Solo [SO-Zeltiva]Of Boats and Sailing

[Crylon Stonecraft]

34 Summer 519 Crylon had been at sea for a fair number of days, but landing seemed still far off. They had crossed the half way point and where now closer to Zeltiva than Sunberth where they had left from, but still... For the Isur who did not particularly like the sea it was a long time still to be at sea. He had tried to stay below deck as much as he could, and stayed far clear from the sides of the boat when he came above, but he found himself restless once more. His desire to talk, to interact, to do something and be productive, was over-weighing his desire to stay clear of the water. But now the wind and surf had calmed, his chances of falling overboard seemed limited, and so if he was to come above it seemed now was the time. Coming out on deck Crylon looked about, inspecting the ship a bit more closely with an appraising eye. When he had first come on deck he had made his way below to his room as quickly as he could, though it was more like a closet with a tiny bunk than anything else. Of course it being a bunk made for a human, its size was more roomy for the small of stature Isur. It was a small ship, simple but clean in its design. Two long hulls with a frame of wood connecting them and giving space to walk about and cross from one to the other. There was also a cabin at the rear where whomever was off duty slept, the three man crew taking it in turns except when the weather dictated they all needed to be above. Or when course correction was needed, the smaller vessel being a bit slower to turn than some of the others he had seen with a single hull. Each of the hulls had a single small room sectioned off much like his own, with the rest of the hull being used for storage space. The cabin at the top was larger, but also burdened both of the hulls rather than being built into it below deck as his was. This he supposed was as much for balance as anything else, since it meant the weight could be distributed more evenly and was not so limited by the depth of the hull as the smaller rooms were. A woman, the captain, was at a wheel at the back which controlled the movement of the ship to a degree, while a second person, a man, moved about the deck inspecting something. As Crylon moved towards the middle of the deck to see what the man was looking at, the man spotted him and responded with a curt nod before turning back. It was then Crylon realized the man was inspected rope attached to things on the deck. Pointing at them, Crylon queried the sailor.“What those do?” Pausing for a moment the man checked what Crylon was pointing at, before checking a few more spots and looking up having apparently finished his duties for the moment. “Those? Ah, those are for tying ropes to, or pulling on the ropes to tighten or loosen. See those up there?” Here the sailor pointed up into the bits of wood and sail above the boat. “They move the sails, up, down, turn this way to catch the wind, turn that way. Makes it easier when run through. See?” Crylon nodded, understanding the general motion and engineering of it if not truly the depth of what it did. One rope was pulled through here, and the pulley made it bend around and made it easier to apply force in this way. And so on and so fourth till some greater task was done with lesser effort. “Here, why don't you help? Help me untie this one, and lower it, we need to cant the sail a bit to catch the wind or we'll just keep going this slow.” Crylon nodded, grabbing at the rope looped around the metal stand, and after a few moments of inspecting the rope untied it. Then following the mans lead he let it loosen such that another rope moved. The sailor quickly moved to tie it back off, Crylon watching the knot be made, before the sailor moved to another rope tied to the deck. Once more when directed Crylon untied the rope, and followed the mans lead to tighten it. As the second rope was moved into position the sail above shifted finally, catching the wind a bit better. Not much, as the wind was slow and had been for the last few chimes, but a bit better. Another quick motion of the sailors hands, and rope was tied into the same knot again. Though he had watched it both times, Crylon had little idea of how the knot had been done. WC: 815

[Crylon Stonecraft]

Having been busy for a moment with a task, Crylon had been distracted from the water. Now though his terror was seeping back in and returning, coming to the forefront of his mind. Perhaps sensing this, or perhaps just bored, the sailor began talking to Crylon about the ship and helped to take his mind off the water. Not that Crylon's thought was all that hard to work out considering how he edged about the ship avoiding the edges, and how he kept looking over the side to the ocean depth. “You sail much before? Ah, you know much of boats? I figured not. I can give you the basics if you like.” With a reply nod from Crylon the sailor began pointing things out aboard the ship. Up to the sail, down to the floor, the back, the sides, each in turn while giving them a name in common. Crylon did his best to focus on the lesson, using it to keep himself distracted from the goings on but a dozen feet or two dozen maybe from where he stood. “Up there is the mast, with the rigging along it. That is the little bits of metal and pulley's and things all up there. They all control the sail, how its angled and such to catch the wind better and drive us along.” “Along with the rudder, which is controlled by the wheel over there, that is how the ship is controlled. That all connects to what we are standing on, the deck which lies on the back of the hulls. We have the front, the fore. The back, the aft, of the ship. The left side as seen from looking to the fore is the port, and the right side as such is the starboard. Then the way front of the ship is the bow, with the way back being the stern. Fore meaning further forward, and aft meaning further back till you get to those extreme front and backs. Get it?” Crylon nodded, repeating the words in his head to the best he could. It was quite a few new words to learn, and common was not his native tongue. But simple directions on a boat seemed within his ability to comprehend. Nothing truly technical or complex about them. Nodding at another rope tied to the deck, the sailor motioned for Crylon to untie it while he headed to another spot. “Loosen it about three hands, while I tighten this one. You got that knot I showed you down?” Crylon shrugged and moved to the rope, untying it somewhat quickly as it was his third to do so, and then measuring out three hands to let the rope loosen before tying it back down. In that time the sailor had finished, and stood and watched as Crylon tried to tie the knot. He crossed the rope over, and then under, and then... Loop and pull? He was not sure, but did the best he could. Once he was done the man shook his head and untied his work, retying it once more but more slowly than the others. Ah, Crylon saw then what he had done wrong. He had gone over when he should have gone under. And then... And then he had done some other stuff completely wrong. “That knot would not hold. Here, why don't I get you some rope, and you can practice the knot eh?” WC: 572

[Crylon Stonecraft]

The man headed off for a few moments, and then came back with a small coil of rope that had been set off to the side inside a small bit of shelving with a closing hatch just for such things to be held on the deck within easy reach. Crylon took the offered rope, but was having difficulty working the single end. If he could control two ends maybe it would be easier? But that being said most of the rope around here that he saw only had one end sticking out, and so perhaps on a ship tying with one end was more common? “Here, why don't you try this? Repeat after me. I'll do one end, you do the other, and just mirror me.” Crylon nodded, taking the end and watching the man. He did his best to repeat as the sailor slowly tied the rope into the knot from before, but having to look up at what was being done and back at the rope he had little more luck. Once he had run through it about three times at slow speed Crylon felt he had a better idea of what the knot did. Over this way, and then over and under here. Then looping about, and pulled. When broken down into its composite parts it was not so bad. The sailor then untied it, and motioned for Crylon to do it again without direction. Over, over, under, loop, pull. It was a bit loose in some spots, but seemed good enough. Offering the rope to the man the sailor perused it for a few moments, before finally nodded. “Passable. Though in a bad storm it would come undone I would think. But good enough for most anything else. So, you gonna come be my little apprentice sailor, learn after me all I know?” Crylon was not quite sure how to respond, and tried to talk twice before quitting when the sailor smiled and patted the air a few times. “Only a joke, only a joke. I know you've got big plans over in Zeltiva. But still, doesn't hurt to know a bit about sailing and the like, eh? Congratulations, you've graduated to sea slug, the lowest of sailor levels. Though still a level of sailor, so still not bad for a bells work eh? Maybe you sail again, we do some more work when we get a chance. Maybe make it up to barnacle eh?” Crylon smiled at the man, nodding at his joke and words. As he did though the wind suddenly began to pick up, and the door to the top cabin banged open as the third sailor came bursting out as if called. “You had better head back to your room little sea slug, don't want to get in over your head. Not that such would be hard, your size. But I have a feeling things are about to get interesting.” As Crylon headed below deck the wind began to intensify, and both of the sailors were running about messing with rigging and rope as the captain at the wheel worked the boat about. He was glad to be heading back down though, not bothered by the size of his room or the dark as it meant getting out of sight of the hungry open maw of the water outside the boat. WC: 559

[Calla Davin]

Special Delivery!

Crylon :

Skills	XP
Sailing	2

Lores

• Sailing: Catamarans Turn Slower
• Sailing: Sails Catch the Wind
• Sailing: Undoing Knots
• Sailing: Rigging Controls the Sail’s Movements
• Sailing: Rudders Control the Direction of the Ship
• Sailing: Fore = Front, Back = Aft, Left = Port, Right = Starboard.
• Sailing: Process for Tying a “Over, Over, Under, Loop, Pull” Knot
• Crylon: Sea Slug!

Additional Comments: I know nothing about sailing, so this was very educational for me. However, I couldn't figure out the name of the knot Crylon was being taught how to do; you can leave it as the "over, over, under, loop, pull" knot or change that quoted bit out for the actual name of the knot. Please message me if you have any questions about your grade, and don't forget to edit your post in the grade request thread.