and is intent on trading places with him. But the teens themselves are their own worst enemies in the struggle for life in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. A psychological story set at sea, with historical and paranormal elements.
ISBN 978-1943404001
The Guinea Boat by Alaric Bond
Set in Hastings, Sussex during the early part of 1803, Guinea Boat tells the story of two young lads, and the diverse paths they take to make a living on the water. Britain is still at an uneasy peace with France, but there is action and intrigue a plenty along the south-east coast. Private fights and family feuds abound; a hot press threatens the livelihoods of many, while the newly re-formed Sea Fencibles begin a careful watch on Bonaparte’s ever growing invasion fleet. And to top it all, free trading has grown to the extent that it is now a major industry, and one barely kept in check by the efforts of the preventive men. Alaric Bond’s eighth novel.
ISBN 978-0994115294
The Beckoning Ice by Joan Druett
The Beckoning Ice finds the U. S. Exploring Expedition off Cape Horn, a grim outpost made still more threatening by the report of a corpse on a drifting iceberg, closely followed by a gruesome death on board. Was it suicide, or a particularly brutal murder? Wiki investigates, only to find himself fighting desperately for his own life.
ISBN 978-0-9922588-3-2
Lady Castaways by Joan Druett
It was not just the men who lived on the brink of peril when under sail at sea. Lucretia Jansz, who was enslaved as a concubine in 1629, was just one woman who endured a castaway experience. Award-winning historian Joan Druett (Island of the Lost, The Elephant Voyage), relates the stories of women who survived remarkable challenges, from heroines like Mary Ann Jewell, the "governess" of Auckland Island in the icy sub-Antarctic, to Millie Jenkins, whose ship was sunk by a whale.
ISBN 978-0994115270
Hell Around the Horn by Rick Spilman
In 1905, a young ship’s captain and his family set sail on the windjammer, Lady Rebecca, from Cardiff, Wales with a cargo of coal bound for Chile, by way of Cape Horn. Before they reach the Southern Ocean, the cargo catches fire, the mate threatens mutiny and one of the crew may be going mad. The greatest challenge, however, will prove to be surviving the vicious westerly winds and mountainous seas of the worst Cape Horn winter in memory. Told from the perspective of the Captain, his wife, a first year apprentice and an American sailor before the mast, Hell Around the Horn is a story of survival a
nd the human spirit in the last days of the great age of sail.
ISBN 978-0-9882360-1-1
Turn a Blind Eye by Alaric Bond
Newly appointed to the local revenue cutter, Commander Griffin is determined to make his mark, and defeat a major gang of smugglers. But the country is still at war with France and it is an unequal struggle; can he depend on support from the local community, or are they yet another enemy for him to fight? With dramatic action on land and at sea, Turn a Blind Eye exposes the private war against the treasury with gripping fact and fascinating detail.
ISBN 978-0-9882360-3-5
The Torrid Zone by Alaric Bond
A tired ship with a worn out crew, but HMS Scylla has one more trip to make before her much postponed re-fit. Bound for St Helena, she is to deliver the island’s next governor; a simple enough mission and, as peace looks likely to be declared, no one is expecting difficulties. Except, perhaps, the commander of a powerful French battle squadron, who has other ideas.
With conflict and intrigue at sea and ashore, The Torrid Zone is filled to the gunnels with action, excitement and fascinating historical detail; a truly engaging read.
ISBN 978-0988236097
Captain Blackwell's Prize by V E Ulett
A small, audacious British frigate does battle against a large but ungainly Spanish ship. British Captain James Blackwell intercepts the Spanish La Trinidad, outmaneuvers and outguns the treasure ship and boards her. Fighting alongside the Spanish captain, sword in hand, is a beautiful woman. The battle is quickly over. The Spanish captain is killed in the fray and his ship damaged beyond repair. Its survivors and treasure are taken aboard the British ship, Inconstant.
ISBN 978-0-9882360-6-6
Blackwell's Paradise by V E Ulett
The repercussions of a court martial and the ill-will of powerful men at the Admiralty pursue Royal Navy Captain James Blackwell into the Pacific, where danger lurks around every coral reef. Even if Captain Blackwell and Mercedes survive the venture into the world of early nineteenth century exploration, can they emerge unchanged with their love intact. The mission to the Great South Sea will test their loyalties and strength, and define the characters of Captain Blackwell and his lady in Blackwell’s Paradise.
ISBN 978-0-9882360-5-9