Shipwrecked! (eBook)

Stephen Wood (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2025 | 1. Auflage
184 Seiten
Bookbaby (Verlag)
979-8-9893992-9-1 (ISBN)

Infos

For graduate student Jolie, summer on a research cruise in the Florida Keys was supposed to be about sunshine, diving, and escaping the chaos of everyday life. But everything changes when they bring up an old ship's battery from an uncharted shipwreck that they discover while exploring the coral reefs. What begins as a thrilling discovery alongside two ocean engineering professors from the Florida Institute of Technology quickly turns into something far more dangerous.

Dr. Stephen Wood, a distinguished professional engineer and head of the Ocean Engineering program at the Florida Institute of Technology, infuses 'Shipwrecked!' with authenticity from the twenty-five years of leading oceanic research cruises with the Florida Institute of Oceanography's research ships. With over two and a half decades of experience teaching Ocean Engineering, Dr. Wood's expertise forms the bedrock of this thought-provoking tale while including STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) as a primary focus of the story. Holding degrees from renowned institutions, including the University of Rhode Island, the University of Miami, and Oregon State University, Dr. Wood's passion for oceanic exploration and engineering excellence shines through his storytelling. His extensive academic repertoire spans Ocean Engineering Design, Underwater Robotics, Underwater Archaeology Engineering, Fluid Mechanics, and more. Dr. Wood's dedication to education and environmental awareness permeates every page of 'Shipwrecked!', offering readers an engaging and informative experience that resonates with the realities of our world.

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For twenty-three-year-old graduate student Jolie, summer on a research cruise in the Florida Keys was supposed to be about sunshine, diving, and escaping the chaos of everyday life. But everything changes when they bring up an old ship's battery from an uncharted shipwreck that they discover while exploring the coral reefs. What begins as a thrilling discovery alongside two ocean engineering professors from the Florida Institute of Technology quickly turns into something far more dangerous. Hidden in the wreckage lies a treasure and a set of cryptic clues that point to a powerful, secret organization with roots stretching back through history. As Jolie and the two professors uncover the truth, they realize the treasure is just the beginning. Someone is watching, someone who will stop at nothing to protect the organization's secrets secrets that could change the world forever. From the sun-drenched waters of the Florida Keys to the shadowy depths of conspiracy, Jolie must rely on her courage, her ingenuity, and the unexpected allies at her side to unravel the mystery. But with powerful enemies closing in and time running out, the line between friend and foe begins to blur. Shipwrecked! is a high-stakes adventure that dives deep into the mysteries of the ocean and the human heart a tale of courage, betrayal, and the pursuit of truth beneath the waves. Some secrets are meant to stay buried. Jolie's about to uncover them all.

Textauszug

CHAPTER 1 – The Storm

Darlene screamed! The wave bearing down on the ship was huge. She had never been so scared in her life. No one had thought a hurricane would come upon them during the first week of June. The winds were howling through the rigging. The threads of what was left of the sails of her dad’s three-masted schooner flapped wildly, so loud she could barely think. Without the sails to give them headway, they were at the mercy of the giant waves.

The ship shuddered beneath her feet as the wave hit, lifting the stern high into the air and then down as the wave passed. There was no way the ship would survive such a pounding. Her father had tied her to the mast to keep her from being swept overboard with all of their precious possessions in two metal boxes below her feet: bars of gold, gems, jewelry, and a hefty sum of money, enough to keep them comfortable in the wealthy world of her uncle, who lived in Key West Florida. The chests were not huge, say two and a half feet long, two feet wide, and 18 inches deep. It had taken four men to move them. Darlene was tall enough to keep most of the waves at waist height and not over her head as they swept over the entire deck every few minutes. She cared nothing for what was inside the chest, for she didn’t expect to live much longer. Only moments before, she watched as her dad was swept overboard by a wave of unimaginable height.

She looked out, and through the early morning light, she saw the boiling of huge waves break over a reef. The world stood still as she felt the ship’s bottom being ripped out from under her as it struck the reef.

Snap, crash… down came the masts. One moment, Darlene was tied to the mast; the next, she was struggling to keep her head above water. The howling winds, crashing waves, lightning, and thunder crashed down upon her.

Was it luck or just a miracle when the ship’s life ring bumped her on the head? She put her head through the ring and wrapping her arms into the rope on the ring, she clung on for dear life.

It seemed like forever, but it was perhaps an hour or two, maybe three. The waves became smaller and smaller. The wind and waves pushed her north and east of where the ship went aground.

A sudden pain in her thigh brought her awake. She had just hit something very sharp. Bringing her legs up, she realized she was only in three feet of water. Tired as one could be, she staggered to her feet. She could see land two hundred yards away in the early morning light. Foot by foot, mainly pushed by the gusts of wind that howled by, she staggered to land, where she lay down on a small beach panting. Too tired to move.

Waking a few hours later, she found the winds had come around 180 degrees and now only came in random gusts, half of what they had been. Sitting up, she sat there digging her hands into the sand for something to do when she felt something – coins - five gold coins in reasonably good condition with 1620 marked on them. Little did she know she was at the exact spot where the Spanish Plate Fleet, Atocha, and Santa Margarita crews made it to after the 1622 hurricane had passed - the southeast corner of the Marquesas Keys. She gazed at them in amazement, put them in a pocket, and forgot about them. She was starving and thirsty.

Marquesas Keys, Florida

Darien Reinfeld had an opportunity that would never come again. He had been on various sailing vessels since he was eleven. Except for the two years when he met and married his wife, Doris, he had been almost continuously at sea. In fact, he had been at sea when his daughter Darlene was born. He had wanted a boy to take to sea with him, but a girl was fine by him.

Two months before Darlene was born, a man he had only known by sight approached him and offered him a first mate’s position on board one of his ships that carried wood and coal from various locations to a port near Galveston, Texas. Over the next couple of years, he made a name for himself as a very reliable, smart, talented first mate who would be very capable of taking over the position of captain.

It was 1920. The country had allowed a minority of conservative people to take over the government, a group of Teetotalers, people against the drinking of alcohol. Thus began the Prohibition – a time when the entrepreneur could become rich running illegal alcohol into the United States. Time when various crime bosses took advantage of the situation, establishing lucrative bootlegging operations.

Al Capone, a crime boss at the time, had several places he called home. One was in Miami, Florida, to take advantage of the Miami River and the Florida Keys to run rum and other spirits from Bermuda, the Bahamas, Cuba, and numerous other islands of the Caribbean and South America into the United States.

“So, Mr. Reinfeld,” said Mr. Capone with an intense stare, “I heard you have a good head on your shoulders, are an excellent sailor, and are very lucky. Would you like to come and work for me as captain of your own ship? If you say yes, you will become part of our organization and receive all its benefits. If you say no, then you can leave now and stay as the first mate where you are. It is important to know that if you say yes, you are with us and can only leave with the Organization’s permission. What do you say?”

Darien was familiar with Al Capone’s activities and knew that if he joined the team or, as Al Capone said, Organization, he would make excellent money and be captain of a ship. If he played his cards right, he could quickly save enough money to buy his own ship.

“Sir, I would be happy to join your organization as captain of one of your ships,” Darien replied with a smile, concealing his unease about the dangerous path he was about to embark on.

“Excellent. You will read yourself in as ship captain tomorrow. You will find the Sir Barton at the Miami harbor. She will be ready to sail in a week. You will deliver the cargo to Montego Bay, Jamaica, along with J.K.L. Ross. Yes, the Sir Barton belongs to him. Once you load the ship with rum in Jamaica, you will deliver it to London. Any questions?” Al Capone asked.

“No. You will be pleased that you hired me.” Darien replied.

“What a lucky day it is,” thought Darien as he was driven by one of Al Capone’s drivers to the ship and was greeted by a sailor as he got out of the car.

“Sir, welcome to the Sir Barton, the fastest racehorse in the world.”

Sir Barton was the horse that had won the triple crown in 1919—the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, and the Belmont stakes, Darien recalled. The ship looked very fast. The 2-masted schooner had swept-back masts and a ship’s hull that said speed.

“Sir, I know what you are thinking,” the short, stocky first mate of the Sir Barton said. “What type of cargo would get shipped in such a ship? Well, since you are part of the Organization, I can tell you. Rum and other assorted spirits, also anything the specialty markets demand. My name is Carter, First Mate.”

“Thank you, First Mate Carter.” Captain Darien replied.

“You are welcome, Captain. Would you like to look over the ship first or check out your cabin?”

“Send my sea chest to my cabin. I want to check out the ship first.”

“Yes, Sir,” the First Mate replied.

“Mister Carter, what is the status of the cargo?”

“All loaded, Sir. We are just waiting for Mr. Ross. He is a funny Canadian. He will show up at a random time. Then, he will want to sail within minutes of his arrival. It is as if the law were after him.”

“That is very good to know. I am sure you have a lookout for his arrival.”

“Yes, I have James, the topman, up at the port entrance to let us know when he arrives, but I don’t expect him tonight, maybe in the morning,” said Carter.

“Why not tonight?” Captain Darien asked.

“No wind. Mr. Ross always knows when there will be wind. He always makes sure there is wind so he can make a quick get-a-way.”

“Good to know. What else should I know?”

“Only one thing, sir. Have you ever ridden a racehorse?”

“No, why?”

“This ship is an incredibly fast racehorse, and when we need real speed upwind, we have twin gas power plants, each powering two propellers. We don’t use them in the sight of others and never in a harbor where they can be seen.”

“Nice. I would like to see them,” Captain Darien added.

Two nights later, when a breeze came up, a call came across the ship that Mr. Ross would arrive shortly. It was 2:35 a.m. By 3 a.m., the ship’s lines were released as it swung into the harbor, heading out to sea on its way to Jamaica and London, and so began Darien Reinfeld’s career with the Organization. Two years later, he had enough money to partner with Rudolf Weingarten to purchase a 51% share of a sailing vessel to run alcohol from Cuba to the Florida Keys. Darien insisted on renaming the ship Darlene after his daughter, whom he brought on several trips per year.

After his fifth cruise, Darien, now a seasoned captain in his mid-thirties, who held himself with confidence...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 13.2.2025
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Kinder- / Jugendbuch
• ISBN-13: 979-8-9893992-9-1 / 9798989399291