A Young Person's Field Guide to Finding Lost Shipwrecks is an autobiographical account of a nautical archeological expedition. Written by the marine geologist in charge of the survey, it discusses and explains the science behind a multibeam sonar and other technology used for the expedition, as well as describing the day-to-day operations aboard a 37-meter research vessel.
The story begins alongside a dock in Cadiz, Spain, where three archeologists, two college students on a summer internship, three captains, one cook, one engineer, two scuba divers, one able-bodied seaman and the author are aboard the Hercules getting ready to set sail in search of the Santísima.
Readers learn a lot more than science in this true-life account of a scientific expedition. They learn history, eat tapas, and even dance the flamenco, all while in search of a 200-year-old shipwreck.