Sources
The appearance, sailing background and many of the characteristics of Peter Duck are based on Captain Sehmel, a Latvian sailor who accompanied Ransome on a cruise aboard his yacht Racundra in the Baltic Sea, as documented in Ransome's sailing book, Racundra's First Cruise.
Ransome used as a major resource for Peter Duck a book by one of his favourite sailing authors, E. F. Knight, The cruise of the "Alerte". This describes a treasure seeking expedition on the volcanic island of Trindade, off Brazil (sometimes known as "Trinidad" but not to be confused with the larger Caribbean island of that name). Trindade has many features in common with Peter Duck's Crab Island, including mountains, landslides, jungles and loathsome land crabs.
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