The Pirate John Mucknell and the hunt for the wreck of the John

About the Book

This is the true relation of the treacherous, mutinous, and violent acts of the pirate Captain John Mucknell. It tells of how he came to steal a brand new 44 gun flag ship, the John, only to loose her upon the rocks of Scilly, where a pirate fleet he commanded were then based. Operating in the name of King Charles I, Mucknell’s ships wreaked havoc upon shipping, of all trading nations, in the western approaches during the English Civil War; until, as it was then written – “that God, or the gallows, make an end of him” The story also incorporates a modern day hunt for the wreck.

About the Author

Although a time served carpenter/joiner by trade, shipwreck hunter, Todd Stevens, has a BSAC Advanced Diver qualification with over thirty years very active underwater experience. Since arriving in the Isles of Scilly in 1999, he has spent every available spare moment researching and hunting for shipwrecks. In that time he has discovered many new ones in the area; two of which have received Government protected status- Stern of HMS Colossus in 1999 & The Wheels Wreck in 2005. He has also mapped many of Scilly’s known historic wrecksites, both deep and shallow. The author has written two other popular shipwreck books: Wreck of Colossus & Ghosts of Rosevear. Todd is neither archaeologist nor treasure hunter, but as a founder member of The Islands Maritime Archaeological Group; and possessing NAS parts 1&2 qualifuications, rather proffesses to be somewhere in between the two interests. Some jokingly refer to him as a kind of underwater Indiana Jones, as he loves history and prefers to offer anything he finds of interest to his local Museum for public display. In his own words-”I just love the hunt!”