HMS Dauntless

"It's a fine goal to be sure, but it seems to me that a, a ship like that makes this one here a bit superfluous, really." "Oh, the Dauntless is the power in these waters, true enough, but there's no ship as can match the Interceptor for speed."

- Murtogg to Captain Jack Sparrow

The HMS Dauntless was the flagship of Commodore James Norrington's Royal Navy forces stationed at Port Royal in the Caribbean.

The Dauntless remained anchored at the Port Royal harbor when not in use, and it was from here that Captain Jack Sparrow and his accomplice, Will Turner, attempted to commandeer it following the raid on Port Royal by the Black Pearl. The pirates boarded and took control of the vessel, forcing Lieutenant Gillette and his men into the longboats, but the two were unable to steer the ship into open water by themselves. The Commodore's men caught up in the HMS Interceptor and boarded the Dauntless, only to find the ship deserted. Stealing the Dauntless had not been Sparrow's intention at all&mdash;as he proved by brazenly commandeering the Interceptor after disabling the flagship's rudder chain to ensure they were not followed.

The rudder chain was ultimately repaired, in time for Norrington to launch a search for Elizabeth Swann, who had been captured during the earlier raid. Her smoke signal was spotted by the Dauntless on a desert island, and both Swann and Sparrow&mdash;marooned along with the girl by Hector Barbossa&mdash;were brought aboard. Sparrow convinced Norrington to pursue and ambush the Black Pearl at Isla de Muerta, but the ambush soon turned against the Navy marines when Barbossa's cursed pirates infiltrated the Dauntless and engaged its crew in combat. Norrington soon joined the fight, and once Will Turner lifted the pirates' curse, the marines recaptured their vessel and placed the surviving pirates under arrest.

The Dauntless returned to Port Royal to imprison the pirates and convey Jack Sparrow to his execution in Fort Charles, though the pirate again escaped Norrington's clutches. The Commodore, overwhelmed by recent events, forestalled pursuit for a day, but soon continued his chase of the Black Pearl. Such was his fevor, Norrington even steered the Dauntless into a hurricane, which the Pearl escaped, though it was possible that the flagship was destroyed. In any case, Norrington was disgraced for his failure to capture Jack Sparrow, and left the Royal Navy.

Appearances

 * Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl