Becoming an author has meant that I have met people from many walks of life all over the world – certainly in my previous profession as a computer software designer it would have been unlikely for our paths to have crossed: there are far too many new friends and acquaintances directly attributable to Thomas Kydd to acknowledge here, but I know I’m enriched by them all.

Then there is the location research each January for the upcoming book. This has taken me to locales ranging from the Caribbean to Gibraltar and further. I visit each country with the specific goal of stripping away the trappings of modern life and building up a picture of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century – the particular sights, smells, colour, the food, ways of life there in general. Some places still retain much of what Kydd would have seen, in others it is more difficult to peel away the layers – but that is the challenge . . .

To my surprise I realise that this is the first book set in home waters – I hope I’ve been able to do justice to what I’ve found to be as wild and exotic a location as any, with such spectacles as the incredible complex of the Plymouth naval base and dockyard. Certainly, in those pre-factory times it was the wonder of the age, employing many thousands of men, when most industries counted their workers in scores. No one in England lives far from the sea and a strong and abiding relationship with Neptune’s Realm is a national characteristic, but it is perhaps in the West Country where the maritime heritage is strongest. Since time imnmemorial, the sea has provided food and transport links between isolated communities, and with hundreds of miles of rocky coastline, and winter storms equal to any it has also been the graveyard of so many ships.

As usual, I owe a debt of gratitude to the many people I consulted in the process of writing this book. Probably foremost among these is my life’s partner Kathy. As well as her professional input at all stages of the books, she functions as a reality manager; keeping the trials of everyday life at bay and enabling me to immerse myself in my research and writing.

Space precludes mentioning everyone but I would particularly like to convey special thanks to the people of the picturesque fishing village of Polperro in Cornwall, notably ex-fisherman Bill Cowan, former harbour-master Tony White and historian Jeremy Johns. I was honoured when the trustees opened the Polperro Museum especially so that I could view the wonderfully intricate models of local fishing vessels under sail crafted by shipwright Ron Butters.

My thanks, too, to Richard Fisher, who organised a special tour of Stonehouse Royal Marine Barracks; the Long Room, where Kydd attended the ball, still stands tall within the complex.

And lastly, as always, I must acknowledge the contributions of my literary agent, Carole Blake, marine artist Geoff Hunt RSMA, publisher Carolyn Mays, editor Alex Bonham – and all the team at Hodder & Stoughton.

Long may Kydd's voyages continue . . .