Captain Barnacle

Who is Captain Barnacle?

Captain Barnacle is the captain of the Little Argo, a small, creaking pirate ship with sails in rags. She is the smallest of all the paper pirates. Her hat is so much too big that it rests on her ears.

She wears a patch over one eye, and she carries a little brass telescope. Inside her enormous hat, she keeps a brass compass.

What does Captain Barnacle do?

The Night Pirates sail the Night Sea, the sea that only exists in the dark. They are not thieves. “We FIND treasure,” says the Captain. They find lost ships and lost sailors, and they bring them home.

Night Pirates steer by the Steering Star, the one star that never wanders. But one night there were two stars in the sky. The Captain trusted the brighter one, and it was a trap. Vela showed her that the true star was the small one, low over the waves.

When Vela’s star fell into the sea, Captain Barnacle tore off her hat, held her nose and dived in after it.

What is Captain Barnacle like?

Captain Barnacle is loud, bold, and very sure of herself. “Ahoy!” she shouts. “Full sail ahead!”

But when she gets something wrong, she says so. After the night of the two stars, she told Vela, “The brightest star is NOT always the right one.” Then she gave Vela her brass compass and made her one of the Night Pirates.

Try this tonight

Look out of your window. Can you find the smallest star, or the smallest light? The Captain learned that small and steady can be better than big and bright.

Mysteries

Some things about Captain Barnacle are still a mystery, even to us:

• How did such a small pirate become the captain?
• Where did she find her too-big hat?
• What other lost things has the Little Argo brought home?

Maybe the stories will tell us one day.