In an apartment in Brooklyn, shortly after giving birth, Mary Lerangis urges her first-born son to become a writer.
In Prospect Park, Nicholas Lerangis entertains a son so obsessed with books that, by sixteen months, he had yet to learn to walk.
Lerangis, stylish even at four years old.
Lerangis (in back) with his younger sister and brother. He promised them that if they learned to play well enough, the little man on the piano would start to dance. . . . They are still practicing.
To this day, Lerangis refuses to admit that this early work was created during sixth-grade math class.
Lerangis as a freshman at Freeport High School in 1970. Here, he shows off his writing style and his mustache, both of which were to develop quite a bit in the future.
Lerangis (standing, second from left) at the Charles River with his a cappella singing group, the Harvard Krokodiloes. The group still performs to this day.
Lerangis promptly retired his ruffled shirt after this performance at Harvard University’s Sanders Theater in 1976.
Lerangis with his soon-to-be wife, Tina deVaron, at their rehearsal dinner in Boston in 1983.
Lerangis with his sons, Nick and Joseph, in 1991. He remarks that, although this was a comfortable pose at the time, any attempt to recreate it today would be painful.
In 2003, Lerangis was invited by the White House to accompany First Lady Laura Bush to Moscow to represent the United States at the first Russian Book Festival. From left to right: R. L. Stine, Lerangis, Marc Brown, Cherie Blair QC, and First Lady Laura Bush.
The Lerangis/deVaron family in 2005 at the Gates exhibition in Central Park— just a hop, skip, and a jump from their home on the Upper West Side. (Image courtesy of Ellen Dubin Photography.)
A welcome reception during an author visit in Solana Beach, California, in 2009.
Lerangis connects with his audience after a school visit in Chappaqua, New York, in 2012.
Glossary
abovedecks — ANY HIGHER DECK
adze— an axlike tool with a curved blade amidships — in the center of the ship
aurora australis (also called the southern lights) — a mysterious formation of arcing lights in the Southern Hemisphere apparent most strongly in the Antarctic
avast— a nautical command that means Stop!
backwash — the backward movement of water as it is propelled behind an object ballast — a heavy material (sometimes rocks) put at the bottom of a ship or boat to create stability
barnacle — a small crustacean with a pebblelike shell that attaches itself to rocks, boats, and ships
barque— a three- to five-masted sailing ship with all masts square-rigged except the aftermast, which is fore-and-aft rigged barquentine— a three- to five-masted ship with a square-rigged foremast but fore-and-aft rigged mainmast and mizzenmast
batten (n) — a narrow wooden strip of wood batten (v) — to fasten or secure with a batten
beam — the widest part of a ship
belowdecks— any lower deck
bilges — the lowest part of a boat or ship’s inner hull
binnacle — a housing for a ship’s compass boom — the horizontal spar used to support the bottom edge of a sail
bow — the front of a ship
bowsprit — the spar extending from the bow of a ship
braces — a rope used to control horizontal movement of a square-rigged sail
brackish — salty
brash ice — ground-up ice floes and lumps of snow, with a puddinglike texture
breaker — a wave that breaks into foam bulkhead — an upright partition that separates compartments of a ship
bulwarks — the side of a ship above the upper deck
calve — to break off a section of ice from a larger mass, as in an iceberg from an ice shelf
capsize — to overturn or to become overturned
cofferdam — a watertight structure to cover a hole in a ship’s hull during repairs
come about — to change a ship’s tack crevasse — a deep crevice in ice or snow crosstrees — the intersection of mast and horizontal spar in a square-rigged ship crosswind — a wind that blows across, as opposed to with or against, a ship
Davy Jones’s locker — the sea bottom
dead low — the absolute lowest point of the tide
deckhouse — a structure on the upper deck of a ship, which often contains officers’ quarters
dinghy — a small boat, often carried on a larger boat or ship
doldrums — an area near the equator characterized by hot weather and a lack of wind
encroach — to advance more than the usual limits
exposure — a condition resulting from prolonged contact with severe weather; can result in death
feather (v) — to turn an oar, at the end of a stroke, so that its blade is horizontal as it pulls back above the water’s surface, reducing wind resistance
flense — to strip blubber from a whale
flier, take a — to attempt a reckless act fo’c’sle— abbreviation of forecastle, the area of a ship under the foresail of a ship; often where the sailors are housed
furl (v) — to wrap a sail around something greenheart — dark greenish wood, known for its durability, from a South American tree
grommet — a strong eyelet or loop, as on a sail, through which a rope is passed
growler — a small iceberg
gunwale — the highest edge of the ship’s hull
guy line — a rope or wire connected between objects or people and used as a guide
gyre (n) — a circular movement; a giant circular current
halyard — a rope used to raise sails hardtack — a hard, plain biscuit made of flour and water
heave to (past tense, hove to) — to turn a ship’s bow into the wind and let the ship stay adrift in preparation for a storm
heel (v) — to lean to one side due to wind or waves
hoosh— stew
hull — the frame, or body, of a ship hummock — a ridge of ice
hypothermia — a condition characterized by lower-than-normal body temperature iceberg — a large mass of floating ice broken off (or calved) from shelf ice or from a glacier
ice floe — a flat, floating fragment of sea ice ice shelf (also shelf ice) — an ice sheet that begins on land and extends into the water, resting on the sea bottom
jibe — to move sails from one side to the other while sailing into the wind, in order to change the ship’s direction
jury-rigged — put together in a makeshift fashion
keel — the central timber at the bottom of the ship, running from bow to stern
lash — to bind with a rope
lay (n) — a share of profit paid instead of wages
lay to — to bring a ship to a stop in open water, facing the wind
lead (n) — a path of water through pack ice lee — the side sheltered from the wind maelstrom — a turbulent, powerful whirlpool
mainmast — the second mast from the bow after foremast (middle mast on the Mystery) mainsail — the bottom sail on the mainmast mast — the vertical pole that supports sails Melville, Herman (1819–1891) —American novelist who wrote Moby-Dick
mizzenmast (or mizzen) — the sail on the aft end of a ship (the third sail on the Mystery)
Nansen, Fridtjof (1861–1930) — famous Norwegian Arctic explorer
oarlock — a metal U-shaped device that keeps an oar in place
old ice — ice floes that have remained unmelted from previous seasons, usually dense and hummocky
pemmican — food made from dried meat and filler such as flour, molasses, or dried fruit
port — the left side of a ship (as you face bow)
pressure — the force exerted by two ice floes pushing against each other
pressure ridge — ice that has been pushed upward between colliding ice floes
Primus stove — a smal
l, portable metal stove consisting of one burner and a wire platform over it
prow — see bow
pudding ice — see brash ice
put in — to enter a port, cove, or harbor
put to — to head for shore
reel (n) — a spirited Scottish Highlands dance
rigging — an arrangement of sails, spars, and ropes
riptide — a strong crosscurrent caused by the action of water against a shore or edge of an ice floe
rudder — a plate mounted at the ship’s stern for directing its course, turned by means of a tiller
runner — either of two long, thin, parallel tracks of wood attached to the bottom of a vehicle, on which it moves through snow scuttle — to sink a ship by means of a hole in the hull
sheet — a rope attached to the bottom of a sail, used to change the angle of the sail relative to the wind
ship water (v) — to take in water over the ship’s hull
sledge — a sled used for transporting loads over the ice
sloop — a boat with one foreand aft-rigged mast and one staysail
southern lights — see aurora australis
spar — a pole that supports sails and rigging spindrift — a sea spray blown by the wind square-rigged— an arrangement of square or rectangular-shaped sails
starboard — the right side of a ship (as you face bow)
stave in (past tense, stove in) — to smash or crush inward
staysail — a triangular sail supported by a stay, or diagonal halyard, as opposed to a mast
stem — the rear of a ship
stream ice — pack ice that contains leads tack — to change the direction of a ship, usually by turning the bow into the wind
taffrail— the rail at the stern of the ship
tailwind— a wind roughly in the same direction as the ship’s motion (a wind blowing from behind)
tarpaulin — a waterproof canvas covering tiller — a lever with which to turn a rudder and steer a boat
trace(s) — a strap(s) connecting a harnessed dog to a sledge
trim — to arrange sails for the optimal speed and direction
unstep— to remove (a mast)
waterline — the line made by the surface of the water against a ship’s hull
water sky — a dark streak on the horizon that indicates open ocean
whirlpool — a circular current of water (see maelstrom)
winch — a machine containing a drum around which is curled a rope or wire for pulling or lifting
yaw (v) — to move erratically off course yeti — the legendary snow beast of Nepal; came to be known as the abominable snowman, Sasquatch, or Bigfoot
Bibliography
Alexander, Caroline. Shackleton’s Legendary Antarctic Expedition. Alfred A. Knopf, 1999. Includes excellent reproductions of Antarctic photos taken by master polar photographer Frank Hurley.
Armstrong, Jennifer. Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World: Shackleton’s Amazing Voyage. Crown Publishers, 1998.
Bickel, Leonard. Mawson’s Will. Avon
Books, 1977.Thrilling survival story;
Douglas Mawson walked 320 miles
across Antarctica after a companion
and all his dogs and equipment fell into
a crevasse.
Cherry-Garrard, Apsley. The Worst Journey
in the World. Carroll & Graf, 1989.
Robert Falcon Scott’s fatal voyage to
the South Pole.
Huntford, Roland. Scott & Amundsen G. P.
Putnam’s Sons, 1980. The race
between Scott and Amundsen for the
South Pole, with photos and maps.
Lansing, Alfred. Endurance: Shackleton’s
Incredible Voyage, Carroll & Graf, 1986. The most exciting account of the Shackleton expedition.
Maloney, Elbert S. Chapman Piloting. Hearst
Marine Books (various ed.). Good book for basic sailing information.
Shackleton, Ernest. South. Carroll & Graf,
1998. A memoir of the voyage of the
Endurance by its legendary leader. Full
of interesting details.
Worsley, F. A. Shackleton’s Boat Journey.
W. W. Norton & Company, 1977.
Written by the captain of the
Endurance, an account of what many
call the greatest boat journey in the
world, by Shackleton, Worsley, and
four other men, across the Drake
Passage on a modified 22-foot
lifeboat.
Websites:
www.terraquest.com/antarctica/index.html.
Excellent introduction to Antarctica;
good photos.
www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/shackleton.
Excellent web documentary of
Shackleton’s fabled transantarctic
voyage, contemporary adventures, and
lots of good general information about
Antarctica. Video clips.
Working seaports and seaport museums in the U.S.A.:
Mystic Seaport, P.O. Box 6000, 75
Greenmanville Avenue, Mystic, CT
06355-0990 (Visitor Information
860-572-5315, toll free 1-888-SEA
PORT), http://www.mysticseaport.org/
South Street Seaport Museum, 207 Front
Street, New York, NY 10038 (212-748
8600), http://www.southstseaport.com/
Acknowledgments
I began researching this book while waiting long hours to be selected as a juror, so my first thanks go to the New York City criminal court system. Anne Fadiman, my good friend and an avid Antarctica buff, provided great enthusiasm and much research material from her amazing personal library. The real Peter Mansfield, whom I’ve had the good fortune of knowing for twenty-five years, helped enormously with nautical terminology. I thank the real Larry Walden for his patient tutelage during several summer afternoons sailing on Casco Bay, and his thorough evaluation of this book for sailing authenticity. And my mother, Mary Lerangis, who sent me to Greek school when I was a kid and shouldn’t have had to correct all my Greek language mistakes, nevertheless did so with great joy. Efharistò, s’aghapò.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook onscreen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
copyright © 2000 by Peter Lerangis
cover design by Angela Goddard
978-1-4532-4519-4
This edition published in 2012 by Open Road Integrated Media
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New York, NY 10014
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