Salvage Pirates: Rabaul and the Hakkai Maru Treasure

This book is a gripping tale of an Australian salvage pirate and his audacious plan to recover the treasure from the Hakkai Maru. This Japanese refinery ship roamed the Pacific during WW2, rendering down illegally plundered precious metals. The salvage was fraught with danger. The shipwreck was deep, and the diving equipment primitive. There was a constant risk of nitrogen narcosis (the bends) and the ever-present threat of sharks. This remarkable book chronicles the penetration deep into the dark recesses of the sunken ship, where copper wire dangled like spider webs, waiting to snare the unwary diver. Live and unstable munitions littered the ship, ready to explode at a touch. But, along the way, there was to be fun, steamy romance, and adventure, all coupled with tragedy, death, and unforeseen complications. This is a compelling, must-read novel based on historical fact and written in a documentary style. Set in the romantic South Pacific in 1970, the tale is fullof twists and turns, and the ending, despair for the skipper.