"Straight out seawards of the old town of Deal lie the Goodwin Sands, basking in the sun like some marine monster…only now and then it emerges out of the sea to seize with hungry jaws its prey of men and ships, with huge feelers and claws reaching from its broad waist towards Deal, while the tail of this grisly terror coils itself away to the southward, full many a mile of sea."
The Cry from the Sea – Treanor c.1900)
The Goodwin Sands is a giant watery grave that over 800 years has claimed thousands of ships and many more thousands of lives.
This body of sand - only visible at low tide - is not only treacherous but is insideous as it shifts it's location without warning.
It is the nemesis of seamen and in the seafaring novel, FLOATING GOLD has a special significance for Lieutenant Parry.
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