Adventures of a Sea Hunter – James P. Delgado
The author of this book participated in a National Geographic series called Sea Hunters, and the title of this book capitalises on that association. It’s a somewhat misleading title for the book, because no actual “hunting” takes place – the author simply travels to locations (mainly as part of his job with the National Parks Service‘s Submerged Resources Centre) and dives on wrecks that have already been found by someone else. Delgado is an entertaining storyteller, however, and devotes much time to setting the historical context for each wreck and re-imagining what it must have been like to be on board the ship. The wrecks visited and described are located in regions from the Arctic circle to Hawaii to Japan, and almost everywhere in between. I had a severe case of job envy. It should be noted, by those who care about these things, that Clive Cussler’s only involvement with this book is a (slightly incomprehensible) foreword. He is not a co-author, and is mentioned by name once or twice in passing. He was involved in the Sea Hunters television show, and has written two books of his own on the subject of some of the wrecks that were visited This is a quick, light read that will transport you to some fascinating locations in space and history. Don’t expect highbrow literature – this is a good book to take on holiday with you. It did make me want to watch the television series, especially to see what the wreck of the Fox, in the high Arctic, looks like. This steamship sailed from Aberdeen in 1857, searching for the remains of British polar explorer Sir John Franklin. As an aside, Franklin’s epitaph in Westminster Abbey, written by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, is beautiful:
- Not here! The white north hath thy bones and thou
- Heroic sailor soul
- Art passing on thine happier voyage now
- Toward no earthly pole
You can go here for a Kindle copy, otherwise here or here for a paper book.
