NEW BOOK - DIAMOND ROCK CHOOSING THE COVER

I have nearly finished writing my new novel “Diamond Rock”.  Without giving too much away, the book is set largely in the Caribbean, in 1805, at the time of the events which led eventually to the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.  After reading a summary of the plot, artist Mark Myers, who has provided the cover art for all of my books suggested his painting “Cutting out the Curieux”.  I readily agreed to his suggestion - the painting is marvellous, and the Curieux features peripherally in the new book.

On 3^rd February 1804, boats from HMS Centaur, the flagship of Commodore Samuel Hood, were sent to capture Curieux, which was anchored under the guns of Fort de France, the main base of the French West Indies.  The French navy in the West Indies was at a low ebb, and although Curieux was only a brig with sixteen guns, she was its most powerful vessel, and the French, knowing full well that the British might well attempt to take her, had taken precautions to protect the ship.

As you can see from the painting, Curieux had rigged boarding nets, and her guns were ready.  For some reason they had neglected to pull up a ladder at her stern, and this gave the British access to her deck.  There was sharp and confused fighting, but eventually the British captured the ship, and sailed her away from Martinique. 

In the picture, you can see an officer with drawn sword in the stern of the boat.  This is probably the expedition’s commander, Lieutenant Reynolds, who was wounded in the action, and later died from his wounds.  Command of Curieux passed to Lieutenant Bettesworth, who used her effectively to harass the French in the West Indies.

On 13^th June 1805, Lord Nelson, who was chasing the French/Spanish Combined Fleet under Admiral Villeneuve, left Antigua.  He guessed, wrongly, that the Combined Fleet, which had been seen at Antigua a few days earlier, was heading for Gibraltar.  Nelson sent the Curieux to England to inform the Admiralty of his intentions, and to warn them that Villeneuve might head towards a northern French port, or even enter the Channel.

By chance, on her way to England, Curieux sighted the Combined Fleet.  By shadowing them, Bettesworth realised that they were heading towards Ferrol on the north western extremity of Spain.  Forewarned, the Admiralty sent Admiral Calder to intercept the French fleet, which led to an inconclusive engagement and Calder’s eventual disgrace.  Nevertheless, the French and Spanish ran south, to Cadiz, where they were bottled up until finally they ventured out, to meet their doom at Trafalgar.

It is worth noting that Curieux, which was only 77 feet long at the keel, took 24 days between Antigua and Plymouth, a time which would be considered very respectable for a large modern yacht.