The Stern Chase is the Longest Chase

Desolation Island, Patrick O'Brian (fifth volume in the Aubrey-Maturin series, W.W. Norton, ISBN 0-393-30812-X).

Probably the best installment yet, for me. A long, complicated plot involving storms at sea, venereal disease, a plague on ship, chase and counter-chase, spies and counter-spies, a shipwreck and stranding and more.

Captain Aubrey is on land again, and it is on land that he gets into trouble. His wife, Sophie, persuades Dr. Stephen Maturin to get Jack to accept command of the aged but refitted Leopard for an extended voyage. Stephen is not going at first, but when the ship is to transport prisoners to Botany Bay (and to check out the reports regarding "Breadfruit" Bligh) he joins. One of the prisoners is an American spy and may have involved his love, Diana Villiers, in a espionage plot.

The Leopard makes its way to to the southern seas but soon falls under a cloud of bad luck. First a disease, starting with the prisoners, strikes the crew and the ship is further crippled by an extended stay in The Doldrums. When the crew recovers from the first disease, venereal disease spreads through the crew, courtesy of one of the prisoners. A long, dramatic chase involving a Dutch ship, storm upon storm, an encounter with an iceberg, a stowaway, espionage and subterfuge and the ultimate landing at Desolation Island where repairs are undertaken and the crew encounters an American whaling ship when relations with the United States have brought the United Kingdom to the brink of war with that country.

This volume, so far, shows Stephen's love of nature, his battle with his darker side, and his work in espionage to the best. As usual, a very satisfying read. On to the next volume!