The Great Clipper Ship Gamble

By Gilbert H. Mackin

THE GREAT CLIPPER SHIP GAMBLE This sweeping historical novel is more than just another tale of the sea. Read this captivating story of two ambitious boyhood rivals who battle for wealth, fame and the affections of one woman during the age of the clipper ship. Beginning with the Great Fire of 1835 in Manhattan, the story ends after the Gold Rush of '49 to San Francisco. In the pages between, meet a colorful cast as the action clips across continents and oceans. Follow the adventures of the audacious Brock Tyler, son of a rich New York merchant, after he runs away to sea. Watch him rise through the ranks of the merchant marine to become a master mariner. Go aloft with him to reef the topsails in a gale, as he sails around the world. Read about the exploits of Jason O'Casey whose greed for wealth drives him like a steam engine. Witness the rise of world commerce in New York City. Build a shipping empire; get rich by any means. At the start of the Mexican/American War, join the US Navy with Brock. Fight from a square-rigged sloop-of-war and wade ashore at Veracruz. Meet the beautiful pacifist, Susannah Scott, daughter of a Quaker sea captain, who falls in love with one of the rivals. Read how they compete for her hand in marriage. Design and build a clipper ship. Race around the Horn against your challenger from NYC to California. GILBERT H. MACKIN is a master of word craft with a profound knowledge of the sea, salted by many years off shore. He crossed the Atlantic Ocean twice as a researcher on board an oceanographic research ship. For five years, the author honed his skills as a writer while living on a fifty-foot ketch on San Francisco Bay; then he single-handed along the Pacific Coast to the Puget Sound in Seattle. Later, he sailed south to sunny San Diego. Born in New England, the writer earned his living for a time on a commercial fishing boat. During the Vietnam War, he served on active duty in the Pacific in the US Navy on ships of the "Alligator" or "Brown Water Navy," part of the Seventh Fleet. He was a Frogman in UDT-11, a precursor to the Navy SEALs. His expertise in amphibious warfare and his personal experience on ships shines through in the chapters of this novel that are set in the Mexican-American War. The writer holds a doctorate from the University of California and bachelor degree from Trinity College, Hartford. He previously published Zen for a Frogman, Other Tales and Poems. His other work includes Sons of Marbert, an unpublished three act play, short stories and poems. When not writing, Gilbert sails his sloop Trinket with one of his two sons on the Chesapeake Bay.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0692411585
• ISBN13: 9780692411582
• Release Date: March 2015
• Publisher: Patuxent River Press
• Length: 474 Pages
• Weight: 1.58 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 1.1" x 6.0"