![]() The dead heat is starting to affect the crew to the point where they believe there is a bad omen on board. Some days into their voyage from the Galapagos, Surprise is becalmed. This annoys the Doctor, who protests that Aubrey is breaking his word to let him explore, at which point the Captain replies that "we do not have time for your damned hobbies sir!" ![]() Jack orders all hands to make sail to pursue the Acheron. When the Surprise reaches the islands, they find and recover the surviving crew of the Albatross, a whaling ship, burned by a “big, black, three-master”. Aubrey promises the doctor that he will be granted several days of exploring on the islands. Maturin later tells Aubrey that the Galapagos are legendary to Naturalists such as himself. The crew shout to him to swim to the mast to avoid drowning, but when they realise that the drag of the mast in the water is leaning the ship, Aubrey makes the painful decision to cut the mast loose, thus abandoning the man to his fate.Īubrey tells his officers that he is heading for the Galapagos Islands, where he is certain the Acheron will be as that it is where Britain’s whaling fleet may be found. When the mizzen top mast breaks and falls into the sea, a sailor named Will Warley falls in with it. By placing lights on a decoy raft, resembling the lights of the Surprise, they again evade the Acheron.Īs they approach Cape Horn, the Surprise is closely following the Acheron, but they lose sight of the Acheron as both ships bring in sail in rising winds. As night falls, the faster Acheron begins firing. They resume the pursuit after stopping at a Brazilian port, but the Acheron again surprises them and they begin a day long pursuit. ![]() Aubrey notes that such a ship could tip the balance of power in Napoleon's favour if allowed to plunder the British whaling fleet at will. Meanwhile, Aubrey learns from a crewman who saw Acheron being built that it is bigger, heavier and faster than Surprise, and the senior officers consider the ship out of their class. Maturin works hard to save the lives of the casualties including a young midshipman, whose arm he has to amputate, and an able seamen whom he gives surgery near his brains. The crew works to repair the ship while Dr. In the calm, Aubrey orders the Surprise to be towed into the fog bank, where she evades the Acheron.Īfter inspecting the damage, Aubrey decides to refit the ship as best they can at sea, and pursue the Acheron. The Acheron appears and the Surprise is hit repeatedly, causing severe damage and many casualties.The two frigates fight, but the Acheron's hull is too strong for the Surprise's shots to do much damage. ![]() But as Aubrey scans the fog bank with his spyglass, the Surprise is suddenly peppered with cannon fire. Aubrey tells the midshipman that he still did 'the right thing'. When nothing happens, the threat is dismissed. ![]() In the opening scene, midshipman Hollom briefly sees a dark shape in a fog bank and, after a moment's hesitation, raises the alarm and the captain is called. In 1805, in the midst of the Napoleonic Wars, Captain John "Lucky Jack" Aubrey of the Royal Navy frigate HMS Surprise is ordered to pursue and destroy the French privateer Acheron, bound for the Pacific. ![]()
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