Treasure Islands: True Tales of a Shipwreck Hunter

by Alec Crawford

In 1971 Alec Crawford is determined to make his fortune from ship salvage. Early attempts lead nowhere until he teams up with a new partner, Simon Martin. Diving in Hebridean waters, they explore remains of the Spanish Armada, and the wreck of the SS Politician, the vessel made famous in the Whisky Galore. But money is scarce and irregular, and the work is fraught with danger and disappointment.

Until they hear of one of the most incredible wrecks of all time – the White Star Liner Oceanic, which, when built in 1899, was the biggest and most luxurious ship in the world. Widely regarded as an ‘undiveable’ wreck, lying somewhere off the remote island of Foula, they decide to take the challenge. They face unbelievably dangerous waters and appalling weather conditions, and when a large salvage company takes action against them, they also have a huge legal fight on their hands. But if they succeed, the rewards will be enormous…

256 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published September 3, 2020

Reviews

[Kenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

File under - books about people with interesting lives and stories, that you'd never thought about until you were in the bookshop. Alec Crawford is a diver who recovers salvage from shipwrecks. The book follows his early years in the 70s where things were...home-made. He moves into diving, and recovery and sets up in the Hebrides. He then moves to Foula, one of the most remote islands in Shetland to work the wreck of the Oceanic. The Oceanic was a sister ship to the Titanic.

Best of all Crawford comes across as likeable, practical and genuine. You could imagine having a pint and hearing some of these stories - and that he wouldn't need to be 'holding court' to perform.

You get a good mix of diving/salvage, pragmatic problem solving (none of the modern extensive preparation, standards and wrap around - a couple of guys on a boat hoping that the winch will hold. And also some lovely descriptions of living in such a remote island and becoming part of the community. Much more enjoyable by the genuine need to be there to work, compared to the ever increasing number of patronising ones who move somewhere similar just to write a book about how remote it is and how remarkable it is the locals can survive with their quaint ways. Anyway, I digress.

You learn a fair bit about diving and salvage techniques as well as salvage rights - but it's well written for the interested amateur rather than getting into technicalities. It's a bit of a life story, and well balanced. It only covers a few major wrecks in his younger years, and in a postcript it notes he had a very successful career in the industry - I would have enjoyed a little more detail on that.

Also, lovely cover art. you can't judge a book by the cover, but I damn well walked across the shop to look at it.

A good example of the I didn't know I wanted to read this until I read it genre.

[Alastair Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book really quite fascinating, focused on the author's early adventures in shipwreck salvage it is really well written with a good balance of technical details with human stories. At times there are some passages which require some technical context which I struggled with, but overall really interesting and something a bit different! Good to hear the stories of people who wouldn't ordinarily get to share it

[Julian Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

A superb read vividly bringing to life not only the dangers of diving and salvage, but also the realities of island life, and the thrills and spills of having such an unstructured income.

I really enjoyed this and was immersed in the author's life under and above the waves - and his writing style was refreshingly clear and at times I felt the cold he did.

An extraordinary life, well lived and fabulously recorded - this is a cracking read.

[4ns Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ripping yarn

I know Alec, as he lives locally. But had no idea of his adventures. Absolutely fascinating and well written

Thank you

[Kirsty K Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book. Different from what I normally read but I was keen to find out more about the Oceanic after seeing the propeller at the Shetland Museum.

[Fraser T · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Alasdair Mckinnon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved it. Very interesting and compelling.

[Leela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting to read about what life's like as a wreck salvor! Maybe 3.5 for the average writing though

[Alistair Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this before reading The other Titanic which tells the same tale. Both totally different but reading both gives a great insight into the world of salvage.

[Aidan Sidwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely book with great details, I feel like the ending was a bit rushed as it just summed up like 20 yrs of his life in a chapter.

[Rishi Sajnani · Rating 5 out of 5]

it's a good book alec crawford has shared his experience of how he has gone through making fortune from wrecks... you'll also get to learn about diving.