Pacific Vortex!
Encyclopedia
Pacific Vortex! is an adventure novel
by Clive Cussler
. This is the sixth book released featuring the author's primary protagonist, Dirk Pitt
, though the author states that this was the first story that he wrote featuring the popular action hero. It was published after much internal debate, and a great deal of prompting from his friends, family and publisher. Cussler states in the Foreword that he feels it is not up to his usual standards and should be treated as sort of a historical curiosity.
beach at Ka'ena Point when he spots a bright flash of yellow, just past the breakers. Braving the dangerous riptides
, Pitt swims out and retrieves the item and finds that it is a communication capsule used by submarines who wish to communicate with ships on the surface without surfacing themselves. Inside he finds a chilling message from the commander of the U.S. Navy's latest nuclear submarine, the Starbuck, which disappeared with all hands six months earlier while undergoing sea trials. Investigation reveals that the submarine disappeared in the Pacific Vortex, an area of the ocean north of the Hawaiian Islands
where ships have been disappearing for more than 30 years.
, has a history of ships mysteriously disappearing.
Starbuck, Dirk Pitt is seconded from NUMA to the Hundred and First salvage fleet and ordered to help get to the bottom of the mysterious disappearance of the top-secret submarine. Pitt discovers that the submarine went missing in an area of the Pacific Ocean north of the Hawaiian island of Oahu nicknamed the Pacific Vortex. Similar in its mysterious reputation to the Bermuda Triangle
, the Navy has documented 38 cases of ships vanishing without a trace with all hands in this area of the Pacific since 1956.
When the Starbuck originally went missing, the Navy conducted a massive and exhaustive search in the area of the Pacific where the submarine was last reported without finding a trace of wreckage. Pitt determines that it is suspicious that the Navy found no wreckage whatsoever, since the search pattern took them over the area that was reputedly the graveyard of the Pacific Vortex. Even if they did not find the wreckage of the submarine, they should have found some wreckage from any of the 38 ships rumored to have gone down in the area.
While doing research in an ongoing hobby effort to find the royal tomb of Hawaiian King Kamehameha
, Pitt learns of the mythical island of Kanoli rumored to have existed north of the current Hawaiian Islands, and similar to the lost continent of Atlantis
, rumored to have sunk into the sea killing the race of men who lived there. Pitt intuits that the Navy has been searching in the wrong direction and that they should turn around and concentrate their search for a sunken seamount
in the area just north of the island of Oahu.
Pitt eventually discovers that in 1956 three respected men of science, Dr.'s Lavella and Roblemann, specialists in various areas of underwater science, followed the renowned Dr. Frederick Moran to their deaths in the same area of the Pacific
. It is revealed that Moran, a renowned anthropologist and pacifist, who believes that it is only a matter of time before the human race destroys itself with the atomic bomb, has been searching for a place where he and his followers can survive the coming Apocalypse
. Pitt believes that Moran and his followers discovered the sunken seamount that was once the island of Kanoli and have been using it as a base to raid Pacific shipping for the last 30 years as a means of financing their project.
When Pitt finds the sunken submarine in good condition, he determines that it cannot be immediately raised and also reveals the existence of the sunken fortress of Kanoli. The Joint Chiefs of Staff
in Washington, DC elect to destroy the submarine with a nuclear tipped missile in an effort to ensure that its top secret design and nuclear missiles do not fall into the hands of Moran, the Soviet Union
or any other nation. In an effort to stave off the attack, Moran kidnaps Adrienne Hunter, a long-ago love interest of Pitt and the daughter of the commander of the Hundred and First salvage fleet, Admiral Leigh Hunter. When Pitt discovers that Admiral Hunter will not tell Washington about the kidnapping of his daughter in order to delay the attack, he mounts a last-minute desperate rescue operation intended to rescue Adrienne and if possible snatch the submarine away as well.
by Herman Melville
is briefly referenced in relation to its having been based loosely on the sinking of the whale ship Essex
, the only known ship to have been sunk by a whale.
as an ocean that rarely gives up its secrets and has claimed its fair share of ships the author briefly references a number of historical events, including: the mutiny on the Bounty
and the stranding of Fletcher Christian
on Pitcairn Island; the sinking of the Essex, the loss of the United States submarines USS Thresher
, USS Bluefin, and USS Scorpion
; and the raising of the submarine F-4
off the mouth of Pearl Harbor
in 1915.
Though it is not directly referenced in Pacific Vortex! portions of the plot dealing with a secret salvage ship designed to covertly recover both US and enemy sunken submarines and other vessels bears a striking similarity to the real-life ship Glomar Explorer, which was built by Howard Hughes
under contract to the CIA for the express purpose of secretly raising the Soviet submarine, K-129
in an operation known as Project Jennifer
. Since the exact date that the author wrote Pacific Vortex! is unknown, it is difficult to know whether this is a coincidence or whether the author based this portion of the book on real-life events which were revealed in a New York Times article in 1975.
, although, in Dirk Pitt Revealed he states that he does not own one.
Adventure novel
The adventure novel is a genre of novels that has adventure, an exciting undertaking involving risk and physical danger, as its main theme.-History:...
by Clive Cussler
Clive Cussler
Clive Eric Cussler is an American adventure novelist and marine archaeologist. His thriller novels, many featuring the character Dirk Pitt, have reached The New York Times fiction best-seller list more than seventeen times...
. This is the sixth book released featuring the author's primary protagonist, Dirk Pitt
Dirk Pitt
Dirk Pitt is a fictional character, the protagonist of a series of bestselling adventure novels written by Clive Cussler. The name Dirk Pitt is a registered trademark of Clive Cussler.-Character information and the supporting cast:...
, though the author states that this was the first story that he wrote featuring the popular action hero. It was published after much internal debate, and a great deal of prompting from his friends, family and publisher. Cussler states in the Foreword that he feels it is not up to his usual standards and should be treated as sort of a historical curiosity.
Plot introduction
Dirk Pitt is enjoying a lazy day on a secluded OahuOahu
Oahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...
beach at Ka'ena Point when he spots a bright flash of yellow, just past the breakers. Braving the dangerous riptides
Rip current
A rip current, commonly referred to by the misnomer rip tide, is a strong channel of water flowing seaward from near the shore, typically through the surf line. Typical flow is at 0.5 metres per second , and can be as fast as 2.5 metres per second...
, Pitt swims out and retrieves the item and finds that it is a communication capsule used by submarines who wish to communicate with ships on the surface without surfacing themselves. Inside he finds a chilling message from the commander of the U.S. Navy's latest nuclear submarine, the Starbuck, which disappeared with all hands six months earlier while undergoing sea trials. Investigation reveals that the submarine disappeared in the Pacific Vortex, an area of the ocean north of the Hawaiian Islands
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
where ships have been disappearing for more than 30 years.
Explanation of the novel's title
The Pacific Vortex is the name given to a fictional area of the Pacific Ocean north of the Hawaiian island of Oahu that, similar to the Bermuda TriangleBermuda Triangle
The Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil's Triangle, is a region in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean where a number of aircraft and surface vessels allegedly disappeared under mysterious circumstances....
, has a history of ships mysteriously disappearing.
Plot summary
After discovering a communication capsule from the lost submarineSubmarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
Starbuck, Dirk Pitt is seconded from NUMA to the Hundred and First salvage fleet and ordered to help get to the bottom of the mysterious disappearance of the top-secret submarine. Pitt discovers that the submarine went missing in an area of the Pacific Ocean north of the Hawaiian island of Oahu nicknamed the Pacific Vortex. Similar in its mysterious reputation to the Bermuda Triangle
Bermuda Triangle
The Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil's Triangle, is a region in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean where a number of aircraft and surface vessels allegedly disappeared under mysterious circumstances....
, the Navy has documented 38 cases of ships vanishing without a trace with all hands in this area of the Pacific since 1956.
When the Starbuck originally went missing, the Navy conducted a massive and exhaustive search in the area of the Pacific where the submarine was last reported without finding a trace of wreckage. Pitt determines that it is suspicious that the Navy found no wreckage whatsoever, since the search pattern took them over the area that was reputedly the graveyard of the Pacific Vortex. Even if they did not find the wreckage of the submarine, they should have found some wreckage from any of the 38 ships rumored to have gone down in the area.
While doing research in an ongoing hobby effort to find the royal tomb of Hawaiian King Kamehameha
Kamehameha I
Kamehameha I , also known as Kamehameha the Great, conquered the Hawaiian Islands and formally established the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1810. By developing alliances with the major Pacific colonial powers, Kamehameha preserved Hawaii's independence under his rule...
, Pitt learns of the mythical island of Kanoli rumored to have existed north of the current Hawaiian Islands, and similar to the lost continent of Atlantis
Atlantis
Atlantis is a legendary island first mentioned in Plato's dialogues Timaeus and Critias, written about 360 BC....
, rumored to have sunk into the sea killing the race of men who lived there. Pitt intuits that the Navy has been searching in the wrong direction and that they should turn around and concentrate their search for a sunken seamount
Seamount
A seamount is a mountain rising from the ocean seafloor that does not reach to the water's surface , and thus is not an island. These are typically formed from extinct volcanoes, that rise abruptly and are usually found rising from a seafloor of depth. They are defined by oceanographers as...
in the area just north of the island of Oahu.
Pitt eventually discovers that in 1956 three respected men of science, Dr.'s Lavella and Roblemann, specialists in various areas of underwater science, followed the renowned Dr. Frederick Moran to their deaths in the same area of the Pacific
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
. It is revealed that Moran, a renowned anthropologist and pacifist, who believes that it is only a matter of time before the human race destroys itself with the atomic bomb, has been searching for a place where he and his followers can survive the coming Apocalypse
Apocalypse
An Apocalypse is a disclosure of something hidden from the majority of mankind in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception, i.e. the veil to be lifted. The Apocalypse of John is the Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament...
. Pitt believes that Moran and his followers discovered the sunken seamount that was once the island of Kanoli and have been using it as a base to raid Pacific shipping for the last 30 years as a means of financing their project.
When Pitt finds the sunken submarine in good condition, he determines that it cannot be immediately raised and also reveals the existence of the sunken fortress of Kanoli. The Joint Chiefs of Staff
Joint Chiefs of Staff
The Joint Chiefs of Staff is a body of senior uniformed leaders in the United States Department of Defense who advise the Secretary of Defense, the Homeland Security Council, the National Security Council and the President on military matters...
in Washington, DC elect to destroy the submarine with a nuclear tipped missile in an effort to ensure that its top secret design and nuclear missiles do not fall into the hands of Moran, the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
or any other nation. In an effort to stave off the attack, Moran kidnaps Adrienne Hunter, a long-ago love interest of Pitt and the daughter of the commander of the Hundred and First salvage fleet, Admiral Leigh Hunter. When Pitt discovers that Admiral Hunter will not tell Washington about the kidnapping of his daughter in order to delay the attack, he mounts a last-minute desperate rescue operation intended to rescue Adrienne and if possible snatch the submarine away as well.
Characters in "Pacific Vortex!"
- Lt. Commander Paul Boland - The 101’s fleet’s executive officer and commander of the salvage ship Martha Ann.
- Captain Orl Cinana - The officer in command of the fleet of salvage ships. The captain was having a secret affair with Adrienne Hunter, which enables Frederick Moran, otherwise known as Delphi, to blackmail Cinana into spying for Delphi's cause.
- Commander Burdette Denver-Aide to Admiral Hunter and cousin of Rudi GunnRudi GunnRudi Gunn is a fictional character in the Dirk Pitt adventure novels by acclaimed novelist Clive Cussler. He is played by Rainn Wilson in the movie Sahara....
of NUMANational Underwater and Marine AgencyThe National Underwater and Marine Agency , originally an organization within the fiction of author Clive Cussler, is a private non-profit organization in the United States...
. - Commander Felix Dupree - Captain of the top-secret prototype nuclear submarine USS Starbuck.
- Al GiordinoAl GiordinoAlbert Cassius Giordino is a fictional character in a series of adventure novels by Clive Cussler; he first appears in The Mediterranean Caper . He is described as being of Italian ancestry, 5'4" in height, 175 lb, with dark curly hair, swarthy skin, dark Etruscan eyes, and a Roman nose. He...
– Assistant Special Projects Director for NUMA. - Adrian Hunter - Daughter of Admiral Hunter and old flame of Dirk Pitt's.
- Admiral Leigh Hunter - Commander of the 101st salvage fleet, assigned the task of undercover recovery missions for the U.S. Navy.
- Dr. Lavella - A prominent physicist and follower of Dr. Frederick Moran who specialized in the science of hydrologyHydrologyHydrology is the study of the movement, distribution, and quality of water on Earth and other planets, including the hydrologic cycle, water resources and environmental watershed sustainability...
and help make the colonization of the seamount possible. - Frederick Moran (Delphi) - Described as a giant of a man over 6'8" tall with hypnotic yellow eyes, Moran is the father of Summer Moran and the son of Dr. Frederick Moran, the original discoverer and colonizer of the seamount Kanoli. Moran's father was known as the Oracle of Psychic Unity, who as one the century's great classical anthropologists advocated the theory that the human mind would be the crucial factor in man's eventual extinction. Moran the younger assumes the identity of his father becoming known as Delphi or the OracleOracleIn Classical Antiquity, an oracle was a person or agency considered to be a source of wise counsel or prophetic predictions or precognition of the future, inspired by the gods. As such it is a form of divination....
of DelphiDelphiDelphi is both an archaeological site and a modern town in Greece on the south-western spur of Mount Parnassus in the valley of Phocis.In Greek mythology, Delphi was the site of the Delphic oracle, the most important oracle in the classical Greek world, and a major site for the worship of the god...
. - Summer Moran - A beautiful young woman in her 20s with blazing red hair, Summer Moran is the daughter of Delphi, otherwise known as Frederick Moran. She mistakenly attempted to abduct and assassinate Dirk Pitt, but later discovered that she had romantic feelings toward him and was instrumental in saving Pitt's life several times over. (It is revealed in a later book that Dirk Pitt and Summer had an assignation some time during the events of Pacific Vortex! that led to Summer becoming pregnant and giving birth to twins. Pitt, thinking that Summer had died during the events at the end of their adventure at the Pacific Vortex, does not discover that he has children until they are adults.)
- Dirk PittDirk PittDirk Pitt is a fictional character, the protagonist of a series of bestselling adventure novels written by Clive Cussler. The name Dirk Pitt is a registered trademark of Clive Cussler.-Character information and the supporting cast:...
– Special Projects Director for the National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA) - George Papaaloa - Director of the Bernice Pauahi Museum of Polynesian Ethnology and Natural History. He has been encouraging Pitt to search for tomb of the Hawaiian King Kamehameha, who is rumored to have been buried in an underwater cave. He tells Dirk Pitt of the myth of the island of Kanoli rumored to be located to the north of the main Hawaiian Islands.
- Dr. Roblemann - A renowned surgeon and follower of Dr. Frederick Moran, who was experimenting on a mechanical gill system so humans would be able to absorb oxygen from water.
- Admiral James Sandecker – Chief Director of the National Underwater and Marine Agency.
Allusions/references to other works
Moby-DickMoby-Dick
Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, was written by American author Herman Melville and first published in 1851. It is considered by some to be a Great American Novel and a treasure of world literature. The story tells the adventures of wandering sailor Ishmael, and his voyage on the whaleship Pequod,...
by Herman Melville
Herman Melville
Herman Melville was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet. He is best known for his novel Moby-Dick and the posthumous novella Billy Budd....
is briefly referenced in relation to its having been based loosely on the sinking of the whale ship Essex
Whaleship Essex
Obed HendricksBenjamin LawrenceStewardWilliam BondSailorsOwen CoffinIsaac ColeHenry De Witt*Richard PetersonCharles RamsdellBarzillai RaySamuel ReedIsaiah SheppardCharles ShorterLawson ThomasSeth WeeksJoseph WestWilliam Wright...
, the only known ship to have been sunk by a whale.
Allusions/references to actual history, geography and current science
While discussing the history of the Pacific OceanPacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
as an ocean that rarely gives up its secrets and has claimed its fair share of ships the author briefly references a number of historical events, including: the mutiny on the Bounty
Mutiny on the Bounty
The mutiny on the Bounty was a mutiny that occurred aboard the British Royal Navy ship HMS Bounty on 28 April 1789, and has been commemorated by several books, films, and popular songs, many of which take considerable liberties with the facts. The mutiny was led by Fletcher Christian against the...
and the stranding of Fletcher Christian
Fletcher Christian
Fletcher Christian was a master's mate on board the Bounty during William Bligh's fateful voyage to Tahiti for breadfruit plants...
on Pitcairn Island; the sinking of the Essex, the loss of the United States submarines USS Thresher
USS Thresher (SSN-593)
The second USS Thresher was the lead ship of her class of nuclear-powered attack submarines in the United States Navy. Her loss at sea during deep-diving tests in 1963 is often considered a watershed event in the implementation of the rigorous submarine safety program SUBSAFE.The contract to build...
, USS Bluefin, and USS Scorpion
USS Scorpion (SSN-589)
USS Scorpion was a Skipjack-class nuclear submarine of the United States Navy, and the sixth ship of the U.S. Navy to carry that name. Scorpion was declared lost on 5 June 1968 with 99 crew members dying in the incident. The USS Scorpion is one of two nuclear submarines the U.S...
; and the raising of the submarine F-4
USS F-4 (SS-23)
USS F-4 was a F-class submarine. Her keel was laid down by the Moran Brothers Company of Seattle, Washington. She was originally named Skate, making her the first ship of the United States Navy named for the skate. She was renamed F-4 on 17 November 1911. She was launched on 6 January 1912...
off the mouth of Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
in 1915.
Though it is not directly referenced in Pacific Vortex! portions of the plot dealing with a secret salvage ship designed to covertly recover both US and enemy sunken submarines and other vessels bears a striking similarity to the real-life ship Glomar Explorer, which was built by Howard Hughes
Howard Hughes
Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. was an American business magnate, investor, aviator, engineer, film producer, director, and philanthropist. He was one of the wealthiest people in the world...
under contract to the CIA for the express purpose of secretly raising the Soviet submarine, K-129
Soviet submarine K-129 (Golf II)
K-129 was a Project 629A diesel-electric powered submarine of the Soviet Pacific Fleet, one of six Project 629 strategic ballistic missile submarines attached to the 15th Submarine Squadron based at Rybachiy Naval Base, Kamchatka, commanded by Rear Admiral Rudolf A...
in an operation known as Project Jennifer
Project Jennifer
"AZORIAN" was the code name for a U.S. Central Intelligence Agency project to recover the sunken Soviet submarine K-129 from the Pacific Ocean floor in the summer of 1974, using the purpose-built ship Hughes Glomar Explorer...
. Since the exact date that the author wrote Pacific Vortex! is unknown, it is difficult to know whether this is a coincidence or whether the author based this portion of the book on real-life events which were revealed in a New York Times article in 1975.
Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
No film, television or theatrical adaptations have yet been produced from this novel.Trivia
Clive Cussler, a world renowned car collector, frequently features cars from his collection in his novels, generally as part of the collection of his primary character Dirk Pitt. In Pacific Vortex! Pitt is driving an AC CobraAC Cobra
The AC Cobra, also known colloquially as the Shelby Cobra in North America, is an Anglo-American sports car that was produced during the 1960s.-History and development:...
, although, in Dirk Pitt Revealed he states that he does not own one.
Release Details
- 1983, United States, Bantam Books, ISBN 0-553-27137-7, 1983, PaperbackPaperbackPaperback, softback or softcover describe and refer to a book by the nature of its binding. The covers of such books are usually made of paper or paperboard, and are usually held together with glue rather than stitches or staples...
- 1984, United States, Bantam Books (reissue), ISBN 0-553-27632-8, July 1, 1984, PaperbackPaperbackPaperback, softback or softcover describe and refer to a book by the nature of its binding. The covers of such books are usually made of paper or paperboard, and are usually held together with glue rather than stitches or staples...
- 1988, United States, Time Warner Paperbacks, ISBN 0-7515-0503-X, January 1, 1988, PaperbackPaperbackPaperback, softback or softcover describe and refer to a book by the nature of its binding. The covers of such books are usually made of paper or paperboard, and are usually held together with glue rather than stitches or staples...
. - 2000, United States, James Cahill Publishing (Limited Trade Edition) ISBN 1-893205-27-4, December 2000, HardcoverHardcoverA hardcover, hardback or hardbound is a book bound with rigid protective covers...
.