Set to open this fall at the Tampa Bay History Center, a new exhibition titled “Charting the Future” is housed in an $11 million wing that explores the world of shipwrecks, treasure and pirates. There’s even a stunning 60-foot replica pirate ship, a treasure chest from the 1700s and an authentic map from 1703 that guides buccaneers from that time to where to find treasure ships to assail. Located within the 8,500 square-foot space are the Touchton Map Library/Florida Center for Cartographic Education, and the “Treasure Seekers: Conquistadors, Pirates & Shipwrecks” gallery. The exhibition tells the true story of the swashbuckling set, who were often directly employed by governments to interrupt the shipping routes of enemy nations. As French and Spanish expansion into Florida increased, hundreds of ships, many weighted down with treasure, were sunk along the coast and between the islands of the Caribbean. Thousands of maps are included in the display, along with such artifacts discovered in Florida’s waters as a 17^th-century bronze astrolabe, an 18^th-century cannon believed to have been in use on a Barbary pirate ship, a 17^th-century bronze ship’s bell, pottery, tableware and numerous other items that date back as far as 400 years into the past.

© Taylor Zajonc

Can’t wait till the opening this fall to get your fix of shipwrecks and undersea drama? Good news: Red Sun Rogue (Blank Slate Press, 2017), the second book in the Wrecking Crew series by author, shipwreck expert and maritime historian Taylor Zajonc is out and ready to slip into your getaway bag. As a world traveler, Zajonc’s real-life adventures nearly exceed those of his fictional characters. His fascination with exploration began when he joined a Russian expedition to the deepest archaeological site on the planet, descending nearly three miles into the abyss of the Bermuda Triangle aboard a Soviet-era submersible. Since then, he’s helped discover and explore numerous undersea wrecks, including the WWII wreck of the SS Gairsoppa. Zajonc, a member of the prestigious Explorers Club. The book carries on the adventures of Jonah Blackwell and his crew of misfit adventurers aboard the Scorpion as they’re ruthlessly hunted by the Japanese Navy, navigate Fukushima’s irradiated waters and outwit a technology cult set on unleashing weapons of mass destruction upon the world.