Call of the Sea

Nick Turnhouse continues his helter-skelter advance from Dorset farmhand to naval officer, relying on his sword arm and quick intelligence to achieve success. As he progresses, he is increasingly conscious of all he does not know, and how much he must rely on his subordinates to provide their knowledge of the sea. He also keenly appreciates how much he needs the aid and advice of Captain Woodmore, who has done so much to help him rise in the world. His pursuit of promotion and prize-money is almost diverted when Arabella Whitefield, the squire's daughter and now the voluptuous wife of a major, appears in English Harbor and fondly recalls their early romance. Nick manages this affair of the heart adroitly, narrowly avoiding jeopardizing his next promotion. Rising to Master and Commander, he will henceforth earn two-eighths of every prize he takes in his own sloop. Taking to the sea again, and hoping to bring his wardroom with him, he becomes aware of the increasing unrest of the lower deck hands, whose pay has not risen in more than one hundred and twenty years and who live in miserable poverty. A serious situation that must be addressed, somehow.

England, Home and . . . Nick Turnhouse is captain of his own sloop, and increasingly aware of how rapidly he has been promoted and how much he does not know. He is reliant on the professional skill and goodwill of Master and Boatswain, both of whom are long experienced and old, coming close to the end of their seagoing days. Returning from a convoy north to Halifax, Nick discovers a new admiral in command at English Harbor. His patron has returned to England and he is left as a junior captain in a station in which the new man has his own favorites. Nick is sent as escort to a small out-of-season convoy, taking valuable ships to England . . . with a certainty that French intelligencers are in the know.

Winner of Amazon KDP Select All Stars Nick Turnhouse knows how lucky he has been, and has little choice other than to ride the wave of his good fortune, regardless of where it may take him. He has made himself into Bloody Nick and must continue to take risks and hope to survive them if he is to make his fortune at sea. His orders base him on Gibraltar, part of a small squadron commanded by a new rear admiral who comes to value him and acts as his patron. In between missions to Africa and Barcelona, Nick is introduced to the Assistant-Governor, the senior official on the Rock, and his grown-up daughter. At just under a fathom, she's tall and outstrips most men, but Nick stands a comfortable hand taller than six feet and makes her a most welcome partner in the dance. And then at other social occasions . . .

Captain Turnhouse RN-Bloody Nick-is still in the Mediterranean, nursing his experimental frigate and enjoying the mixed blessings of being favored by Old Jervie, a hard but just taskmaster. The French are still reeling from the shock of the Battle of the Nile, the Ottoman Empire is hastening into decline, the Spanish are in their customary disarray, and the Barbary Rovers are enjoying a resurgence. The Mediterranean is in a state of chaos-ideal for a predatory young captain, even if at first in an unreliable ship. Bloody Nick makes his somewhat erratic way from the coast off Barcelona to the Siege of Acre and the equally erratic Sidney Smith, touching the shores of Egypt and Malta en route before being brought up short off Venice. In process, he adds a little to his store of prize money and more to his reputation as a wild and often lucky captain. He also discovers there is such a thing as bad luck, that it is possible to take too many chances.

The short-lived Peace of Amiens is over. Entered into in bad faith, the Peace has provided both sides with the chance to take a breath and restock their arsenals. Sir Nicholas Turnhouse, Bloody Nick, has recovered from his wound and is ready to go to sea again, supported by his lady. Only at sea will he be able to achieve the promotion in rank and honors that both believe to be his due. He is given Hawke, 44, again and sets out for the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea to tidy up the remnants of Napoleon's Army of Egypt, if they should exist, and to make a general nuisance of himself around the Mauritius. It is a long way from home, and the new happiness he has created for himself. It is back at sea, where he truly belongs. He sets sail, torn between domesticity and adventure, and wondering if he has taken the wiser choice.

Nick Turnhouse is a Dorset farmhand, a third son with nothing to inherit and no future, working his father's land for his keep. He is also tall, powerfully built, and handsome, and crosses the path of Squire's impressionable daughter. Nick has to run, fast, with ten shillings and his father's blessing. Luckily, or so he thinks, he comes across a kind gentleman who can help him. After Nick is persuaded to say that he is looking for work, he discovers the man is recruiting for the Navy, and Nick has just 'volunteered in fact'. Once at sea, he is amazed to discover that he is not stupid-he has simply had no occasion to use his brain plodding on the farm. He can learn and fight, and wishes to do both, finding his chance to rise in the nautical world. The Man From Bere is the first of Nick's adventures on sea and occasionally on land.

Nick Turnhouse is now a senior captain, some two thirds of the way up the List, perhaps as little as five years short of automatic promotion to Rear Admiral. As such, he must accept more responsibility, and he will be expected to offer more than blind obedience to his orders. It is time to replace Bloody Nick with Sir Nicholas. Bonaparte is committing the error of trying to place his brother on the throne of Spain, currently occupied by a madman and his erratic queen. The Spanish are divided into at least four different factions nationally, and a dozen more in each separate province. Sir Nicholas sails out to the Mediterranean to offer assistance to those Spaniards who will serve British interests best. It is not a straightforward task.

Bloody Nick Turnhouse has returned from Mauritius to Bombay, where he is welcomed with orders received from London by the overland route. He is to frighten the Spanish by showing himself in a powerful ship of war off Manila and then along the Pacific coast of South America, lands which have not seen an enemy in a generation. Unfortunately, the expected ration carrier has failed to arrive and is presumed lost and there are no barrels of beef and bags of biscuit to fill his depleted hold. Nick sets off on a year-long voyage with less than six months of stores to hand. He has to scavenge food that his conservative crew will eat, from lands that do not grow wheat and where the beef cow is a rarity. The best hope, he suspects, must be to capture Spanish ships and garrisons and rob them of their rations. He makes sure that the spirits room is stacked high with rum.

The Royal Navy is larger than it has ever been-nearly eight hundred ships and one hundred and twenty thousand men-and it is too small for the tasks demanded of it if the war is to be won. British hardwood forests have been destroyed, with the exception of the untouchable New Forest. It is impossible to build enough ships to make up for losses, let alone to expand. At least twenty of the ships at sea are unfit for service, may well sink in the next storm. The sole answer is to find an ally with a large fleet, or to capture the ships required, which is easier said than done. Denmark has a large ocean-going fleet, but is neutral and terrified of France. Nick Turnhouse is tasked to find a way of taking the Danish fleet, laid up in Copenhagen, intact and immediately usable. There is a way-provided he and the government of the day are prepared to sacrifice honor and decency. Perfidious Albion may yet prevail.

Captain Nicholas Turnhouse-Bloody Nick-takes his new experimental Amphion-class heavy frigate out to the Mediterranean to join the command of Old Jervie, Lord St Vincent, immediately after the Battle of the Nile. His ship is new and powerful . . . and sails like a pig. He must make the best of it under the command of the harshest, but possibly fairest, taskmaster in the Navy. There are still a few rich prizes left, and any number of belligerent French and Spanish ships of war, and the Barbary Rovers are enjoying their final resurgence. For a young captain still making his name the Mediterranean has a great deal to offer, with the ever-present possibility of losing all if he takes too great a risk. Although he has left his beloved young wife behind, Bloody Nick is off to enjoy himself again.

Bloody Nick Turnhouse is in fine fettle, a frigate captain and respected by those who know him. He has taken a ship twice to the Bight of Benin and survived both occasions, falling to none of the fevers. Unfortunately, this has made him one of the few naval captains with a close knowledge of the fatal shores and Their Lordships are inclined to see him as their sole expert in sailing waters that have previously only been familiar to slavers and the few Guineamen. Returning from the Bight, Nick is currently in Spanish waters, seeking glory and prizes and uncertain which might be more important to a farm boy made good.