Which one do you want to tell us about today?
What happens
in Key West…
Ever wonder
who thought up the slogan, What happens in Las Vegas, stays in Las Vegas? I
think it originated long ago, in mid-1800s Key West. But the tiny island didn’t
need marketing geniuses to bring visitors. Ships wrecking along the reef
brought enough. Some people came to Key West by choice. Like Sam Langhorne, the
protagonist in my historical romance, Angels, Sinners and Madmen. He longed for
the carefree and reckless lifestyle of the wreckers.
What? You’ve
never heard of a wrecker? Neither had I, until our family vacationed at Key
West in 2003. While visiting a maritime museum, I not only learned the history
of the wreckers but became so fascinated with them, I spent the next few days
in the Key West library, visiting another wrecker museum and buying up as many
local books as I could. I didn’t even mind that my family was out parasailing
and snorkeling without me. Finding those articles, letters and wrecker
documents, I felt like a pirate unearthing buried treasure! Arrrrr!! (Cough).
Sorry, I get carried away sometimes.
Cate Masters
loves romance with a dash of magic and mayhem! Multipublished in contemporary
to historical, sweet to erotic, fantasy/dark fantasy to speculative, she sometimes
mashes genres. Reviewers
have described her stories as “so compelling, I did not want to put it down,”
and “such romantic tales that really touch your soul.”
But though
they were often portrayed as looters, wreckers were far from pirates. Here are
ten little-known facts about wreckers:
1.
Wreckers plied their trade not only in Key West, but in the Bahamas, and
as far away as the United Kingdom.
2.
Because so little diving equipment had been invented, wreckers salvaged
ships’ cargoes from the bottom of the sea the hard way – holding their breath
for several looong minutes.
3.
Though some claim wreckers set traps for wayward ships, no evidence
backs this up.
4.
In the mid 1800s, nearly one ship a week wrecked off the coast of
Florida.
5.
Wreckers known as Conchs came from the Bahamas, but were of English
descent.
6.
Some wreckers lived to ripe old ages, but many perished from drowning,
shark attacks, boating accidents or, in the earliest days, at the hands of
pirates or Seminole Indian massacres.
7.
Because Key West men outnumbered women by ten to one, many wreckers
married the women they saved from watery graves. One ship became known as the
Ship of Brides, its German passengers marrying wreckers, including a widow and
her daughters.
8.
Average shares earned by individual wreckers amounted to hundreds of
dollars per shipwreck. Imagine how much money that translates to in current
dollars!
9.
Wreckers followed 13 rules of their trade, but the unwritten rule was to
rescue a ship’s passengers first, then its cargo.
10.
The Florida wrecking industry continued until the early 1900s.
Learn more
about Angels, Sinners and Madmen on my blog: http://catemasters.blogspot.com/2007/12/angels-sinners-and-madmen-historical.html
When not
spending time with her family, she can be found in her lair, concocting a
magical brew of contemporary, historical, and fantasy/paranormal stories with
her cat Chairman Maiow and dog Lily as company.
Catch up to Cate at:
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cate-Masters/89969413736?ref=ts
Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/CateMasters
Cate loves to hear from readers! Friend her on Facebook or
Goodreads, or email her at: cate.masters AT gmail.com
Readers, what was your most exotic or memorable vacation?
