The Admirals Daughter by Julian Stockwin

In 1803, Commander Kydd has sailed with the Royal Navy in the dangerous South Seas, against Napoleon's fleet in the Mediterranean and to the edge of the known world in a convict ship to Australia, but he is about to discover that the most dangerous waters can be the closest to home. Tensions are escalating again between England and France. While the Royal Navy launches reconnaissance, rescue missions and spies on the continent, French privateer ships are lurking in English waters poised to strike at British trade. Smugglers, perilous storms and a treacherous coastline all threaten to overcome HMS Teazer as her men fight to gain control of the seas around Cornwall and Devon. Meanwhile an unlikely rival is seeking her captain's heart. The beautiful and determined admiral's daughter could be the key to realising all Kydd's career ambitions and dreams of love. But high society, he finds, can be as treacherous as his first mistress - the sea.