Linebeck

Linebeck is a greedy, treasure pursuing sailor and the captain of his self named ship, the S.S. Linebeck. He is one of the central NPCs in The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass and plays a huge role in Link's adventure, mainly by providing the services of his steamship.

Link first encountered Linebeck in the first dungeon room of Temple of the Ocean King, where the captain had gotten stuck in one of the temple's traps. Once "solving" a notibly simple puzzle, Link freed Linebeck who ran outside without any of the treasure he was seeking in the first place. Link and Ciela caught up with Linebeck and he agreed to help them find the Ghost Ship; although he made it very clear he was only in it for the great riches the haunted vessel was rumoured to hold.

From there on out he let Link use his ship and adventure across the ocean, in pursuit of the Ghost Ship and visiting islands that aided the hunt.

Jolene
When the player first gets to control the ship, it is reveiled that Linebeck is ever hunted by the She-Pirate, Jolene, who held some huge vendetta against him. When sailing, Jolene's ship icon would appear on the ocean map and the player would try to avoid confrontations with her, due to her ship possessing a torpedo launcher. Sometimes she would not destroy the S.S.Linebeck, but come aboard and try to face the captain one-on-one. The player would have Link fight her off in these instances. The storyline of the game eventually explains that Linebeck accidentally helped and became friends with Jolene some time ago, but decided to break things off and fled. With some of her possesions.

Whenever the ship docked at an island, Linebeck would make an excuse and remain with it, leaving Link and Ciela to adventure alone, though he would offer some advise on the island's puzzles or layout if the player spoke to him.

Once the Ghost Ship was actually found, and Link reunited with (a petrified) Tetra, Linebeck was ready to abandon their quest, outraged at the lack of treasure to be found. However, his loyalties returend when Oshus promised the captain one wish in return for his continued aid.

As the game continued, it became evident that Linebeck gradually saw Link (and to a lesser extent, Ciela) as friends. This lead to him showing uncharacteristic bravery by confronting Bellum when Link was unable to during the final boss fight. The battle then turned when Linebeck was used as a puppet by Bellum and Link had to once again fight to save his friends.

The S.S. Linebeck was destroyed while Link fought Bellum, but was reformed when Linebeck used Oshus' wish to bring it back, explaining that he had learnt that he didn't need treasure anymore, thanks to Link and Ciela.