Veteran diver writes book chronicling wrecks off the Cornish coast

Sea of Storms: Shipwrecks of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, by veteran diver, shipwreck expert and author Richard Larn explores the history of 21 dramatic seafaring losses.

It features stunning original oil and pencil illustrations by maritime artist and Falmouth University graduate Oliver Hurst.

The tales span the ages of sail, steam and modern technology, starting with the King of Portugal's galleon St Anthony, which sank off the Lizard in 1527 carrying precious goods worth millions in today's money, and finishes with the German cargo ship RMS Mulheim, packet with 2,200 tonnes of highly pollutant plastic chippings, which drove ashore between Land's End and Sennen Cove in 2003.

Richard, 88, and his wife Bridget – who have lived on Scilly for 23 years – are already the authors of more than 60 books on shipwrecks, the sea, sailors and ports.

The couple, who ran an accredited diving school in Cornwall for many years, have also listed every wreck around the British Isles and were the original co-founders of the Shipwreck Centre museum at Charlestown.

Author Richard Larn, OBE

Many of the wrecks in Sea of Storms – and there were more than 5,000 to choose from in the area – are ones Richard has personally dived and explored in detail.

For divers, each story in the book ends with details of what, if anything, remains of each wreck today.

Although his own diving days ended three or four years ago, Richard, a former Royal Navy Chief Petty Officer, who was made an OBE in 2009 for his services to nautical archaeology and marine heritage, is now maritime consultant for the museum, which is being revamped under new owner, Sir Tim Smit, who writes the book’s foreword.

Cornish publisher Ron Johns of Mabecron Books envisaged a beautiful coffee table volume for everyone who loves tales of maritime adventure and history.

His priority was for the stories and images to be exciting, yet sensitive to the human tragedies portrayed.

Ron said: "It is rich history and rich storytelling. I think the idea of a shipwreck leaves a ghost-like image in our minds – it is spooky but romantic at the same time."

Other tales include the sinking of HMS Association – Sir Clowdisley Shovell's flagship in 1707, Sir William Hamilton's priceless treasure lost on HMS Colossus in 1798, the downing of 189 emigrant passengers on the barque John in 1855, the cold demise of the full-rigged Bay of Panama in 1891, the wrecking of the world's largest sailing ship, the schooner Thomas W Lawson in 1907 and the loss of 11 Royal Navy submariners on HM Submarine A7 in 1914.

Possibly the most heartbreaking chapter remembers the Penlee Lifeboat disaster and the tragic loss on December 19 1981 of all eight crew members of RNLB Solomon Browne, along with the five-man crew and three female passengers on the coaster MV Union Star they had been trying to rescue.

Sea of Storms, Shipwrecks of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly by Richard Larn, with illustrations by Oliver Hurst, is published in hardback by Mabecron Books, priced £25 (ISBN 978-0-9955028-6-4).

The book is launched on April 24, 2019 at the Shipwreck Centre, Charlestown, Cornwall.