Galápagos Islands: Hood Island

1) Hood Island
Galápagos Islands, June 15-16, 1845

A) Land ho!
Hood Island is sighted the morning of June 15. A small island at the southeast end of the chain, Hood Island is one of the oldest islands in the archipelago, a low, flat, extinct volcano with little fresh water and a painfully arid climate. It’s most notable feature is the “Blowhole,” a rocky spout off the northeast coast. Here the pounding surf is channeled through the rock to create a spouting geyser some sixty feet in height—not unlike the Churn near Kingsport’s North Point Lighthouse.

Hood Island Blowhole (Shutterstock)

Hood Island boasts a sizable population of sea lions, red marine iguanas, blue-footed boobies, waved albatrosses, and several species of Galápagos tortoise. It’s the latter that brings the Quiddity to anchor in Gardner Bay, a white-sand beach on the northeast end of the volcano. His mood uncharacteristically merry, Joab cries out, “Bring me some terrapins, men! Big shaggy brutes ready to crawl into my tureen! Fresh meat for all tonight!”

B) Turpining: Hood Island Edition (June 15-16)
Coffin and Whipple organize a pair of expeditions, and the men set out a-turpining. The Keeper should describe the first “hunt” in great detail: finding furrows scratched into the vitreous rocks, tracking the reptiles to their lairs, flipping them upside-down, placing rocks on their calipees to keep their limbs extended, and finally lashing them up and carrying them back to the ship. A few Strength rolls separate the men from the boys, as “terrapins” can weigh between 100 and 500 pounds! The work is cruel, but after butchering seals, whales, and goney birds, capturing turtles is more likely to trigger laughter than a Sanity check.

The men spend two days on Hood Island, sweating in the sun and stomping the life from countless spiders and centipedes. Despite their best efforts, only 1D6+8 tortoises are captured and stored in the hold. Owen Love mutters, “Ain’t as many saddlebacks as there used to be,” which prompts a sarcastic rejoinder from Quentin Shaw, “And there’s a baker’s dozen less of ‘em now, ain’t there? Soon they’ll be like them dodo birds the Dutch mopped up.” On the positive side, Natty Weeks serves fresh turtle soup, a delicious treat that cheers the forecastle and restores 1 point of Sanity to any player character who partakes.

C) Hood Island and Professor Lowell
As soon as Hood Island is sighted, the Keeper should begin intensifying Lowell’s flashbacks, dreams, and reveries, drawing him inexorably towards his destiny on Albemarle Island. Meanwhile, the Good Doctor should have plenty of opportunities to engage his scientific interest, as Hood Island is brimming with biological marvels and geological curiosities. A generous Keeper may allow him a few skill rolls in Natural World, Science (Biology), and Science (Geology).

D) Hood Island and Rachel Ward
Rachel’s first labor pains occur shortly after arriving at Gardner Bay. Despite her obviously “gravid” condition, she has the uncanny awareness that her child won’t be born until the Summer Solstice on June 21. The Keeper may allow her a Power roll to confirm this intuition. If she’s established positive relationships with any of the sailors, they compete to bring her “treasures from the shore,” including wildflowers, seashells, and fresh eggs.

E) Sailing to Charles Island (June 17-18)
The next stop on the Quiddity’s itinerary is Charles Island, located some 40 miles to the west-northwest of Hood Island. Charles Island is the location of the famous “whaler’s post office,” a makeshift barrel sailors use to transfer mail from ship to ship. It’s also the home of the Galápagos’ most tasty tortoises. Soon after weighing anchor the morning of June 17, it becomes evident the “enchanted” currents of the archipelago plan to beguile the Quiddity after all. Progress is slow, the contradictory currents fighting the helm and the winds shifting unpredictably. Mr. Coffin should make a Navigation roll to gauge his talents, while any player character manning the helm is tasked with a Pilot (Boat) roll. Failures produce mistakes evident to all, and perhaps a tongue-lashing from the officer on deck; or in the case of Mr. Coffin, from the captain himself!

White Leviathan, Chapter 4—Galápagos Islands
[Back to Encounter 1, Approaching the Galápagos | White Leviathan TOC | Forward to Encounter 3, Charles Island]

Author: A. Buell Ruch
Last Modified: 14 August 2023
Email: quail (at) shipwrecklibrary (dot) com
White Leviathan PDF: [TBD]