A Twist of the Sands

by P R Glazier

  Chapter 14. Departure on the Ocean Belle

  Tear’E was true to his word. Work on the Ocean Belle progressed well especially as everyone lent a helping hand whenever they could, which was most of the time seeing as there was nothing else to do. Within a few short weeks the Belle as she was affectionately known was ready to go. U’Sule’s anxiety had somewhat subsided as the weeks went by aided, by the fact that the weather didn’t seem to be getting any worse. The sun continued to shine upon the Coast of Coves as it always seemed to do, at least in Nar’Allia’s experiences and memory.

  Nar’Allia found herself in the kitchen helping U’Sule one day; she decided to broach the subject of U’Sule’s concerns in the hope of giving her encouragement and further allaying her fears. She said, “U’Sule, please don’t worry about the journey we are to make, I promise I will send Tear’E home once we are across the Trad Ocean, he will only be gone a few weeks at the most.”

  U’Sule stopped what she was doing and dried her hands on her apron; she crossed the room and sat at the table with a sigh. “Tear’E has spent his life on the ocean, he has always been a sailor and all in his family before him, he knows the ocean and its whims. No, it’s that ship o’ his I’m worried about.”

  “Nar’Allia shook her head in surprise, this was not after all the answer she was expecting, it didn’t tie in at all with Tear’E’s explanations of U’Sule’s current mood. So she asked, “how so?”

  “Whatever Tear’E told you, the truth is that ship o’ his, well, it was, still is I suppose, a pirate ship. Oh, sure it used to be a trading vessel many years before, but the latest use it was put to was piracy. The captain turned to illegal pursuits probably in an effort to turn a profit.  Few months ago a stranger came into town with two soldiers. He was a magistrate and looking for various felons. He had pictures of many of them including one of the former captain of the Ocean Belle. He was interested in if we had seen this feller, being as the Ocean Belle had been re-floated by yer uncle and all. He stood short of accusing yer uncle of repairing the ship so that it could be used for evil purposes once again, but I could hear in his voice a warning. When it became plain that the ship was being used for piracy, well lots of warnings went off in me old head. That’s how it ended up beached on the sands, it was forced there by the authorities, they made a plan to ambush the ship, some of her crew were captured and hung for their crimes, the captain though managed to escape. It is said he were a Grûndén, a flamboyant character by all accounts, but he probably fled back to the Grûndén city under the Tolle’Ambrunista to the north.”

  Nar’Allia shook her shoulders and shrugged saying, “but we aren’t going to become pirates aunt U’Sule, you know that.”

  “Aye of course I know. But the young lad yer uncle got the boat from was only too glad to be rid of it, like it was a bad thing, why else would he have given it away if it had an evil thing about it eh? The Ocean Belle be a known pirate vessel. I’m sure that some port authorities, either this side of the Trad or the other, wouldn’t hesitate to attack and sink the vessel if they had half the chance. I just think it’s a bad omen, setting sail in a vessel such as that one. A price upon her bow.” She waved her hand towards the dry dock down the coast. “’I fear t’will be his downfall if he takes her to sea.”

  Nar’Allia smiled and took U’Sule’s hand, “well, if it makes you feel any better, I promise to ask Tear’E to avoid other shipping as best we can, to stay away from other ships and keeping clear of towns along the coast shouldn’t be too difficult on the vast Trad Ocean.”

  U’Sule just looked at her and said, “well you know the old sayin’ – ‘if there were but two fish left in the whole o’ the ocean, they would be bound t’ find themselves in the same cooking pot.”

  Eventually the day came when the Ocean Belle would be launched back into the water. All the wooden scaffolding had been taken down during the night, apart from the wooden shoring that supported the keel of the vessel in the dry dock. Nar’Allia stood on the deck of the ship looking at Tear’E and his sons as they slowly dismantled the sea wall in front of the vessel. It was low tide so the channel that led to the ocean was dry. The men removed great pieces of wood with an ‘A’ frame derrick and winch structure, then they progressively dug away with shovels at the sand pile that formed the main weight of the wall. Eventually after some hours of work the wall had been completely dismantled, the wood stood stacked to one side and a large pile of sand a little way distant, ready to be used again Nar’Allia assumed. Nothing now stood between the Belle and the ocean itself, although the sea still seemed a long way off. However, the waiting seemed but a short time for they all busied themselves with bringing provisions and other belongings aboard the Ocean Belle. Nar’Allia was in the large cabin at the rear of the vessel when she felt the deck beneath her feet shift and tilt. She grabbed hold of the wall of the vessel to steady herself and stood there unsure of what was happening. She heard cheering from up on deck. When no more movement came she decided to join the men to see what was happening. She found them all standing around the edge of the vessel’s deck looking over the side. When she did the same she could see that the sea was well up the gully and the Ocean Belle’s hull was now completely surrounded by water, the channel in which the ship sat was obviously filling rapidly.

  The men were talking excitedly, Tear’E and his sons were holding lengthy poles. As the tide came flooding in the Belle became more and more buoyant, eventually she rose up off the heavy pieces of wood that had before supported her keel in the dry dock. The men stood on the deck and used the poles to keep the Ocean Belle in the centre of the channel and also to keep her upright until the keel was fully free of its supports. Eventually the Ocean Belle’s hull lifted fully from the stanchions of wood that she once rested upon in the dry dock and she was fully free. Tear’E and his sons now proceeded to use the poles to gently push on the sides of the channel and slowly navigate the Belle down the now fully flooded channel to the open sea. Here they raised a single sail and skilfully navigated the Belle slowly around the coast to the village harbour where a single jetty of wood extended out into the ocean swell. The jetty went sufficiently far out from the beech so that the village’s fishing vessels could all stay afloat even at low tide. The Ocean Belle was finally moored at the end far end of the jetty.

  The next few days were spent making final preparations to the Ocean Belle for the voyage ahead. They would need a full complement of crew if they were going to successfully sail right across the Trad, so Tear’E spent a good part of the time in the evenings going around his friends and spending time in the communal house asking if people would wish to sail with them. The fact that the harvest of fish had been good that year and the stocks of food were more than healthy in the village all helped his cause and it seemed that many of the local T’Iea were willing to help out especially as they would be helping to rescue one of their own, for Minervar and her family were well known throughout the small community. So it was to their great delight they quickly assembled their company of twelve sailors.

  So came the day of their departure. The Ocean Belle was stocked up for the long voyage and was made fully ready. The day was fine and a steady prevailing wind blew down the sides of the Tolle’Ambrunista and across the lowlands out to sea. Nar’Allia, Jonas and Amndo stood on the gently swaying deck of the Belle looking land ward. There in the far distance the white topped peeks of the higher Tolle could be seen on this clear day, and when turning and looking sea ward the clear bright blue sky extended out over the ocean to the horizon where it met with a slightly different blue of the ocean itself. Many of the town’s folk had gathered on the dock to say their farewells, there was a sense of excitement in the air, almost a festive feel. Even U’Sule had come around to supporting the trip for after all it was to rescue Minervar and she could not deny them the chance to do so. Nar’Allia being the only woman on board had been given the captains large cabin at the rear of the vessel in which to sleep, but on condition that th
e room could be used during the day time for navigational purposes as it was the only place that had a table large enough onto which could be spread the star charts and other equipment. She also insisted that others be allowed to use the table at meal times so that all could relax and enjoy a meal in certain comfort. After all nearly everyone on board she knew well from her visits to R’ealto’Noac’Trado as a child, to Nar’Allia it was like being amongst one big extended family.

  So it was when finally managing to disengage himself from U’Sule’s strong embrace, Tear’E gave the order, the gang plank was drawn aside and the gangway closed, the necessary sails to leave port were finally unfurled and set, the moorings freed and the ship set adrift and without the slightest fuss and effort she turned slowly windward and was away under a good turn of speed on the cool wind.