Ghost Waves by W. Everett Prusso
In the winter of 1846, 238 pioneers leave New York City for a voyage that would take them twenty-six thousand miles around South America to Honolulu, and to their final destination, San Francisco. On a warm, sultry, moonless night, off the coast of Brazil, four teenage passengers inadvertently fall overboard. Thomas, Elizabeth, Nicole and their Australian sailor friend, Matthew, find themselves stranded in dangerous waters. The Caribbean Sea and South Pacific are the backdrops for this adventure that pits the foursome in desperate contests with pirates, profiteers, and scoundrels as they swash-buckle their way to California.