Set to open this fall at the Tampa Bay History Center, a new exhibition titled “Charting the Future” occupies an $11 million wing that explores shipwrecks, treasure and piracy. The 8,500-square-foot space houses the Touchton Map Library/Florida Center for Cartographic Education and the “Treasure Seekers: Conquistadors, Pirates & Shipwrecks” gallery. Highlights include a stunning 60-foot replica pirate ship, a treasure chest dating to the 1700s and an authentic 1703 map that once guided buccaneers to potential prize ships.
The exhibition traces the real history of privateering and piracy—men and women often hired or authorized by governments to disrupt enemy shipping. As French and Spanish expansion into Florida increased, hundreds of vessels, many laden with valuable cargo, sank along the coast and among Caribbean islands. Thousands of maps are on display, alongside artifacts recovered from Florida waters: a 17th-century bronze astrolabe, an 18th-century cannon believed to have served on a Barbary pirate ship, a 17th-century bronze ship’s bell, pottery, tableware and numerous other objects that reach back as far as 400 years.
© Taylor Zajonc
If you don’t want to wait until the fall opening to dive into shipwreck lore, there’s good news: Red Sun Rogue (Blank Slate Press, 2017), the second book in the Wrecking Crew series by shipwreck expert and maritime historian Taylor Zajonc, is available now and makes a natural companion for any travel or adventure bag. Zajonc’s real-life experiences often rival his fiction. His interest in exploration led him to join a Russian expedition to one of the ocean’s deepest archaeological sites, descending nearly three miles into the abyss of the Bermuda Triangle aboard a Soviet-era submersible. Since then he has participated in the discovery and exploration of numerous undersea wrecks, including the World War II wreck of the SS Gairsoppa. A member of the Explorers Club, Zajonc brings first-hand knowledge of deep-sea investigation to his storytelling.
Red Sun Rogue continues the story of Jonah Blackwell and his crew of misfit adventurers aboard the Scorpion. In this installment they are pursued by the Japanese Navy, face the hazards of Fukushima’s irradiated waters and contend with a dangerous technology cult bent on releasing weapons of mass destruction. The novel blends naval action, contemporary threats and maritime archaeology, offering readers a fast-paced, informed tale informed by the author’s archaeological and diving experience.
Whether you visit the Tampa Bay History Center to see maps, artifacts and a life-size pirate ship, or pick up Red Sun Rogue for a fictional plunge into modern nautical danger, both the exhibition and the book celebrate the enduring fascination with oceans, exploration and the treasures—and hazards—lying beneath the waves.