Patti O'Donoghue
Hey there! This is Cecilia Anne “Celia” Stanhope and my life is about to get really exciting! My buddy, Regina “Goldie” O’Brien, and I are about to find us some treasure! I know you’re laughing at that idea, but this is where it gets really interesting. Goldie and I met a couple of guys, Mark and Nick, who have in their possession a sword hilt from the S.M.S. Cormoran—a German shipwreck that dates to World War One. Mark found the beautiful brass hilt while metal detecting on the beach on Rota, an island just north of Guam in the Marianna Island chain. The thing is the Cormoran is located in Guam’s Apra Harbor. Did a typhoon wash treasure from Guam to Rota? Seems unlikely.
Mark and I put two plus two together and discover that there are two ships named Cormoran. The one we’re after was filled with treasure and spirited away from Germany before the end of the war.
Welcome to the island of Rota. We’re at a place called the Devil’s Jaw—the final resting place of The Wreck.
Patti O'Donoghue is the author of two previous books, The Stanhope Trilogy, Book One, Celia and The Stanhope Trilogy, Book Two, Where America’s Day Begins (America’s day begins in Guam, USA, in case you didn’t know). The Wreck is the third in the series and a fourth book is percolating.
Ms. O’Donoghue holds an advanced SCUBA rating which she received at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. Her diving experiences include sites in the tropical waters of Guam, Saipan, Tinian, Rota, and Ponape and the islands of Palau.
She has explored wrecks of ships and aircraft of World War Two that can still be found in the waters off these western Pacific Islands. Fact and fiction of numerous wrecks have fed her imagination to create the Trilogy stories.
Ms. O’Donoghue has served as Director of Public Information at Mount Olive College, Mount Olive, NC and as President of the Mount Olive Area Chamber of Commerce. Her writing and photography have appeared in magazines and newspapers.
Her husband's 33-year Air Force career took the family to Germany, Turkey, Guam and bases in the United States. Patti and Greg O’Donoghue are the parents of five children and the servants of one cat, Miss Kitty.
“I wonder what we’re getting ourselves into,” Celia whispered to Goldie when they walked outside. She and Goldie strolled beneath the tall palms to the edge of a sparkling white beach.
“I don’t know, Cee,” Goldie said. “It’s scary and exciting all at once.”
“And beautiful,” Celia answered. She looked out across the horizon where blue met blue. Closer to the beach whitewater raced along the reef in cross currents.
“Cut’s called ‘Devil’s Jaw,’” Nick said. He and Mark came up behind Celia and Goldie. “Some good lobster holes, good spear fishing. Dangerous, though.”
“That cut is to our advantage,” Mark said, “because no one comes around much.”
“If the Cormoran is out there, how in the world are we supposed get through that cut?” Celia shivered.
“We’ll figure a way,” Mark said.
“Let’s eat!” Goldie yelled. Nick and Goldie had a fire started on the beach for the hot dogs they’d brought. They slipped their hot dogs on straightened coat hangers and sat in the warm sand. Meat juices sizzled in the fire. Celia remembered other hot dog roasts at the Mill in her beloved North Carolina.
How far away, she thought. No frogs or crickets but somehow the same.
Nick popped the cork on a bottle of German wine and filled four plastic cups. He handed them around.
“It is appropriate,” Mark announced as he lifted his cup, “that we offer a toast.” They all stood.
“To the Cormoran! May she be resting peacefully in calm and shallow water. And to our crew. May we be courageous in our search and, above all, steadfast in our friendship.” They lifted their cups.
“Hear! Hear!” They answered in unison. For the longest time the adventurers sat around the fire in silence. The covenant was sealed.
