Dick Sand, Captain at 15 (1878)
By Jules Verne (1828 – 1905)
Jules Verne’s novel is about the
passengers and crew
of the schooner Pilgrim and their various adventures at sea and on land. Dick Sand is a 15 year old inexperienced crew member of the 400 ton whaler which belonged to a wealthy owner, James Weldon. The ship was not the largest in the Weldon fleet, but was most likely the best. The Pilgrim was led by the experienced Captain Hull and was on a whaling mission. In addition to the officers and crew, on board is the wife of the owner, Mrs. Weldon and their son, Jack. Also, Mrs. Weldon’s cousin, Benedict joined the voyage as well.
Early in the expedition, the ship runs across a wreck of the slave trading ship “Waldeck” and the crew took aboard the only five remaining
survivors. These survivors became
passengers of the Pilgrim. To date, the whaling expedition has not been successful, so when the crew noticed a large whale in the ocean, captain Hull immediately ordered the crew to hunt it. The entire ship’s complement of crew and officers boarded 3 small whaling boats and proceeded to approach the whale. The captain left 15 year old novice, Dick Sand in command while the entire crew left for the hunt.
Then, the unthinkable happened. The entire crew was lost when the hunted became the hunter. All the boats capsized when the whale attacked. The entire crew was lost, there were no survivors. Dick Sand was now captain of the stricken vessel, with no experienced seamen to assist. The only remaining alive were the Weldons, the 5 survivors of the shipwreck and the ship’s cook, Negoro.
The ship’s cook, taking advantage of the disaster, betrays the young captain and destroys the compass. The ship not only has no experienced crew, but now is also blind and difficult to navigate as well. Dick Sand struggles to bring the ship to safety and manages to land in Africa. Unfortunately, the adventures only continue as Negoro has more surprises planned. Sand manages to outsmart Negoro, bring the remaining complement to safety and home.
This work is not one of Verne’s best known novels. However, it is a quick read and fans of Jules Verne would certainly find it entertaining. This book was written during the decline of slavery in the west (shortly after the American Civil War). Verne was known to be anti slavery and this work contains elements of that message.