Shipwreck Fever

Jeff has found a treasure map hidden in a dusty old book, but Uncle Roy doesn’t believe it’s real. The only way to find a sunken ship, Uncle Roy insists, is through long, hard research. But sometimes, maybe “X” really does mark the spot!

A riveting history and maritime adventure about priceless masterpieces originally destined for Catherine the Great. On October 1771, a merchant ship out of Amsterdam, Vrouw Maria, crashed off the stormy Finnish coast, taking her historic cargo to the depths of the Baltic Sea. The vessel was delivering a dozen Dutch masterpiece paintings to Europe’s most voracious collector: Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia. Among the lost treasures was The Nursery, an oak-paneled triptych by Leiden fine painter Gerrit Dou, Rembrandt’s most brilliant student and Holland’s first international superstar artist. Dou’s triptych was long the most beloved and most coveted painting of the Dutch Golden Age, and its loss in the shipwreck was mourned throughout the art world. Vrouw Maria, meanwhile, became a maritime legend, confounding would-be salvagers for more than two hundred years. In July 1999, a daring Finnish wreck hunter found Vrouw Maria, upright on the sea floor and perfectly preserved. The Tsarina’s Lost Treasure masterfully recounts the fascinating tale of Vrouw Maria—her loss and discovery—weaving together the rise and fall of the artist whose priceless masterpiece was the jewel of the wreckage. Gerald Easter and Mara Vorhees bring to vivid life the personalities that drove (and are still driving) this compelling tale, evoking Robert Massie’s depiction of Russian high politics and culture, Simon Schama’s insights into Dutch Golden Age art and art history, Gary Kinder’s spirit of, danger and adventure on the beguiling Archipelago Sea.

Collects accounts of the underwater discoveries made by the author and his team of volunteers dedicated to the exploration of historic wrecks, including the Lexington and the Arkansas.

So far: 'Falconer Blood' - Book 1 Infinite Worlds deals with Dan Falconer of Melbourne - 16 years old - awkward, spineless and bullied. A girl claiming to be his half-sister, already an accomplished traveller between worlds, rescues him from some 'classmates' and takes him to 1720 Jamaica to try to rescue Anne Bonny - about to be hanged. In Falconer Vision - Book 2 Infinite Worlds, battle-ready, designer soldiers are being genetically created for terrorists and rogue states. Two adolescents - Dan's 'cousins down the coast' from Apollo Bay develop special powers - after a near-death experience. In this book - Falconer Alliance - Book 3 Infinite Worlds, all the Falconers and their friends must try to understand the reason for the incredible powers of the mind they have been blessed (or cursed with) and try to overcome impossible odds - on two fronts - in this world of the 21st century - and in 1721. They also have to decode and use information in the 'Falconer Book', an ancient text of obscure origin.

The true story of the Holland America cruise ship Zaandam, which set sail with a deadly and little-understood stowaway—COVID-19—days before the world shut down in March 2020. This riveting narrative thriller takes readers behind the scenes with passengers and crew who were caught unprepared for the deadly ordeal that lay ahead. In early 2020, the world was on edge. An ominous virus was spreading on different continents, and no one knew what the coming weeks would bring. Far from the hot spots, the cruise ship Zaandam, owned by Holland America, was preparing to sail from Buenos Aires, Argentina, loaded with 1,200 passengers—Americans, Europeans and South Americans, plus 600 crew. Most passengers were over the age of sixty-five. There was concern about the virus on the news, and it had already killed and sickened passengers on other Holland America ships. But that was oceans away, and escaping to sea at the ends of the earth for a few weeks seemed like it might be a good option. The cruise line had said the voyage (three weeks around the South American coastline to see some of the world’s most stunning natural wonders and ancient ruins) would carry on as scheduled, with no refunds. And it would be safe. Among the travelers there is a retired American school superintendent on a dream vacation with his wife of fifty-six years, on a personal quest to see Machu Picchu. There is an Argentine psychologist taking this trip to celebrate her sixty-fourth birthday with her husband, though she finds herself fretting in her cabin on day one, trying to dismiss her fears of what she’s hearing on the news. There is an Indonesian laundry manager who's been toiling on Holland America cruise ships for thirty years, sending his monthly paycheck to his family back home. Within days, people aboard Zaandam begin to fall sick. The world’s ports shut down. Zaandam becomes a top story on the news and is denied safe harbor everywhere. With only two doctors aboard and few medical supplies to test for or treat COVID-19, and with dwindling food and water, the ship wanders the oceans on an unthinkable journey.