Plover

The Plover is Declan O Donnell's ship. It is described as having a green hull with red sails, and is pictured on the cover of the book. Declan converted the fishing boat to accomdateee sails so he wouldn't have to use as much fuel.

The Plover got its name from the Pacific Golden Plover, an underestimated and often overlooked bird that is actually quite an amazing traveler. The boat was last registered in Depoe Bay, Oregon.

It wrecked once near Neawanaka, and was repaired by Declan.

For years it was a fishing boat, with permits for charter fishing, whale watching cruises, "for flossing the teeth of unsuspecting whales", "in search of Robert Dean Frisbie", "in pursuit of the magnetic West Pole", etc.

At the time of departure, the Plover carried 200 gallons of fuel, 100 lbs. of rice, a large amount of onions, 50 boxes of cookies, 50 lemons, 50 limes, a tin of marmalade, 50 oranges, a tin of olive oil, 50 bags of almonds, a life raft, a life jacket, foul-weather gear, a medical kit, a set of spare parts for the engine, tools, 7 fishing rods, a radio, charts, graphs, a sextant, a compass, flashlights, soap, a Dick Groat baseball bat, a set of Edmund Burke's speeches, sails, riggins, backup sails, backup rigging, a trumpet, knives, bows and arrows, binoculars, mirrors, sounding lead and string, flares, pencils, batteries, an almanac, and a six-volume set of sight reduction tables.

The boat's dimensions are 20' long x 8' wide x 7' deep.