# Captain Konga — Racundra’s First Cruise character guide

> Captain Konga in Racundra’s First Cruise by Arthur Ransome.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Konga

**First appearance:** 0005-the-crew

## Snapshot

A seal-shooting, net-mending Estonian skipper living alone on a stranded wreck, he measures time in languages and remembers a Hull woman as she was twenty-five years ago.

## Who they are

Captain Konga has spent two years aboard the grounded Toledo, salvaging what the Germans and local pirates left behind while fishing, shooting duck, and keeping his log each day in a different language. He is delighted to talk English and speaks of a pretty young woman near Hull with such certainty that time seems to have stood still for her alone. His boundless, present-tense enjoyment of life and his intimate knowledge of these waters make him both guide and foil to the narrator's own restlessness.

## Relationships

### [Commander Boyce](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/racundra_s_first_cruise_se/characters/commander_boyce)

_professional_

Captain Konga and Commander Boyce exchange brief formalities, likely regarding navigation or port regulations.

## In the story

### [Through the Moon Sound](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/racundra_s_first_cruise_se/chapters/through-the-moon-sound)

Mentioned as the friend who painted the Erik Stone red, with whom the narrator spent two nights on the wreck of the Toledo.

### [Baltic Port to Spithamn](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/racundra_s_first_cruise_se/chapters/baltic-port-to-spithamn)

Though not explicitly mentioned in this chapter, Konga is part of the crew and would have been involved in the sailing and anchoring operations.

### [Toledo of Leith](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/racundra_s_first_cruise_se/chapters/toledo-of-leith)

The captain of the wrecked Toledo, who has made it his home and lives a contented, self-sufficient life, engaging in fishing, netting, and hunting.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/racundra_s_first_cruise_se/characters/captain_konga
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/racundra_s_first_cruise_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/racundra_s_first_cruise_se/characters