He ordered all her sails unfurled to the wind.
He lifted his head into the Arctic wind and breathed deeply. Tom had attended public school in New Bedford‚ Massachusetts‚ and at twenty-two married lovely Anne Dana. That year he signed on to a fishing vessel and worked his way up the ranks as he learned to sail in storm and calm—preparation for a trip to the Arctic.
Now at last his dream was fulfilled. He was a captain and in the Arctic.
By his side was the boy Tom II‚ his son‚ as wide-eyed and excited as the captain had once been.
With the winds behind her‚ the ship sped north through the Bering Strait on to the Arctic Ocean. White ice floes freckled the dark blue water. Gulls flew in arcs and seals slept on the land-fast ice that was frozen to the bottom near the shores.
Days later‚ they came upon a small group of bowhead whales in the open ocean. A crew went in pursuit‚ and harpooned and killed one.
