#Sloop rig

[thesteveyates]

End of week, end of month, end of term.

End of week, end of month, end of term.

Pathfinder progress report, end of week/month and practically the end of year 2. Good morning everyone, I hope you are all well. It’s the end of a working week once again but it’s also the end of the month and I think honestly it’s probably the end of the project this year aside from some small workshop based jobs during the autumn. I noticed this week that it’s a lot cooler and wetter now –…

[redwoodrroad]

top BOATS

ABSOLUTELY BOATS

1. CATAMARAN (DUH)

2. KETCH (TWO MAIN SAILS!!!! AND TWO HEADSAILS!!!!!!)

3. SCHOONER (TWO!!!! MASTS!!!!!!! AND TWO!!! HEADSAILS!!!!)

(THIS ONE HAS THREE HEADSAILS!!!!!!!)

4. CUTTER (TWO HEADSAILS [STILL FUN])

5. SLOOP (ONLY ONE HEADSAIL [JIB OR A GENOA, MAYBE EVEN SPINNAKER] BUT STILL SICK)

[springcatalyst]

I was just going to write something silly and little and now I have 10 tabs open about ships and navigation. I've written 2 sentences

[rust-in-polar1s]

15 pages on random sailboat / ship information for anyone whos willing to read it :3

i got bored and ive been wanting to learn more abt ships for a while so boom- heres the first 15 pages, i will definitely do more

if any of it is incorrect please lmk and i will try to correct it!!

[ltwilliammowett]

In today's 9th door I have not only one enchanting beauty for you, there are two of them, in a friendly battle - The Lady Washington and the Hawaiian Chieftain

Lady Washington, left, and Hawaiian Chieftain in a battle

More about them here:

The Brig Lady Washington ( the original ship) was built around 1780 in Massachusetts as a merchant ship. The sloop was named after Martha Washington, but often appears in contemporary documents simply as Washington. In 1787, the ship was acquired by the investor group Bullfinch, Barrell & Company and, under Captain Robert Gray, accompanied the Columbia under Captain John Kendrick on its voyage around the world from Boston to the North American west coast from September 1787. The two ships were lost in a storm and the Lady Washington reached Oregon a week before the Columbia. She was thus the first US ship to reach the west coast. The ships were involved in the fur trade with the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest coast and then sailed on to Guangzhou in China. There, the commanders swapped vessels and the Lady Washington remained in the Pacific. Together with the Grace, she reached the island of Kii-Ōshima in 1791, where she established the first contact between the United States and Japan, while the Columbia returned to Boston on a westerly course in August 1790.

Hawaiian Chieftain is the name of a Square Topsail Ketch briefly known as the Spirit of Larinda. Built in 1988 in Lahaina on the island of Maui, the Hawaiian Chieftain is a contemporary interpretation of a traditional design. She is unique with the rig of a 19th-century trading vessel and a modern triple keel, shallow draft hull. Drawing only 5.5 feet (1.7 m), she is highly maneuverable in shallow waters.

[acheronist]

woah it seems like i missed the first eleven words of your post but in spite of that would it be okay if i asked about what you think thomas armitage and henry peglar spent four years doing while they were sailing around the equator on the gannet together

LET THE RECORD SHOW THAT IT IS THE YEAR IS 1834. it's also early april. cool and crisp but sunny one could assume. we are boarding the hms gannet (an 18 gun brig-sloop), and we are signed on for four years, sailing across the atlantic and then working in service of the british navy in north america + the west indies. henry peter peglar was born in 1812 and is at this point twenty two years of age. thomas middlename armitage is born in 1805 . much less information about thomas is readily available to me so we're really entering crazygirl speculation, but we know he's at least 28 but probably closer to 29. i love it when the least problematic thing about a couple is their age difference.

i don't know what thomas was up to, besides allegedly being married for eight years and having some kids and then fucking off to the navy instead of being a father (closeted deadbeat dad backstory? married young just to appease family backstory? lavender marriage backstory?) but in the last few year before this henry had: worked under a captain who was notorious for lashing his men, said Yikes this guy sucks i don't want to be lashed, wrote for a discharge, got on a new boat. new boat was captained by the same crazed captain as before, so he bailed again, and ended up on a ship he'd previously been on before, and then got lashed for being drunk and mutinous under the old-new captain anyways. my poor boy. the takeaway from this is when he's getting onto the gannet as captain of the foretop, his shoulders are covered in barely healed over scars.

good news is tho he got a promotion!!!! a few, technically!! henry's captain of the foretop, now, and likely spends his days up in the ropes and rigging, climbing around and fixing the sails. he's good at this and does an excellent job. this is also his first time as a senior petty officer aboard a ship, plus he was acting as coxswain AND working gunner crew when necessary. (shoutout to his childhood in his dad's gunsmithing workshop)

thomas armitage is rated as an AB right now iirc, and with only so many men aboard, surely their paths must begin to cross. thomas has got a pretty good coverstory of Marriage, but henry's never had any romantic affairs recorded thus far and has been pretty career focused for most of his life so far as far as i can tell. oh you've been in the navy since puberty? mm. mhm. okay.

well anyways no one would blink twice at some fellow crewmates who run in the same social circles sharing a meal every now and then. lots of people do that. and henry likes to write, has always liked to write and keep a journal! the atlantic is clear and beautiful but to make good pace, henry doesn't get the time to write until late into the evenings. men aboard see him writing constantly in his spare time, and he gets a reputation for it. once, maybe during a meal, the ships boys nervously ask him if he'd mind helping them with their letters. he laughs and says his spellings not very good, he's not much of a teacher, always been a sailor, but he'll help of course, if they'd like that. thomas can't help but overhear and remembers how it felt to sign his marriage certificate to cecelia with an X, not even able to scratch his own name out across the line. maybe that was better though, he hadn't really signed anything, and it felt like he wasn't truly tied to her, not in a way that was real. marriage consummated, sure, but he didn't know his children. wasn't in their lives. much preferred the company of his fellow sailors, the ease and routine of a crowded ship. sent most of his money home, of course, and never saw them. couldn't send any letters home, couldn't read any letters that managed to reach him, either.

still, if someone aboard was offering to teach, maybe it'd be worthwhile to speak to him more. try and learn. so he strikes up a friendship with mr. peglar. easy easy easy. he's funny, he's clever. gets silly after too much drink, freckles easily under the clear sunlight, works hard and his company is pleasant. he's strong and competent and good at his job-- jobs-- and there's not much to dislike about him. lots of men like him, but even on the hottest days as they sail south, when men strip down to their skins, henry still walks about the decks with his shirt buttoned all the way up. it's a nice thing to see-- thomas has always appreciated it when a shirt is well worn. when a uniform is respected and kept in order. you understand, of course.

so maybe, on a quiet night, one where henry's lingering up in the crow's nest with his pages again, tom gets the nerve to climb up. scares the hell of out henry on accident, and they both laugh it off. make room for each other in the cramped space. talk about the view, the waves and how they stretch out to the horizon, clear and gorgeous. tom hadn't realized the height would make such a difference. henry agrees, explains its part of why he likes to hide up in the heights of the ropes so often. they talk, and talk, and talk until the stars come out. tom doesn't even remember that he crawled up the ropes in the first place to ask henry if he could teach him to write, not until theyre both down on deck and henry's folded his pencil and papers away.

anyways... henry's often busy-- working. always working. its hard to pin him down but thomas begins to seek him out. gets scant minutes of each day to grip his shoulder, friendly-- NORMAL-- and smile. talk. nothing salacious-- of course not, one has to be careful aboard ships lest he wants rumors to start. but still. when henry begins seeking him out as well, it's a good feeling. sometimes the sun shines so bright and thomas gets to crane his neck up, picking out henry's dark silhouette against the blue sky and gets a few seconds to watch him work in the rigging.

and finally the ship gets a land break. a short one, mind, but a break nonetheless. the ship's docked in trinidad, henry practically begs thomas to join him off to a party. friends of someone on board throwing the whole thing over on the beachfront. spoke awful loud about it that morning, so it's not quite an open invitation, but seems informal enough that if they arrive at the right time, no one will notice they hadn't been properly invited. thomas wasn't expected to get drunk under the table like this, but apparently henry's much better at handling his alcohol, and its late-- or very early, depending-- when they finally stumble back out to the beach. its cooler out here and its lovely-- dark and salty and sweet and exotic. thomas hadn't ever been to a party like this. he has to twist his fingers into henry's shirt collar to keep upright, and maybe that's the first time he properly notices the lines of scars peeking out from below the collar. wouldn't ever see them if he hadn't pulled henry's shirt out of sorts while they stumbled over the sand-- giggling like boys and splashing barefoot along the shoreline before they returned to the gannet. and thomas wouldn't bring it up no no no that's far too forward especially because it wasn't something he was meant to see anyways but he keeps it in mind. he keeps it sooo in mind he kind of begins to suck at his job once daylight and the hangover hit him because all he can focus on is wondering how far down henry's back the scars go. what he could have possibly done to be lashed in the first place.

so he doesn't ask. he doesn't ask and he doesn't think about it, just struggles through the alphabet that henry has him copying down and thomas kind of hates himself but he copies his shaky letters down and does his job and keeps a nice distance but still... if he takes every meal with henry across the table then that's fine. they have to go over thomas's terrible alphabet practices and have a billion other things to talk about .

and the gannet moves along, so does thomas. so does henry. and its all well until the ships docks again-- cumana this time, and some men get permission to leave the ship. they'll be back on the sea again for a long while after this so the officers aboard allow it and henry just wants to walk so thomas is fine to walk with him. and it wasn't like they'd planned to find a party again, this just seems to be a joyful part of the world. and it's hosted by some americans this time, so they don't even need to struggle with the language barrier too badly! and thomas tries not to drink so much, wants to be there to take care of henry this time. and stays in the back a bit-- watches henry become best of friends with these strangers and he sings and dances alongside them, and isn't it nice how his face lights up when he spots thomas still there against the wall, so unabashedly pleased that he'd not disappeared while henry hadn't been paying attention!! and well maybe henry stumbles out of the crowd and pulls thomas into the thick of it, his hands all warm from the weather here and calloused from work and a bit sticky from spilled drinks, and brings thomas into the crowd to dance. and gets thomas to sing too because when everyone else is loud, no one really notices them specifically, and its okayyy its okay! its okay. theyre nobody here, it barely matters. just come dance. and thomas does follow after him and he does sing and he does dance. and they rent a room for a few hours before anyone notices they've not made it back to the gannet yet, and thomas gets to peel henry out of his clothes and do up every single button again after, like they'd never been undone in the first place. glances around the room one last time, and couldn't believe henry nearly left his wallet on the bureau top-- tucked it back into henry's pockets himself before they left minutes apart to avoid suspicion. but they got away with it which is THRILLING. and they keep on like this-- a cycle of working with their heads down and indulging away from the ship when they could manage it. halfheartedly teaching thomas his letters, which never quite sticks but that's alright, and seeing the sights and wonders every day, side by side, seeing the turtles swim slowly by and basking together in the heat and excitement of a new place with a strong sense of anonymity.

and its two and a half more years of this, of catching each other's eye between the ropes and Knowing it'll never last, things like this never do, but isn't it nice to have it now? and it's two and a half more years of this, and thomas does get to see the long, gnarled scars that trace down over henry's shoulders and spine, once, twice, three times, more and more until he begins to lose track. and its two and a half more years of secreting affections away up in the crows nest at strange hours when no one would notice. and its two and a half more days until they both get their discharges and the gannet docks again at sheerness and they hadn't talked about it, about what's next, because isn't it obvious? there's nothing next. this wasn't more than an affair, but it was a lovely one. it might even be one that hurts forever.

and it's february 1838 when they meet up at a pub in kent-- thomas kissed cecelia's cheek before he'd and said he was off for a pint with a friend-- and it's in a crowded pub when henry has to lean in across the table to tell him he's signed onto hms temeraire, just because he can't bear to stay in one spot. not anymore, loves the sea far too much to be on shore for very long. and thomas has to tell him that's good-- that's best for him. has to tell him to be careful in the ropes, he won't be there to watch out for him this time. and henry knows better than to ask if there's an address he could write to-- thomas wouldn't give that, and thomas wouldn't be able to write back either way. he'd still never gotten the hang of making his letters blend together gracefully into words, not in the way that henry always could. so they shake hands, fingers digging in a little bit too tightly, until they let go and that's all. thomas armitage and henry peglar go on their separate ways, resigned to the fact that they'll likely never see each other again.

and its seven years until they DO see each other again, running into each other, completely unexpected. isn't it so odd? isn't it so funny how things work out like that? do you think fate's real? well it must be, surely the navy's bigger than this to just be happenstance. they both needed jobs again at the same time, is all. heard the same rumors about john franklin's arctic expedition, whispers of optimism trickling down to even the most common gossiping circles of sailors. both couldn't resist the idea of it. both walked the chatham dockyard with their things in tow, keeping an eye out for hms terror, talking again as if no time had passed, about what to expect from the sandwich islands, if it'd be at all like the west indies... and well, they might be, once they make it that far.

who can really say, though. they're older this time. it'd be different, surely. maybe it'd just be best to be pleased for a friendship-- a more steady, meaningful companionship as they got through the passage. who can say. who could know.

[aye-aye-captain]

💜: Which character is way hotter than everyone else seems to think?

🤍: Which character is not as morally bad as everyone else seems to think?

💕: What is an unpopular ship that you like? Ship of the lines too :)

For Hornblower and Aubreyard

Most kind regards from @professorlehnsherr-almashy main ;)

First of all, I hope you can accept my humble apology for taking so long to answer this! Life got in the way as usual. 😣 I love getting asks of any kind so thank you for sending this! 🩵 ☺️

💜: Which character is way hotter than everyone else seems to think?

Hornblower: PELLEW! Most definitely! I think you knew I was going to say this 😉 I feel like he often gets overlooked by all the younger men in the show but he has my heart 💙 Robert Lindsay is a very charismatic and handsome man imo.

Aubreyad: My dear Stephen. He also gets overlooked, (I mean, next to Jack everyone would get overlooked 😅) He's aware of this a few times in the books, and it breaks my heart. I like Paul as Stephen even if he's "too tall", his features are kind, and his eyes are stunning.

🤍: Which character is not as morally bad as everyone else seems to think?

Hmm, this is quite a hard question for these fandoms, especially for Aubreyad:

Movie vise, I can't really name a person as bad, no one is bad, only misunderstood, and one can label some acts as "bad" but not the people doing them. I think I would need to dig in the books a bit further. 💙

Hornblower: The morally bad characters in the Hornblower series are indeed portrayed as "bad people". There are some that are "politically bad" ,and some that are "emotionally bad" and they have motives for being like that, so I can't really think of anyone that gets misunderstood by the fandom. Any ideas from you? Who is not as bad as they are portrayed?

💕: What is an unpopular ship that you like? Ship of the line too :)

I have to disappoint you here! 😭 I think that my ship for Aubreyad is the most popular, and it's Jack and Stephen 🩵 #otp

Ship of the line: Jack's first command! A fourteen-gun brig-rigged sloop, HMS Sophie!

My ship for the Hornblower is not as popular, but it's in the top three in the fandom- Edward and Horatio 💙

Ship of the line: Nothing can beat the Indy! HMS Indefatigable, a 44-gun razé.

[scotianostra]

September 23rd 1779 saw the Battle of Flamborough Head.

Sailing from France in August 1779 with a small squadron, noted Scots born American naval commander Commodore John Paul Jones sought to circle the British Isles with the goal of wreaking havoc on British merchant shipping. In late September, Jones' ships encountered a British convoy in the vicinity of Flamborough Head off the east coast of England. Attacking, the Americans succeeded in capturing two British warships, the frigate HMS Serapis and the sloop-of-war HMS Countess of Scarborough, after a protracted and bitter fight. Though the battle ultimately cost Jones his flagship, Bonhomme Richard.

During the battle using its greater maneuverability and heavier guns, Serapis raked and pounded Jones' ship. With Bonhomme Richard becoming increasingly unresponsive to its helm, Jones realized his only hope was to board Serapis. Maneuvering closer to the British ship, he found his moment when Serapis' jib-boom became entangled the rigging of Bonhomme Richard's mizzen mast. As the two ships came together, the crew of Bonhomme Richard quickly bound the vessels together with grappling hooks.

The ships continued firing into each other as both side's marines sniped at opposing crew and officers. An American attempt to board Serapis was repulsed, as was a British attempt to take Bonhomme Richard.a Royal Navy ship, Alliance tried to come to the aid of Serapis. Believing the frigate's arrival would turn the tide, Jones was shocked when it began indiscriminately firing into both ships.

Moving along the two ships' yardarms, the American crew were able to cross over to Serapis. From their new position aboard the British ship, they were able to drive Serapis' crew from their stations using hand grenades and musket fire. With his men falling back,The Serapis captain, Pearson, was forced to finally surrender his ship to Jones. Across the water, another US ship, Pallas succeeded in taking Countess of Scarborough after a prolonged fight.

During the battle, Jones was famously reputed to have exclaimed "I have not yet begun to fight!" in response to Pearson's demand that he surrender his ship.

One of the greatest prizes taken by the Continental Navy, Serapis was soon transferred to the French for political reasons. The battle proved a major embarrassment for the Royal Navy and cemented Jones' place in American naval history.

There is a much more detailed account of the battle here https://www.sailsofglory.org/showthread.php...

[elsewhereuniversity]

Dear Archivist, I have been running for a long time. I weary of the chase, but anytime I stop, I hear the hounds at my heels. I will not ask for shelter here, longer than to just catch my breath, but if you happened to have a charm that could grant a moment's peace and rest for the hunted, and were willing to grant it to me, I would be grateful.

In exchange I can offer a small silver coin, with a hole drilled in the middle where the profile of a monarch's head once was. I don't know what it is, but it's all I have to offer you.

A charm for you: a sloop of shell, small enough to be cupped in your hands. The hull is a fragment from an egg that was the size of a football when it was whole, painted a badly faded red. The sails are red silk, the rigging is hair-thin silver wire, and the mast is a ballpoint pen, because I was working with what I’ve got.

The shell was given to me to ward away the darkness full of hunting horns; I have tried to be faithful to that. If you place it gently on the water’s surface and fill the sails with your breath, it will become a vessel large enough to hold you. A strange vessel, to be sure, but one that will you bear you safely over the water and carry you out of reach. You must come back to shore eventually - some shore, any shore - but it will give you your moment’s peace, and then some.

[myhauntedsalem]

Legend of Blackbeard’s Ghost

Edward Teach better known as Blackbeard is considered the fiercest pirate that ever lived. This is credited more to his appearance than his actions.

Teach was taller than most men of his time. He had long dark hair and a black bushy beard.

He loved to intimidate his enemies when he captured their ships in battle. He would board their ships with “slow burning’ fuses in his hair and around his shoulders.

The sight of him smoldering along with several pistols and knives strapped to his waist was enough for many of his enemies to surrender without a shot being fired.

Some sources state Teach was an educated Englishman but his background is still hotly debated today. What is known is the fact that Edward Teach was no better or worse than any other pirate.

History reflects his main goal was to gain loot or money not to gain vengeance or bloodshed. This does not mean he was not a violent man he was but historians note he treated people fairly who cooperated with him.

Teach plied his trade for two years–1717 to 1718 along the route from the West Indies to the waters along the southeastern coastline that later would become a part of the United States.

He commandeered a British ship called Concorde in 1717. Blackbeard rigged her with 40 cannons–the usual 26 were not enough for him. He renamed this ship, “The Queen Anne’s Revenge.”

One well-known adventure Teach was involved in reflects his true character. He blockaded Charleston’s harbor when his men desperately needed medicine.

He kept a councilman and his young son hostage until a fully equipped medicine chest was delivered.

Teach like many pirates attacked slave ships with human cargo. His trusted second in command, Black Caesar was a former black slave whose ship Blackbeard boarded and then freed all the slaves.

Most pirate ships at the time freed African slaves. Many of these men then became a part of their crews.

Blackbeard despite being a fierce opponent in battle was said to be a “lover” at heart. He supposedly took a dozen wives. He treated each dotingly until another caught his eye.

In 1718 he briefly retired from piracy and married his latest “love.” But his friends lured him back to the sea.

Blackbeard often sheltered his ship in a cove by Oracoke Island–a barrier island in the Outer Banks–off the coast of North Carolina. This area is called Teach’s Hole. **

Lured back into piracy Teach attended a party in this cove with several other captains. They made such a loud uproar that nearby Virginia residents complained.

The governor of Virginia, Alexander Spotswood hired Lieutenant Robert Maynard in command of the sloop Jane to capture Blackbeard. In November of 1718 Maynard caught up with the pirate in Teach’s Hole.

A fierce battle ensued and Maynard decided to trick Teach. He sent most of his men below decks and then enticed the pirate to board his ship.

As Blackbeard and his men boarded the Jane, Maynard’s British crew swarmed out of the ship’s hole. Maynard personally fought Blackbeard who suffered 30 stab wounds and 5 gunshots.

Teach collapsed on the deck and died of blood loss. The Jane crew cut off his head and displayed it on the ship’s bowsprit. *** They then threw his headless body overboard.

According to legend Blackbeard’s headless body was then seen swimming around the Jane before it disappeared beneath the waves. At the same time it was noted his separated head shrieked.

It is said Blackbeard’s ghost haunts the area where he died. Witnesses claim to have seen his body swimming in circles in Teach’s Hole. It is also reported that where he is seen swimming a phosphorescent light glows beneath the water.

This light is known as Teach’s Light.

Others state they have seen his ghost rise out of the water holding a lantern–he then walks ashore. It is said his boots leave no footprints. It is believed he is looking for his head.

Eerily on stormy nights along this beach witnesses state they have heard a guttural voice that crosses the wind. It is heard bellowing, “Where is my head?”

[adzeisval]

Presumed Dead

Pete is late getting home again and Lucius is worried. Major character death. Also on AO3.

Lucius paced back and forth in the kitchen. Something was wrong and he knew it. Pete, Olu, and Zheng were late coming back from a supply run and Lucius had a feeling something bad had happened. It was like years ago when Pete had been late and he had fallen but the feeling was so much worse. 

It didn’t help that it had only been a little over a year since Wee John had been killed. That had been a horrible day, the earthquake and then finding out that Wee John was gone. Oh they all assumed that Izzy had been there with him and that he wasn’t alone when he died but…did they really know how much Izzy was with them? 

“For fucks sake stop pacing,” Jim said as they came into the kitchen. 

“Sorry, sorry, I just don’t like it.” 

“Have a drink and calm down,” Jim said. But there was something about how they looked that made him think they were worried too. 

Finally, at last Lucius caught sight of Zheng, Olu and…just Zheng and Olu. No Pete. 

Lucius ran out of the Inn to meet them, “What happened? Where’s Pete, oh god what happened.” 

“The sloop hit a storm. Pete went overboard. We looked for him for as long as we could,” Zheng said. 

Lucius fell to his knees. No. No he must be having a nightmare. No it couldn’t be happening. They had to be fucking with him, there was no way…no way…tears were streaming down Lucius face and he didn’t think he would be able to get up. 

“No…” Lucius sobbed, “Pete, no no no.” 

Jim and Frenchie came out and spoke to Olu and Zheng. Lucius didn’t hear really what they were saying. Eventually Frenchie urged him up and back into the Inn. He sat on his bed. His and Pete’s bed and stared off at nothing. He slipped into bed and cried. 

Pete had wanted to go so badly, wanted to go out on the little sloop because he missed sailing and he was getting older and stiffer every day. And Lucius…he’d….he’d been worried about having to watch Pete struggle and slowly decline and now Pete was gone. Dead. Presumed dead. He didn’t know and there was no way he would be able to know.

Lucius cried and cried and tried to sleep. He wanted the world to go away for a little while and at last he fell asleep. 

The next morning he woke and for the first couple of seconds he couldn’t remember what had happened the day before. Then it hit him and he wanted to go back to sleep. But first he wanted answers. 

“Tell me exactly what happened.” 

“We had to wait a few hours extra to get supplies, there were soldiers about and we didn’t want to mess with them,” Olu said. 

“We hit the storm, we tried to get out of the way but it turned. Never seen anything like it,” Zheng said. 

“We were working on the rigging and…Pete just went over. We tried to throw him a rope but we couldn’t get to him. We spent time looking for him once the storm passed but we couldn’t find him,” Olu said. 

“I…I’m glad you guys made it back,” Lucius said softly then walked away. Pete couldn’t possibly have survived out there could he? He surely drowned when he went over and there was nowhere he could have swam. Lucius just wished there was some way for him to know for certain. 

Lucius sat on the edge of his bed. 

“Izzy? I need you,” he said, taking the shark and putting it on his bedside table, “Izzy please I need to know if you took him.” 

Lucius lay down and looked at the shark hoping that Izzy would come and let him know what happened. He just needed to know.

Hours later the little shark moved and Lucius sat up and gasped. He stared at the shark and it moved again. 

“Hi Izzy,” Lucius said, “I…I have to know. I have to know if you took Pete. If you took him could you move the shark toward me?” 

Lucius didn’t want to see it move, he didn’t want to see it move either way really. If Izzy pulled it away then Pete was stil alive and likely suffering. If Izzy pushed it toward Lucius then it meant that Pete was gone. 

The shark wobbled a little then moved toward Lucius. He started to cry again. Lucius could ask Izzy any number of questions but he didn’t know if he wanted the answers. He wanted to ask if Pete suffered, if Pete had mentioned him, if he would see Pete again someday and if Izzy knew how long Lucius had left in life.

Lucius picked up the shark as he cried and wondered what he could ask that he could bear hearing the answer to. He felt a sort of warmth in the shark; Izzy must be right there with him. 

“Did he suffer,” Lucius said at last. There was a feeling of warmth again and of love and Lucius felt like Pete hadn’t been hurting for long. 

Lucius put the shark down and wiped away more tears. He had to tell the others. When Lucius got to the dinning room Zheng had a map out and was pointing out coordinates to Frenchie. 

“Guys?” 

“We’ve got a search plan started…” Zheng said. 

“Don’t. Izzy was just here. Pete’s gone.” 

“You’re sure mate?” Frenchie asked. 

Lucius nodded, “Yep. I believe Izzy.”

“I’m sorry for your loss Lucius,” Zheng said, “Pete was a good man.” 

“He was,” Lucius said. He was everything to Lucius. Lucius had thought recently about what would happen when Pete went because it was almost certain that he would go first, but he never thought it would happen so suddenly. 

“We’re here for you Lucius,” Jim said, “Just let us know what you need and you’ll have it.” 

“I need a little more alone time I think,” he said.

“We’ll bring you some food later, check in on you,” Roach said. 

“Thank you,” Lucius said. He didn’t know if he would really feel like eating but it was nice to know that he wasn't’ alone

[clove-pinks]

The Wasp and the Frolic (detail), 1820 painting by Thomas Birch (Philadelphia Museum of Art)

The 18-gun sloop of war USS Wasp set sail from Delaware on 13 October 1812. After being caught in a gale she sighted a small convoy of merchant ships escorted by a single 18-gun brig sloop, HMS Frolic. In heavy seas, the two ships battled on 18 October. Wasp prevailed and captured Frolic as her prize, but the victory was short-lived as the British ship of the line HMS Poictiers appeared and easily re-captured Frolic as well as the battered American sloop, who was unable to flee with her rigging and sails badly damaged.

[malbecmusings]

Henri Amel found a formula that worked and stuck with it. Modern Amels fully abandoned his (stable) ketch rig in favor of the more popular, generally faster sloop, but they still retain much of the original DNA. Unfortunately they still don't offer much (any) flexibility in the build/option process. Still a pretty girl tho.

[ltwilliammowett]

Today we have door 18 and here we have an East Indiaman. A fragile beauty hiding in Salem- The Friendship of Salem

Friendship of Salem

More about her:

The original Friendship, a two-decked, three-masted, square-rigged, 342-ton vessel was built from 1796-1797. The ship was constructed in the Stage Point yard of Salem shipbuilder Enos Briggs across the South River from today's Salem Maritime National Historic Site. Friendship was launched on 28 May 1797 and registered at the Salem Custom House to merchants Aaron Waite (1742-1830) and Jerathmiel Peirce (1747-1827).

Friendship was an “East Indiaman,” the type of merchant ship that was used in the East Indies trade in the years after the American Revolution. Friendship made 15 voyages to countries including China, Indonesia, India, Venezuela, Spain, and Russia. The cargo brought back to Salem consisted of pepper, silk, sugar, coffee, ale, sherry, tin, salt, cheese, candles, and other goods and merchandise.

On 5 September 1812, Friendship was returning from Archangel, Russia, when the ship was captured by the British sloop of war HMS Rosamond. The War of 1812 between the British and the United States began while Friendship was in Archangel, Russia. The war had started in June, but the captain and crew were unaware of that fact and set off for Salem, only to be captured in the Atlantic Ocean and taken as a prize of war. The captain and crew were able to return to Salem, but Friendship was sold at auction in London, England on 17 March 1813.

The replica tall ship, is docked at Derby Wharf and was designed to present the appearance an original 1797 Salem-built vessel. The keel was laid in Scarano Shipyard in Albany, New York in 1996 and uses modern technology and materials to meet today’s safety and accessibility requirements.

She represents New England’s influential role in the development of global and domestic maritime trade and in the economic and political development of the United States.

[tresdem]

Another thought that occurred to me while writing:

Ed is 15 atm, but of course his arms are going to be well muscled. He spends most of his day hauling sails and that takes a lot of effort. I've lifted half of one sail once on a small sloop as part of a tour thing and it wasn't too heavy but it also wasn't a full rigged fucker.

Izzy has probably also hauled a sail or two.

I mean, we know that their arms are...very nice to look at but...it's one thing to know and it's another thing to know