Allison then meets a fisherman named Capital Sam. (Make sure you read that right, the first few times I was reading that as CAPTAIN Sam.) The rest of the fisherpeople are scared of Allison at this point, but I think he sees her as a kind of project or challenge. He offers his assistance in helping her locate The Black Bee. He says they should try to steal and commandeer a boat called The Spire of Ice, and then they can use that to go find the Black Bee.
Captain Sam is not exactly what you'd call With The Times, he refers to people as darky or pansies. Not cool, IMHO.