Open Let us Sail with Honor.

[Ralira Flow]

1st of Spring, 513 AV
Around Noon
Sailing Race


Ralira felt like the day of the festival was going good so far. She had a couple of baskets of the colorful sand, had read a few fortunes to people and made a little money, and now it was time to do a contest. Ralira had no intention on winning the Sailing Race, but it was still something she wanted to do. She wanted to prove to herself that she could do it, that she could be almost as good as her Svefra mother. Even if she did not win, all that mattered was if she finished the race.

With that in mind she sailed her Catamaran to the starting point, where the other ships were located. There was a mixture of young and old people; mainly Casinors of the Svefra were there, all looking ready to win. Ralira inhaled a deep breath of the salt laden air to calm her nerves, as she listened to the instructions of the race.

All ships must be manned by a single person. The goal of the race is to swim around the anchorage of ships, three times, no cutting corners, and traversing ten kilometers of water. The race will begin in one bell. Prepare your ships for the race, and most of all, have fun!

Ralira did not know who the loud, male voice belonged to. But she nodded her head and started to check her sails, looking over at the others seeing that they were doing the same. Ralira’s heart was racing, beating up against her sails, like the sails in the wind. The race would soon begin, soon she would prove to herself that she was good enough to claim her Svefra heritage. Good enough to call herself Tia Flow’s daughter.

[Edreina]

Spring 1, 513 AV Just before noon Anchorage Flotilla Edreina did not pretend to be a strong sailor, nor did she pretend to be competitive. But, when a sailing race was mentioned, she could not stop herself from joining. Before she knew it, she had pulled her casinor up alongside the others, pushing the sails against the mast so that her motion would stop. Around her were a few other captains, all inspecting their vessels thoroughly as they focused on being the best or winning. With a small smile, she lazed back against the tiller, becoming lost in the gentle rock of her ship on the water. After the announcement by an unknown, booming male voice, the flurry of activity around Edreina doubled as captains made the final preparations on their vessels, causing her to grin wider. So focused on winning, and claiming their honor. What is the point if they do not have fun in the race? Instead of stressing, they should be enjoying the camaraderie and friendly competition of others. A resounding laugh from another ship, one she couldn't quite see, made her question the first thought. Perhaps not everyone was so serious. Smiling still, she knelt and took her place at the ships stern that would best allow her to manage both the lines and the tiller, twisting her hair into a quick, tight braid so that her hair would not cloud her vision or smart against her face. Now, she needed only to wait for the ready-mark.

[Ralira Flow]

After Ralira performed a check of the lines that raised and controlled the sails, making certain they were separated, and knotted properly, she moved on to the next task. The Sailor made sure there was nothing binding the lines, making sure they were free to move around. Then she checked her sails, making sure they were not tangled, ripped, or torn in anyway and catching the gust of wind from the sea properly. With a nod to herself, she felt confident in her ropes and sails, the wind direction seemed to be in her favor, as well as the other Sailors. Ralira was ready, ready to have fun, to sail with honor (not cheating), and to do the best she could sailing her Catamaran, making her mother proud of her Svefra blood.

Once all the boats that were going to enter the race had lined up and had pointed their boats in the direction of the wind, the familiar male voice came out again, booming as if magically projected for all to hear, telling them to let the race begin. The Sailors heart fluttered with nerves as well as anticipation. She did not want to rush her boat or herself, but flow into it nicely, hoping the boat would flow on the water just as smooth as she worked to get it to set sail.

Ralira secured the bottom of the mainsail to the bow of the boat, and then adjusted the jib as well, letting her sails catch the wind. Once the strong gust from the sea caught into the sails, she was off with the other’s sailing across the sparkling blue waters of the Suvan Sea as they made their way to the obstacles up ahead. Ralira’s heart was still pounding, praying to Laviku that she would not crash her ship into the anchorage of ships. They all had to sail around the anchorage of ships three times, traveling about ten kilometers of water. She could only hope that the others were going to sail with honor, and not knock into her boat to get ahead, or else she would have to get her cutlass out. It may not be a precious Casinor, but it was her ship, and no one would get away with harming it.

[Edreina]

Edreina went to take off, but pulled on the wrong line, yanking on her jib instead of her mainsail. As a gust of wind hit, the other ships took off and Edreina's ship was pulled sideways. The event does not anger Edreina, instead she laughs and quickly amends the mistake, setting her boat in motion quickly. Ahead, she sees the glint of metal as a few over-protective sailors try to intimidate competitors away from their ship. With a laugh, she lets her ship drift on ahead, tweaking the jib and tiller ever so slightly to adjust to the change in wind as she sails and as she begins to turn about the Anchorage. Ahead, she heard the tell tale snap of a rope as someone was too tense on the main yardline, causing the thinner lines that raise and lower the sails to snap. Just as expected, a nameless Svefra drifted to a stop and she glided by, suppressing a giggle as curses trailed her. Now, she was not too far behind the main group. She still had the tailwind as the others turned perpendicular to the wind to round the Anchorage. It slowed them just enough for her to catch their tail. But, she knew that when she hit the same wind, there was a very good chance of her falling behind once more. Nevertheless, she was thrilled by this, enjoying the friendly company and competition of others.

[Ralira Flow]

Ralira sailed forward fluidly towards the Anchorage obstacle ahead, she was not in the lead by no means, just stuck in the middle of the group of ships, trying to be careful not to bump their ships or them to accidentally ram into her own. As the Anchorage came up ahead, many of the others adjusted their sails to make their ships go faster. Ralira on the other hand pulled back, making the ship’s sails not catch as much wind, slowing her vessel down. It was true that she was intimidated by the obstacles, the fear of ramming into them making her slow down.

As she touched her tiller ever so slightly, she pulled on the rope to make her sails catch more wind. Unfortunately she pulled too hard, the sails catching too much wind, and her vessel started forward at too much speed. In a rush she tried not to let the panic overwhelm, instead she tried to stay calm and tried her best to steady the ship. She made the ship turn, but it was not soon enough, and the ship bumped slightly into the Anchorage. It did not appear to cause any damage, only grazed her own vessel. With a light hearted chuckle, of relief and embarrassment of her sailing skills, she adjusted her sails, and went forward once again, trailing behind the group that was in the lead now. Once away from the harder obstacles of the Anchorage, she adjusted her sails a little to let the wind catch them, making her vessel soar across the sea at a slightly faster pace.

Alright Ralira calm down, you are doing great. The Sailor told herself, as she maneuvered her ship around the easier obstacles, and hitting the clearing to loop around once again. She doubted she would catch up to the Svefra’s Casinors, but it was still fun just to be sailing in the contest. Winning did not matter to her, she just wanted to do good for herself, and her mother looking down upon her.