bPeter Benchley's fascination with the sea and its magnificent inhabitants inspired such classic novels as iJawsi and iThe Deepi, making him the preeminent author of ocean adventure and suspense. iThei iGirl of the Sea of Cortezi was his most heartfelt, cherished story of the relationship between man and the sea, both those that live in it and those who love it. bbr b bbr On an island in the Gulf of California, an intrepid young woman named Paloma carries a special legacy from her father--a deep understanding of the sea and a sixth sense about the need to protect it. p Every day, Paloma paddles her tiny boat into the ocean and anchors over a seamount--a submerged volcanic peak sixty feet underwater that is clustered with spectacular sea animals and a wondrous web of marine life. p It is there that an astonishing event takes place, when on one of her dives Paloma is shadowed by a manta ray--an animal so large it blocks the sun. She develops an extraordinary relationship with this lumino