This is an action packed fictional depiction of events portrayed through out the Caribbean, Cuba and Key West, taking place in the early 1820s. William Henry Pierce captains his ship the Carlota, a two masted schooner, sponging and hauling freight. Joseph, his eldest son, narrates this story of the exciting and horribly tragic events that befall the Pirece family.
Spring arrives; their season begins as they head north from their home on Harbour Island. Captain Pierce contracts to purchase and deliver building supplies for a new school to be built in New Plymouth. Leaving Nassau loaded with supplies the ship is heavily burdened and is quite slow. They are attacked by pirates and a deckhand is seriously injured by falling debris requiring his leg to be amputated while at sea.
While docked in Havana, Cuba, Captain Pierce acquires a new deck hand that unbeknown to the Captain has just murdered a fellow sailor and a Spanish soldier to obtain valuable stolen nautical charts.
On their voyage to Key West from Havana, the crew of the Carlota witnesses a French Galleon that is being plundered by pirates. The ship is burned and sinks. Three survivors are pulled from the water, a young sailor, who soon dies from his injuries, a French noblemen and his beautiful niece who are en route to join her father, a wealthy plantation owner, in New Orleans.
While in Key West Captain Pirece is gravely injured in a knife fight attempting to protect some of his crew. During his convalescing, Joseph sails the Carlota to New Orleans delivering the young lady and her uncle to her father.
While they are absent from their home, on Harbor Island, a yellow fever out break occurs. Many of the towns people die from the disease including the Captains wife and youngest daughter.
Unable to deal with his loss, Captain Pierce and Joseph move what is left of their families to Key West to begin a new life.
Про автора
A True Key West Conch
Bill was born in Key West, Florida in 1945; his ancestry can be traced from, Harbour Island, Eleuthera, Bahamas to Florida, including Cuba. Growing up he was involved in fishing, trapping lobster and stone crab. Life was carefree on the small island of Key West, swimming, roaming around the island with his friends.
His family moved to Orlando while he was in his teens. He was never quite happy being away from the ocean. As an adult he would make several trips each year to visit his relatives and to help work the lobster and crab traps. His love and fascination with the sea continues to grow even today. Purchasing a 32 foot cabin cruiser, he was finally able to travel both coasts of Florida, Key West and to many of the islands in the Bahamas.
Ernest Hemingway has long been one of his favorite authors. He is especially fond of the novel “To Have and Have Not.”
He and his wife began working on his family ancestry nearly eight years ago. The Johnson side was relativity calm; the Pierce side is a different story. Several generations were ship’s captains or ship’s carpenters living and working in the Caribbean. His ancestry even included a pirate, Joseph Pierce; his grandfather x 7. Joseph accepted a pardon offered in 1718 by the British Crown. He later became a respected citizen in New Providence, where he married and raised a family.
Some of the characters in this novel are adaptations taken directly from his family ancestry. Captain William Henry Pierce, the main character is based off his maternal great grandfather. Even though he was only a small boy when he knew him, he idolized and admired him.
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