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The
Sand Clocker
The
Sand Clocker (Spanish Armada Stowaway) was the last
of Jack's books to be published by Wolfhound Press.
It came out in 1996.
ISBN.
0 86327 531 1.
The Sand Clocker was launched in the Tower Museum by the
Mayor of Derry. The launch was also part of the
twenty-fifth anniversary celebration programme to honour
the divers who found the armada wreck, La Trinidad
Valencera in Kinnagoe Bay Co. Donegal in 1971. Jack was
one of the divers.
The story was inspired by a small leather boot that was
found on the wreck.
Tomas stared at his
cousin. Diego's face was gaunt and almost as white as
the flapping sails. His uniform, creased and stained
with vomit, hung on him. He looked like a scarecrow.
"Tomas," gasped Diego. "How?" He
forced a smile. Tomas saw his teeth were yellow. He
also saw the lice crawling through his hair. "I'm
a Sand Clocker!" shouted Tomas, trying to make
himself heard above the crashing waves.
Violent
storms, seasickness, raging battles, cannon-fire, scurvy
and lice- life on board the Trinidad Valencera is terrifying
and dangerous. Will the two cousins reach the English
coast alive? Who will win the final great sea battle?
And can the Valencera ever hope to make it home again?
When Diego says those words: "I'm going to join
the Armada," both his and Tomas's lives are changed-
forever. A historical adventure that will excite both children
and adults.
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