FARMINGTON, Mo., June 17, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- A young man sets sail for adventure and gets more than he bargains for in the new novel, Taming the Barracuda (now available through AuthorHouse). Author Clarence Smith pens a swashbuckling tale of life on the high seas in the mid-1800s.
The novel opens in 1867 as 19-year-old Gil Hager departs his home in Hannager, Wales for a life less ordinary. He sets off for adventure on a ship that carries him to New Orleans, San Francisco and Guantanamo, Cuba. Gil is well trained in sports, including boxing, so when three locals cause trouble in a Cuban bar, he has no problem pummeling them. His display catches the eye of Captain Emil Dupree who invites Gil aboard his 106-foot trading schooner, the Barracuda. Gil accepts and spends the next four years sailing with the charismatic Creole captain.
Taming the Barracuda follows Gil and Captain Dupree's journeys. During their odyssey, the Barracuda navigates the waters of the Caribbean and traverses the Atlantic coast from North to South America. Gil and the crew defeat an attacking pirate ship, hijack a French vessel full of armaments and drive off a threatening Spanish brigantine. They also rescue a Mexican diplomat and his wife from the Cuban police and transport an American mining safari from South Carolina to South America, which takes the crew down the Orinoco River to a Venezuelan silver mine. Even on land these characters find adventure, such as when Gil challenges the Cuban heavyweight boxing champion for his title.
A novel of adventure, danger and excitement, Taming the Barracuda is about life lived to the fullest and the experiences that turn boys into men.
Smith spent five years in the Marines and graduated from the Rankin Technical Institute in St. Louis. He spent the first 25 years of his working life in radio broadcasting. Later, he operated his own farm and retail business. He is now retired and lives in Farmington, Mo. Taming the Barracuda is his first novel.
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