Captain Ahab Captain Ahab Captain Ahab is a fictional character and the main protagonist in Herman Melville's "Moby-Dick" (1851). He is the monomaniacal captain of the whaling ship "Pequod". On a previous voyage, the white whale Moby Dick bit off Ahab's leg, and he now wears a prosthetic leg made out of whalebone. The whaling voyage of the "Pequod" ends up as a hunt for revenge on the whale, as Ahab forces the crew members to support his fanatical mission. When Moby Dick is finally sighted, Ahab's hatred robs him of all caution, and the whale drags Ahab to the bottom of
Gardner (whaling family) wood, having a very green and rural appearance" and was probably, Reynolds concludes, Wake Island, placed on charts of the time by John Arrowsmith. Born in 1778, George was given command of the whaleship "Sukey" in 1809. In 1811, he captained the "William Penn", but the ship was captured in 1813. Later, George made three whaling voyages on the "Globe" (1815–18; 1818–21; 1821–22), and two on the "Maria" (1822–25; 1825–28). In 1818 George discovered the "Offshore Ground" (5° to 10°S and 105° to 125°W). Within two years more than fifty whaleships were cruising for sperm whales on this ground. During