Category: The Crew

The 36-year-old John Brownrigg is an experienced seaman from Newcastle. Although he officially holds the position of coxswain on Dream Chaser, he is one of the most indispensable crewmembers in the day-to-day running of the vessel, as well as maintaining the sails and rigging. Generally good-natured, he is known to be hot-tempered at times, especially with regards to the love-hate relationship that has developed between him and William Benton. A committed Jacobite, he was a sailor on a privateer vessel which took the Old Pretender, James Stuart, from France to Peterhead in Scotland, although they arrived too late for the battle.

Although not strictly speaking a pirate, Cassandra is an important character in the books. A passenger on Dream Chaser, the twenty-eight year old woman from St. Georges Town in Bermuda met Captain Björn Gunnarsson, while she was living and working as a seamstress in Nassau. They took to each other instantly and were soon married. At the beginning of the first book she is hoping to be transported back to her home in Bermuda after the news had arrived that Woodes Rogers was on his way there to reclaim it on behalf of the Crown. Before the vessel could take her to her destination it encountered a lone Spanish treasure galleon and was enveloped by the mysterious fog during the chase. Cassandra detests the pirate way of life, only tolerating it for the sake of her husband, but she has done her best to integrate herself into the crew since the ship strayed from its path.…

Now a condemned pirate in Newgate prison in London awaiting his appointment with gallows, William Benton was once the boatswain on the pirate vessel Dream Chaser. Originally from Plymouth in Devon, the 35-year-old loquacious seaman and anti-hero is renowned for his biting wit and sarcastic humour, which on times made him extremely unpopular with the crew. At times self-serving and self-important, it is not unknown for him to surprise his shipmates with unexpected acts of fairness and compassion. He also possesses a strong sense of justice and refuses to submit himself to any master, making him a suitable candidate for a pirate crew.

Captain Björn Gunnarsson, more commonly known to his crew as Captain Ironside, is the captain of the pirate ship Dream Chaser. The thirty-eight year old seaman was born in the port city of Norrköping in Sweden. He is 6’2” tall with penetrating blue eyes, light brown hair, and a short beard. A veteran of the Great Northern War, he started his career in the Swedish Navy at a young age, but his career was cut short by a disaster on board the brig he was commanding, which exploded in 1713 off the coast of Porvoo in Finland through no fault of his own. A cursed crewmember was blamed for the tragedy. Nevertheless, Gunnarsson was discharged by Admiral Erik Johan, his aversion to authority probably not helping his case.

Real name Peter Thurlow, the 35-year-old seaman is the trusted quartermaster of Dream Chaser. The man from Spanish Town in Jamaica is known for his love of rum and beer. He is a personal friend of Blackbeard, whom he idolizes, even going as far as to imitate his appearance by growing a long black beard, which was unusual for the time period.

He is a close friend to Captain Ironside, to whom he is extremely loyal, and although taciturn in nature, he isn’t afraid to speak up when he feels a wrong decision has been made. The youngest son of a Jamaican plantation owner, he joined Dream Chaser looking for adventure after meeting Blackbeard in a tavern in Nassau.