Jules Verne's novel Dick Sand, Captain at 15 was published in 1878. It depicts a story 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 whaling vessel which belonged to a wealthy owner, James Weldon. Weldon owns a fleet of vessels and the Pilgrim was not the largest in the Weldon fleet. It was, however the best. The Pilgrim was led by the experienced Captain Hull and was manned by a fine crew. It was on a whaling mission. In addition to the officers and crew, on board were the wife of the owner, Mrs. Weldon and their son, Jack. Also accompanying them was Mrs. Weldon's cousin, Benedict.
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. Up to that point, the crew had little to show for the voyage and whaling expedition (with the exception of the rescue) was being considered a failure. So when a large whale was observed off the bow, 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. Reluctantly, the captain left 15 year old novice, Dick Sand in command while the entire crew left for the hunt. No experienced sailors were left on board.
Then, the unthinkable happened. The hunters became the hunted. All three whaling boats capsized when the whale attacked. The entire crew was lost, there were no survivors. Dick Sand was now captain of the stricken vessel and he had no experienced seamen to assist. The only people remaining alive were the Weldons, the 5 survivors of the shipwreck and the ship's cook, Negoro. The survivors of the Waldeck shipwreck were not seamen, but they were strong and able bodied.
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. Dick Sand manages to outsmart Negoro at every turn and 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.