Pacific Ocean I: St. Mary’s Island

1) St. Mary’s Island
Off the Coast Chile, March 3-5, 1845

A) Land ho!
After rounding the Horn, Joab continues sailing up the coast of Chile. As the Fifties give way to the Forties, the weather becomes more temperate. Coats and winter gear are packed away, and experienced hands seem visibly more light-hearted. Even greenhorns are treated with more respect—after all, they’ve crossed the Line and rounded the Horn! Soon the Quiddity enters the Thirties. The thermometer stabilizes in the low-60s, and the seas become more agreeable. A week after rounding the Horn, the Quiddity arrives at Isla Santa Maria, more commonly known as St. Mary’s Island.

Rachel’s Pregnancy
By the time the Quiddity arrives at St. Mary’s, Rachel’s pregnancy is nearing the end of her second trimester. Only those failing an Intelligence roll misunderstand her “condition.”

B) Background: St. Mary’s Island
St. Mary’s Island is off the coast of Coronel, near the midpoint of Chile. Famous as a pirate haven, the island has been sacked and burned by Spanish authorities on more than one occasion. It’s also known for the severity of its earthquakes. For the last few decades, the island has become a hub for whalers, a way-station for Yankees who dare Cape Horn. Ships tend to congregate in the Bay of Arauco on the southern side, where they exchange mail and share news. A few ramshackle buildings have been constructed to service the whalers—a trading post, a cantina, and what passes for a brothel. All of these are staffed by the Valenzuelas, a shady Chilean family with countless tíos and primos.

C) Cantina
The only drinking establishment on the island, the unnamed cantina is operated by “Tío Máximo” Valenzuela, a hard-nosed grifter who charges outlandish prices for watered-down rum. Having been recently leveled by an earthquake, the cantina was rebuilt using wood purchased from passing vessels, and has the rickety appearance of a place expected to fall apart at any moment. A few canvas tents “out back” shelter Mapuche prostitutes with blank eyes and broken Spanish. But the most popular woman in the hovel is Tío Máximo’s niece, “Reme la Loca,” an eccentric barmaid who’s strictly off-limits to customers. (Reme’s character profile is located in the next encounter.)

D) Safe Haven
There are 1D3+1 whalers afloat in the Bay of Arauco, the majority of them from New Bedford. Gliding into the bay just before noon, the Quiddity drops anchor for the first time since Kingsport. Captain Joab gathers the men on deck and announces his plans.

Schedule: St. Mary’s Island, March 3-6
The Quiddity will spend three days at anchor. The first two days rotate between work and leisure. During daylight hours, every man is expected to participate in repairs: raising the t’gallant masts, mending sails, tarring ropes, holystoning the deck, polishing brass, repainting the trim, etc. Once the sun sets, the men are free to do as they please, as long as they remain fit for duty in the morning. The third day, however, is a full workday with no liberty—the Quiddity sails bright and early on March 6.

Repairs
There’s no need to roleplay daily repairs, but every player character may select two relevant skills to roll as part of their contribution—Art/Craft (Carpentry), Mechanical Repair, Operate Heavy Machinery, Seamanship, that sort of thing. This helps gauge their overall usefulness, and allows them possible “skill checkmarks” for the Character Development Phase that concludes the encounter.

Leisure
During the evening, the Quids may socialize with the crews of the other ships, which includes the homeward-bound Illsley whaler Hadrian Ballou. Letters home are passed to the Ballous; in turn, they’re anxious for news from the States. It’s too early to hear about the presidential election, but the results are the subject of heated discussion—“Young Hickory’ll stick a finger in the eye of the Brits, that’s for sure. Won’t see much whalin’ if there’s another war…” “Naw pardner, it’s the Mexicans we’ll fight. Kick the greasy bastards from Texas all the way to Califor-nye-aye!”

Copious amounts of rum are consumed, and tokens of friendships are drunkenly exchanged. It’s not impossible that a few women may be involved; but this only happens onshore or aboard other ships, as Joab refuses to allow “poxy bawds” onboard the Quiddity. As for Joab, he makes a round of social calls to the other captains, each homeward-bound ship receiving the same eager question: “Hast thou seen the White Whale? Hast thou encountered Mocha Dick?” In all cases the answer is negative.

E) The Arrival of the Manuxet
Sometime during the afternoon of March 4, an unexpected arrival drops anchor—the USS Manuxet, an 18-gun sloop-of-war. She appears in somewhat bad shape, her rigging sloppy and her sails bedraggled. While the presence of a warship is unusual, the Quids are more concerned about her crew of eighty souls—Navy sailors on liberty are intolerable, prone to putting on airs and acting rudely to whalers! Pig Bodine cuts right to the chase—“The island’s small enough without extra mouths an’ cocks to wet! We better vamoose to Tío Max before these fucking white-jackets have the run o’th’ place.”

Pig’s concerns prove unwarranted. The sloop’s captain is rowed ashore a few hours after his arrival, but the Manuxets keep to themselves and stick to their ship. While Joab entertains the idea of rowing over and asking after Mocha Dick, not even he’s arrogant enough to approach a man-of-war uninvited.

F) Character Development Phase
The “St. Mary’s gam” should be a time for relaxation and good cheer, with little to vex the crew. Player characters may take another Character Development Phase, as surely some experience was gained rounding the Horn, even if it’s just a bump in Seamanship. A kind Keeper may even restore a little bit of Sanity to her frazzled cast—but that depends on the situation, and how much Sanity has already been lost. (See “Managing the Campaign” for guidelines on Sanity.)

White Leviathan, Chapter 3—Pacific Ocean I
[Back to Chapter 3: Encounters | White Leviathan TOC | Forward to Encounter 2, The Strange Case of the Manuxet]

Author: A. Buell Ruch
Last Modified: 9 August 2022
Email: quail (at) shipwrecklibrary (dot) com
White Leviathan PDF: [TBD]