Captain John Sharkey was one of the most feared pirates to operate in the Caribbean in the early 18th century. He’s easily recognized by his menacing pale blue eyes, “red-rimmed like those of a white bull-terrier”. He captained a pirate ship called the Happy Delivery. Unlike most sailors, Sharkey has extremely pale skin that even the equatorial sun won’t tint, and he’s almost always seen wearing a heavy long coat. He’s clean-shaven, has yellowed teeth, a thin nose and is going bald. He’s also fond of the exclamation “Sink me!”. Sharkey has the uncanny ability to provoke fear with his presence and is extremely sadistic, having no qualms about abusing and even executing his own men. His brutal behavior towards the crew ultimately resulted in mutiny at least twice (“The Governor of St. Kitt’s” and “The Blighting of Sharkey”). In one of these instances, Sharkey and his loyal second-in-command Ned Galloway were abandoned off the coast of the island of St. Kitt, where Sharkey was captured and sentenced to be hanged. He managed to escape prison and disguise himself as the St. Kitt’s governor (having secretly killed the real one). Under this disguise he was brought to England, where he and Galloway took hold of a fishing boat and escaped. He’s back on his old ship in his next appearance, suggesting another adventure in which he recovered the Happy Delivery and replaced his ex-crew with a new and more loyal one. Notes: It seems unlikely that all Captain Sharkey stories by Conan Doyle take place in the same continuity, as some of them tend to contradict each other. The most notable example would be how “The Voyage of Copley Banks” and “The Blighting of Sharkey,” each providing very different accounts of Sharkey’s death.
First Appearance Pearson’s Magazine (“The Governor of St. Kitt’s”, Vol. 3, January 1897)
First Publisher ○
Appearance List “The Governor of St. Kitt’s”, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1897), “The Two Barques”, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1897), “The Voyage of Copley Banks”, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1897), “The Blighting of Sharkey”, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1911)
Sample Read The Dealings of Captain Sharkey, and Other Tales of Pirates by Arthur Conan Doyle [PG]
Description Captain John Sharkey was one of the most feared pirates to operate in the Caribbean in the early 18th century. He’s easily recognized by his menacing pale blue eyes, “red-rimmed like those of a white bull-terrier”. He captained a pirate ship called the Happy Delivery. Unlike most sailors, Sharkey has extremely pale skin that even the equatorial sun won’t tint, and he’s almost always seen wearing a heavy long coat. He’s clean-shaven, has yellowed teeth, a thin nose and is going bald. He’s also fond of the exclamation “Sink me!”. Sharkey has the uncanny ability to provoke fear with his presence and is extremely sadistic, having no qualms about abusing and even executing his own men. His brutal behavior towards the crew ultimately resulted in mutiny at least twice (“The Governor of St. Kitt’s” and “The Blighting of Sharkey”). In one of these instances, Sharkey and his loyal second-in-command Ned Galloway were abandoned off the coast of the island of St. Kitt, where Sharkey was captured and sentenced to be hanged. He managed to escape prison and disguise himself as the St. Kitt’s governor (having secretly killed the real one). Under this disguise he was brought to England, where he and Galloway took hold of a fishing boat and escaped. He’s back on his old ship in his next appearance, suggesting another adventure in which he recovered the Happy Delivery and replaced his ex-crew with a new and more loyal one. Notes: It seems unlikely that all Captain Sharkey stories by Conan Doyle take place in the same continuity, as some of them tend to contradict each other. The most notable example would be how “The Voyage of Copley Banks” and “The Blighting of Sharkey,” each providing very different accounts of Sharkey’s death.
