Seafaring on Jord

by Allan Joyal

  The crewman frowned and then looked down at the person who had been sitting. "If you are Kaven, who is this?"

  "They boarded just before I did," I said. "I never spoke to them."

  The person we were talking about stood up. A hand appeared from under the hides and with a flourish removed the covering. I found myself looking at Panalope's long black hair and green eyes.

  "A woman!" Culax said. He brought his hands up and leaned toward Panalope.

  "Crewman Culax to attention!" Ushcail barked.

  The man stood upright. He had his hands at his side and was looking directly ahead and out over the ocean. Ushcail walked around him and stood between him and Panalope. He frowned as he stared at the young lady.

  "You will explain why you are on my ship," he said to her.

  "I'm sorry," Panalope said. "I had my reasons."

  The young woman was looking directly at me. Ushcail looked at her and then at me. "Oh, I see," he muttered.

  I watched the captain shake his head and then turn to look at the crewman who had nearly attacked Panalope. "Go forward and take a sounding. Also see if you can get an estimate of our speed. We don't have a lot of time before the storm arrives and I might want to make for a harbor," he commanded.

  The crewman headed forward. He looked back over his shoulder with a look that combined greed and fear. Panalope sighed as he made his way past the mast and was joined by two other crewmembers. "He seems upset. What is the problem?" Panalope asked.

  "He believes that having a woman on a ship is bad luck. Passengers he'd tolerate, but as crew?" Jessop said with a cackle.

  Panalope stood proudly. "Well, he'll just have to learn to tolerate one."

  Ushcail laughed loudly and slapped me on the back. I stumbled a couple of steps forward. As I gathered my balance I turned back to him. "What?"

  Ushcail just smirked at me. "This girl wants to follow you and she's willing to risk quite a bit. You must be happy."

  I felt my face grow warm and looked over at Panalope. "Its actually something I rarely think about. My thoughts have been on making sure this trip returns with knowledge and hopefully something we can use to rejuvenate the islands."

  "I mean so little to you?" Panalope asked with a whine.

  Ushcail slapped me on the back again. "She wants you. Trust an old sailor. If you have a woman like her, you want to keep her."

  I nodded, but turned away from Panalope and looked at Ushcail. "I'll talk to her later. Right now shouldn't I be learning how to operate this ship?"

  Jessop laughed. "Its not that hard. During the three days we have been testing we've found out that two men can handle the sails most of the time. Having more makes raising or lowering it faster, and if you have to tack into the wind its nice to have more people in case you lose too much speed and get stuck facing the wind, but for something like what we are doing now, we just need two men to make the adjustments. Lucis and Hadlor have the duty right now."

  "So we just watch?" I asked.

  Ushcail laughed. "No. I thought we'd get to know each other. I find my crewmen work better if they trust me."

  "Will Culax trust you if you allow a woman to be part of the crew?" I asked.

  "He pairs with me most of the time," Ushcail said. "I was going to have you train with everyone, but once you are ready, I'll have you two work together."

  Panalope rushed forward and put her arms around me. "That's what I want," she said happily.

  The ship was rocking slightly and I stumbled forward. "Panalope, why? I never showed any interest in you. And what is your father going to think?"

  "My father only cares about money and his new wife," Panalope said.

  "New wife?" I asked.

  "He didn't announce it in the village. The last galley of his to return from the Rolling Vale came back with a young woman only a couple years older than me. He married her. Says he wants a son of his blood to inherit everything. He won't even give me a good dowry," Panalope said.

  "Will your father come after Ushcail for this?" I asked.

  Panalope laughed as she looked at the sea captain. "He won't know. I wasn't going to tell him where I went. Knowing him he'll check the tavern and then assume I decided to sneak off with one of his galley captains. He is constantly telling me how dashing and brave they are."

  "Cowards," Ushcail said. "I think I know which company your father runs. If it is the one I think, they tend to hug coastlines and take longer routes if it keeps them in the shallower waters of the inner sea zone."

  "So they cost Panalope's father more money?" I asked. "Or do they save money by keeping the ships and crews safe?"

  "There are other ways to keep crews safe," Ushcail said. "I haven't lost a crewman in more than fifteen years."

  "Threw a few overboard deliberately though," Jessop supplied unhelpfully. "Of course that was usually for mutiny."

  "Why would anyone commit mutiny?" I asked. "If you protect your crews, I'd think men would want to serve on your ships."

  Jessop cackled. "Oh, do tell them! They'll love to hear this one."

  Ushcail glared at the old man. He glanced more closely at Panalope. "Do you know much about me miss?" he asked.

  Panalope looked confused. "I heard Kaven say that you were the sole survivor of a ship that sank and that you swore you were rescued by some fish woman."

  "Don't call her a fish woman," Ushcail growled. "Her people hate that. They are of the sea, but their legends say they were once as human as we are long ago. Whether it was a curse or they willingly accepted the transformation Syrina doesn't know, but she saved my life that night during the storm."

  "You still talk to her?" I asked.

  Ushcail blushed. He glanced over at the three crewmen standing at the front of the ship. Culax was pulling a line from the water as the other two watched towards the north. "I talk to her most nights when I'm on the water. Her and our two daughters."

  Chapter 5: A Storm is coming

  Ushcail stood there blushing for a moment more. His back then straightened up. "That's enough introduction," he said with a bellow. "First we need you two to accept some new terms. We don’t use left or right on a ship when describing a side. Do you know why?"

  I looked at him blankly embarrassed by my lack of knowledge on how a ship actually worked. I had spent hours talking to Marrisey about the wood he needed, but had completely neglected to ask about how to sail or what terms sailors might use. Desperate to hide this I waited for Ushcail to continue.

  His sudden change in demeanor was a surprise. Panalope seemed equally stunned. I turned to my left and then looked back at him. "Wait, I might know this. Right now, if I look to my left I'm facing the rear of the ship, but your left would be to the north which is one side of the ship. You don't use left and right so everyone knows which side you are talking about."

  Ushcail nodded. He had an approving smile on his face. "You are quick. Marrisey said you would be. Do you understand that missy?"

  "But if I can't say left and right, what do I say?" Panalope said. "What are the terms we should be using?"

  Ushcail smiled. "That was what I was about to talk about. First, this part of the ship is the stern. The area where Culax is will be called the bow. Do you get that?"

  "Why not call them the front and back?" Panalope asked.

  "Pana," I said with a sigh. "It's the same as the left and right. The terms are used to make sure no one gets confused about where the front of the ship is."

  The young woman looked at me. I thought she was about to cry. She held my gaze for a moment and then smiled. "My father refuses to explain anything to me. Kaven, I love you."

  Jessop started laughing. He tried to mask his amusement by pretending to cough, but even Ushcail was smiling. Panalope just gazed at me with a mildly worshipful expression on her face.

  I turned to look at Ushcail. "So we have bow and stern. What about the sides?"

  Ushcail laughed. "Boy, we'll have to talk about your priorities in the future. H
owever, I can agree that we should go over that. If you face the bow.”

  He paused and pointed towards the bow. Then looked at Panalope and me until we stood up and turned to look over the bow. Then he continued. “The left is called Port; the right is Starboard. Now that is true no matter which way you face. Turn and face North."

  I turned to face the north. The ship was sailing to the west, so this put the starboard side ahead of my gaze. "So, I'm facing starboard?" I asked. "And behind me would be the port side of the ship?"

  "Exactly," Jessop said. "Now if you are as good with learning to tie knots as you are at learning those terms, we'll make a master sailor of you."

  "Captain Ushcail!" Culax shouted. "We appear to be traveling at four times the speed of any galley I've ever been on."

  "Good," the captain said. He looked up at the sail. "We seem to be riding the breeze very well. Jessop, let’s turn port about one finger. I'd like to put Isla Bjorna on our starboard side."

  "Captain, I see clouds in the north," one of the other two crewmen shouted. I remember that they were named Lucis and Hadlor.

  Both men looked much like the captain. They had the deep bronze colored skin that spoke of many days in the sun. One wore a fur covered cap on his head, but otherwise the only clothing either man work was a leather loincloth. The men were standing on the port side of the ship. One had an eye on the sails the other was gazing starboard.

  I looked out to the north. The sky was clear and I could clearly see the sun starting to touch the horizon far to the west. However, as I continued to scan to the north I could see a faint grey haze at the limit of my vision.

  "Damn," Ushcail said. "It looks like its caught a more powerful wind. We could turn back to your home island," he said to me.

  "Sere Komptan would never let us leave. At least he wouldn't until he had forced you to give him this ship," I said.

  "Even at the speed we are going I can't make any of the safe ports before that squall reaches us," Ushcail said.

  "What do we do?" Panalope said in a panicked voice. "Are we going to be sunk?"

  "On this ship deary?" a silky voice said from the ocean off the port side of the ship. "I'll admit that it doesn't look like it can take a large wave, but that squall is most likely mild. They are rarely all that fierce this time of year. If you can get to the leeward side of the old Rock, you should be fine."

  I spun around. I could not see anyone, but I noticed that Ushcail had knelt down at the railing and was gazing at the water. His left hand was thrust down out of my sight. "Syrina," he said lovingly.

  "He wasn't lying?" Panalope said with a gasp.

  The ship suddenly tilted to port. I heard a cry of alarm from Culax. "We need to trim the sails."

  The other two men ducked under the mast and grabbed at ropes. I decided to help and I rushed forward, jumping from the raised area of the stern. "Tell me what to do," I said.

  "We are catching too much of the wind. This ship gets pushed over if the wind hits the sail dead on. Can you untie the ropes holding the stern boom?" one of the crewmen asked.

  "Which ropes?" I asked.

  The crewman was holding onto a rope as the other two tried to pull at the large triangle sail that was in front of the mast. They were attempting to wind up part of it and tighten the ropes holding it. He looked over his shoulder at the beam that was behind the mast. "That beam. We need to move it to port. You'll need to untie it, move the beam, and then resecure it. I'll be over to adjust the sail after we finish here. We might have to bring the foresail down."

  I looked at the pole he had called a boom. The ropes holding it in place ran towards the stern. I had ducked under one in my rush forward. I moved back and looked at the knot used to hold it in place.

  The rope had been wound around some kind of polished branch. I tried to untie it, but the pressure on the rope held the rope in place.

  "Panalope! Come help!" I shouted.

  The heiress ran over. "What do we do?" she said as she slid on the deck.

  "We sail the ship," I said. “I’m going to push the boom so the ropes loosen. You'll need to unwind the knot and then wind it back after I call that the boom is repositioned."

  "But," she said as I guided her hand to the knot. I ignored her protest and ran over to the pole. The sail was billowing to port and the boom wanted to move in that direction. I ducked under it and then put both hands against it.

  The sail was pulling on the boom, but I pushed hard. My boots slipped some on the wood of the deck, but I managed to shift it less than a handspan. "Try now!" I shouted.

  I heard Panalope grunt. A moment later the boom knocked me back as it swung out. The end was over the water. Panalope tumbled into me as I caught myself by slamming my feet into the portside railing.

  The boom touched the water. "Keep the sail out of the water, or we might get dragged over," Jessop shouted. “But release the boom, It will twist out of the wind so we aren’t being pushed over.”

  I scrambled to my feet and then lunged for the ropes that held the boom in place. I managed to grip it with my right hand as I braced my feet against the railing. Ushcail came over and put his hands next to mine on the rope.

  "We'll have to build up your muscles," he said to Panalope as the girl stood up. "For now, help Jessop with the tiller. We need to turn towards the wind."

  "Towards?" I asked.

  "We need to regain control. The wind is too powerful for us to run with it," he shouted. “Just watch the boom, its not secured and will swing back.”

  "It came up fast!" I said.

  "Squalls are like that," Jessop said. "Culax, Lucis, how are we doing with the foresail?"

  "We're going to bring it down. It's keeping us from finishing the turn," Culax replied.

  "Hadlor, throw the anchor out. We're going to have to ride this squall here," Ushcail shouted.

  "Ride it?" Culax called. "Shouldn't we make for the nearest island?"

  "Marrisey is sure that this ship can handle a light squall," Ushcail called back. "We just have to get the boom under control and reduce sail. The anchor will help keep our bow facing the wind."

  "This is a light squall?" Panalope asked as Ushcail and I wrestled with the boom.

  Ushcail put a hand on my shoulder. "We need to tie the boom into position," he said. "Grab the line and secure it on the starboard side."

  I grabbed the rope and ducked under the boom. Ushcail stood there holding onto the boom with straining muscles. I found another strange wooden knob and wrapped the rope around it one time. I then leaned away from the railing.

  "That's it!" Ushcail shouted. "Tie it down. You can't stand there forever."

  "I can't let it go," I said. "How do I tie it off?"

  One of the crewmen came over and grabbed the rope. He made a mighty heave and then looped the rope around the knob mounted in the railing. "Hold it tight," he told me as he continued to wrap the rope around the wood. I kept the tension until he nodded and stepped away.

  "That should do it," he said.

  I turned around and looked up. The sail was no longer extended to the top of the mast. It fluttered in the breeze as the ship swung around. I noted that the wind was coming from the bow and heading towards the stern.

  The crewman turned around and grabbed me. He pulled me towards the stern. "In a storm we want to be near the tiller. We'll have more time to react to waves," he said.

  "Get out ropes, get everyone tied with waist lines," Ushcail shouted.

  The wind was growing even stronger. The formerly flat sea was now rolling with swells as tall as a man rippling under us every few minutes.

  Ushcail stood proudly right next to Jessop as the two men held onto the bar that had previously been Jessop's responsibility. Panalope noticed and shouted over the growing gale. "What are you doing?"

  "This is the tiller. It helps control the ship. Right now we're using it to make sure the bow points towards the waves. As long as we keep the bow into the waves we should be fine," Jessop s
houted.

  "Wet, but fine," one of the crewmen muttered. "I'm Lucis. I'm guessing you are Kaven?" he said to me as we huddled together for warmth.

  "I'm so cold I want to forget my name," I said. "This is miserable."

  "Cold is getting rained on when you are up near the Lava Isles and it’s the season of ice. I've seen galleys covered in ice if they fail to reach a safe port," Lucis replied.

  "Will we survive?" I asked.

  "Worried?" the man said calmly. "We got the ship pointed into the wind and the swells aren't threatening to swamp us. If the storm doesn't get worse we should ride it out safely."

  "How can it get worse?" Panalope said. She was huddled on the ground. I looked down at her. The young woman was clinging to the edge of the raised area at the stern of the ship.

  "Bigger waves for one. Sometimes the wind starts moving in circles which makes the waves come from more than one direction. Ice can fall instead of rain if you are far enough North and it’s the cold season," Hadlor said.

  "That won't happen?" Panalope asked.

  "Wrong time of year for most of that," Hadlor said calmly. "The cold season has ended, so we wouldn't see ice even if we were much farther north. The swirling winds are signaled by a much different start to the storm. The worst storms usually start after a red sky in the morning as the sun rises."

  "How long will this last?" I asked as rain began to fall. In just a couple of heartbeats we were soaked by a warm falling rain.

  "It's warm," Panalope said in surprise. I looked down to see wonder in her eyes as she looked up at the cloudy sky. "And the sky isn't as dark as I'd expect."

  I looked up and realized that the clouds above us did not form a solid ceiling. A number of openings in the cloud cover showed that the sun was still in the sky to the east.

  The winds howled in seemingly impotent fury. The ship was still bobbing with the waves, but we were not rocking back and forth. Culax and Hadlor were actually starting to make their way forward, carefully holding onto the railing as they worked to make their way to the bow.