Which ship has lost its captain's arm to Moby Dick before meeting the Pequod?

The story behind the answer

The ship whose captain has lost an arm to Moby Dick is the Samuel Enderby. The Pequod meets this London whaler at sea, where Captain Boomer tells Ahab about his encounter with the White Whale.

Boomer’s injury is a grim parallel to Ahab’s own missing limb. Unlike Ahab, however, Boomer does not devote himself to revenge. He treats Moby Dick as a dangerous animal and speaks about the whale with a mixture of fear, irritation, and reluctant respect. His account gives Ahab fresh confirmation that the White Whale is real and has attacked other sailors.

The meeting occurs in Chapter 100, “Leg and Arm,” a title that deliberately links the two captains. The Samuel Enderby is named for Samuel Enderby, the founder of a prominent London whaling family and company. The encounter also contrasts Ahab’s obsessive mission with a more ordinary whaling outlook: Boomer has survived his injury and can still regard the voyage as part of the hazards of the trade. The other listed ships belong to separate episodes in the novel.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Sept. 2026

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