Gun Bay - William H White

GUN BAY In February 1794 ten ships, nine merchants and a Royal Navy frigate, wrecked on the reef at the east end of Grand Cayman Island. They were part of a convoy of fifty-eight ships that had left Jamaica only a few days prior and were bound for North America and England. Edward Ballantyne, White's fictitious narrator from When Fortune Frowns, returns to tell the story of this disastrous event, still well-known in Cayman lore and, while the bones of the wrecked ships are no longer visible, several cannon from the Royal Navy frigate, HMS Convert can be found in the front yards of homes along the bluff above Gun Bay. There is naturally a great deal of "folk lore" associated with the event, but the Cayman Archives hold part of the story; the rest can be found in archives in England, Jamaica, and France. GUN BAY tells the story, in the voice of Edward Ballantyne, of his arrival in Port Royal, Jamaica, having sailed from England following the court martial of the Bounty mutineers. We learn how the formerly French frigate became HMS Convert and a unit of the Royal Navy in time to lead the convoy to its disastrous ending on Grand Cayman and the trials and tribulations of manning the ship in Port Royal. Laced with White's realistic language of the period, his knowledge of sailing ships, and understanding of offshore navigation, GUN BAY is an exciting and entertaining read not just for aficionados of the genre, but of any seeking a great adventure tale. And the best part is, most of it is true! ******************** What advance readers have said about GUN BAY: Mesmerizing... I couldn't wait to turn the page then couldn't believe it when I'd turned the last one! A brilliant tale by a master storyteller . . . Highly recommended! Michael Aye Author: The Fighting Anthonys. Once again, William White combines a historian's passion for detail and a novelist's flair for brilliant storytelling to flesh out an obscure event in British naval history, which occurred in 1794 off Grand Cayman Island in the Caribbean. . . Salt air and Stockholm tar literally waft off the pages. George Jepson, Editor, Quarterdeck Magazine