Surprise

Surprise is a private man-of-war, owned by Stephen Maturin and then Jack Aubrey and captained by Tom Pullings and then Aubrey. She was French-built and has previously been known as L'Unité, Retaliation, and Retribution. Her figure-head is a gilded woman with an ample bosom and a look of surprise on her face. She displaces about six hundred tons, has a crew of about two hundred men, and carries a main armament of twelve-pounder long guns. Her crew is composed of unusually able seamen including Awkward Davies and numerous other named individuals.

HMS Nutmeg of Consolation

Nutmeg of Consolation is a Dutch-built ship taken into the service of the Royal Navy by Governor Raffles of Batavia. Formerly known as Gelijkheid, the twenty-gun vessel was condemned due to plague and sunk. After remaining submerged for several weeks the ship was raised, fumigated, and entirely refit. Raffles delivers the ship...