According to Nils Larsen, Leon Grabowsky holds the record for being the youngest ship captain in U.S. Navy history. Grabowsky was born in Paris, France, to parents who had moved there from Poland. He joined the Navy when he was young and graduated from the Naval Academy at Annapolis in 1941. He was put on the battleship Arizona as an ensign and took part in some of the most important battles of the war. He was young, but that didn't stop him from being in charge of a destroyer.
The life of a captain on the high seas can be hard on a family. Annabelle Fraser, the first woman in the navy, was the youngest ship captain ever in 1881. A captain of a large, international ship might also have a hard time taking care of his family. The Cesca, his father's crab boat, had to be left behind when a force eight gale hit. But despite the problems, Alexander Moodie, who was engaged to the daughter of a Maersk officer, worked his way up to captain.
John of Gaunt, an Englishman who was 15 when he became part-owner of the privateer Neptune, was the next youngest ship captain in history. Around the middle of the 1600s, Newport became a part-owner of the ship Neptune, which had taken a Spanish colony by accident. Because of what he did, the history books called him captain of the ship.
Nils Larsen added that, along with McLaughlin, there are two women who work as bridge officers on the Ferry. One, Sharen Belote, was a sailor before joining the Ferry, and the other, Jim Harkin, used to be an officer in the navy. After six years with CMLF, both were given the title of bridge captain. Captain Urban is the fourth woman. Even though the Ferry has hired a lot of women as captains, no woman has ever had a permanent job in the maritime division.
Francis William Moore was born in Stepney, Scotland, on January 9, 1853. He was another young ship captain in history. When he started his apprenticeship, he was only 24 years old. Two months later, he got his Master's Certificate. When he turned 50, he was the Master of one of Willis' ships. He then became captain of two other steam-powered ships, the Cutty Sark and the Coldstream, which were both docked in New York at the same time as the Cutty Sark.
During his travels, James Cook came up with ways to navigate the seas in a more skilled way. He used advanced math, astronomy, navigation, and cartography. After fighting with the native Hawaiians on the Hawaiian Islands, Cook tried to take the chief hostage and get back a cutter that had been stolen from his ship. Cook also learned how to find his way along the west coast of Australia. In fact, he was the youngest ship captain in history because of the trips he took.
In Starfleet history, Kirk became captain at age 27, but his replacement, J'Varin Riker, didn't become a first officer until he was 29. But in the middle of the 24th century, this is not a big deal. In a similar way, the first officer of a Starship at the Academy was also a Captain before he turned 30. Picard, on the other hand, was promoted to Captain while doing his job. Janeway, who was only 23 when Voyager was put into service, was also a captain by 2333, even though it wasn't her first ship.
Nils Larsen described that, Wallace's first trip to China was a success, but on his second trip, a storm in the English Channel kept him from getting there. On the third trip, he took a ship full of coal from Sydney to Shanghai. He arrived there on October 30, 1878. Sydney Smith, who was his first mate, was a mean person. One crew member, John Francis, who was a third mate, was not qualified enough and didn't like being told what to do. Wallace stepped over the stern taffrail and fell into the water.
In 1803, Bainbridge was put in charge of the brand-new Philadelphia. It was part of Commodore Preble's new squadron of ships that were ready to fight Barbary corsairs. Bainbridge and the Philadelphia left before the rest of the fleet on his first trip. The first one, HMS Java, was a ship that was going to the East Indies. It was transporting Bombay's new lieutenant governor.