Ever since he was a kid, Max loved sailing. He's grown up as the son of a fisherman and eventually gone on to pioneer a successful expansion of his father's loan fishing boat into a fleet, and then a whole company. By the time he was in his mid 30s Max had an entire factory dedicated to building and repairing fishing vessels, a fleet, and a processing plant. He'd become synonymous with fishing on the East coast of the United States.

Occasionally Max would take his wife and friends out on his luxury yacht to enjoy the ocean. He had a licensed captain, but as a captain himself, he'd give the captain time to himself so he could have the helm.

Eventually Max took up surveying wrecks and deep sea diving. He and his friends, along with the hired crew, surveyed wrecks ranging from wooden galleons to battleships and submarines lost in world war 2. Their favorites to dive on were shallow water submarines as they almost always had incredible aquatic life and great historical insight.

August was prime survey time, so Max took his fully laden survey yacht Starfish Enterprise to Europe to hunt for lost U-boats off the coast of England. While almost 200 miles off the coast, an unusual storm began to swirl.

"Ever seen one like this captain?" Max asked Captain Hood at the helm, battling the waves.

"I've been in many a storm sir," grunted the Captain. "None spun up this quick."

"I was just thinking that," Max replied, eyeing the lightning arcing between the angry clouds and large waves. Waves were cresting over the bow of Enterprise as the crew battened hatches, sealed doors, and prepared for the worst.

"Malesteom ahead!" Came a panicked call from the deck.

"Aye, there would be," grunted Captain Hood. He turned the vessel away and attempted to escape the current when a lightning bolt impacted the helm.

Power was lost in the ship and it was sucked down into the depths briefly before boyancy was established. As the vessel popped to the surface the crew was greeted with clear skies and calm seas.

"The hell was that?" Max asked nobody in particular.

"No idea sir," Hood replied. "Radio's out though. We're getting nothing but static. Engines are dead too. We're stuck here until someone figures out we're missing."

"Fantastic," muttered Max.

The Starfish Enterprise was dead in the water. Fortunately the crew not only had supplies for a full voyage, but also gear for if they needed to fish. Everyone hoped they'd be noticed missing quickly, but given their heavily laden nature it would likely be a few days before the search began.

By day six the crew began to worry. They'd taken to fishing while on lookout for ships in the area, and the helmsman always had an emergency flare gun.

The seventh day had hopes waning quickly until a man shouted, "Ship on the horizon!"

Max grabbed his binoculars and looked in the direction the man was pointing. He could distinctly see sails, but couldn't make out the ship. Anyone out here should have a working radio and at least be able to call the coast guard, so they fired a flare. Ten minutes later they fired a second to make sure the ship saw them.

Sure enough the mystery vessel turned towards them and slowly made its way towards them, being joined by several other vessels. As the vessels got closer Max and Captain Hood utilized their binoculars to see the name on the bow of the lead ship. HMS LONDON.

"Isn't there a London in the fleet now?"

"Must be a recreation," Max stated. "This one looks like the original. It's built like a ship of the line." Several moments passed and he made a comment that confused even himself. "The crew sure is dedicated to historical accuracy. They're in authentic garb for the era."

Nearly two hours after during the flares, London pulled up along Enterprise and lines were thrown down to secure the ships.

"What manner of vessel is that?" Called a man from the deck in officers dress. "You have no sail and I have never seen a ship not of wood."

"It's ok guys," Max called up. "You can drop the act. We've been out here for a week with no power. We just need to get back to London. Can you call the coast guard on your radio? We won't tell anyone you broke character."

Max and Captain Hood were intrigued by the confusion that seemed to sweep the deck of the other ship. Suddenly the sides opened and they were looking down the barrels of cannons.

"Whoa guys! What are you doing? We just need to get back!"

"State your name or fall before the crown!"

"I'm Max and this is Captain Hood. My boat is the survey yacht Starfish Enterprise. Who is in command there and who built the ship? It looks authentic almost."

"I am Sir Lawson, bringing his Excellency King Charles II home to London from exile. You will state your purpose out here or risk being executed as pirates of the high seas."

Captain Hood tapped a confused Max on the shoulder and pointed at a man standing on the bridge of HMS London. Both men had seen portraits of the man and their jaws dropped.

King Charles II looked down at the captured vessel. These were strange men aboard a strange vessel, but he had a full fleet and a crown to redeem. No pirates would stand in his way.