the
ship. Around the “Thunder Led” a true pandemonium broke loose. A
hell, that Spark had not expected, could not describe later, and
trembled with spasms and shivers at the mere recollection of it.
The crew was performing miracles of efficiency, making a turn after
turn, and Kristoff, standing at the helm, was cursing the whole
world laying the ship in tight turns, to avoid high fountains risen
by cannon shots and missiles hurled from the walls.
Sparks,
looking at his slim, tall figure topped by a triangular hat while
crossing behind him after being thrown from one side to the other
by the ship’s heeling, for the first time in her life felt a true
admiration for another man’s skills, which she would never be able
to grasp. For the first time she also felt fear. Fear so paralysing
that countering the deep rolls of the deck posed serious balance
problems for her, while he stood unmoved at the helm, without a
shadow of doubt on the strong face.
Dozens of
turns later, when she thought that the worst was finally behind
them... the worst was yet to come. Using the few minutes break in
the shelling from the walls and the current concentration of fire
on the “Thunder Led”, four ships of the line sailed into the area
protected by the artillery, as their captains came to a conclusion
that without going into the reasons for which the fortalice had
been shooting at an allied ship, sinking an enemy unit was always
appreciated by their superiors. The four ships of the line were
sailing on beam reach and after having taken their positions in a
line formation fired with their whole boards in the direction of
the weaving ship. The salvo etched in the waters of the bay just a
few feet away from the side of the “Thunder Led”. Were gunners
dealing with a heavy, western frigate, their missiles would reach
the hull of the ship below the waterline, where they could inflict
massive damage almost certainly synonymous with the sinking of the
unit. Lightweight design of Kristoff’s vessel was flying over the
water being carried by the front runners, making the salvo pass
under the ship. The captain, knowing that at this point the eastern
gunners were reloading their cannons with chain-shots and setting
the bearings of the gun carriages to sweep away the sails of the
fleeing ship, made a sharp turn into the wind countering the
manoeuvre of the ships of the line passing ahead and trying to
leave as little sail in target as possible. The turn slowed the
“Thunder Led”, but positioned it perpendicular to the opponents at
the exact time of their salvo, thus helping to avoid major damage.
Kristoff immediately reached away from the wind leading his ship in
a tight loop until it caught the downwind. The unexpected manoeuvre
put the ships of the line behind his stern before their gunners had
time to reload. The sloop came out of the loop with the wind in her
back, and the captain shouted something to the bosun. A whistle
sounded and the crew rushed below the deck. The gunners took their
places by the windlasses, and sailors carried out the new sails
onto the deck, then dropped the foresail, and fitted it to the
front mechanism. In less than a minute a foremast and mizzenmast
began to rise from the deck with already mounted sails, which
almost immediately began to fill with wind. The captain leading the
line took up the chase reaching away from the wind in a wide arc.
Thus, he sailed directly into the fire of the port artillery, which
forced him to a sharp turn greatly reducing his speed. That was
enough. The “Thunder Led” put up all sails already as a
three-masted schooner and sailed along the shore to escape hostile
warships. Losing a possible pursuit was only a matter of time
then.
Exposing the
abilities of his ship was not to Kristoff’s liking. He always
treated changing the ship’s silhouette while outsiders were
watching as the last resort. When the outsiders were also direct
enemies, issuing the order to change the ship’s
ship. Around the “Thunder Led” a true pandemonium broke loose. A
hell, that Spark had not expected, could not describe later, and
trembled with spasms and shivers at the mere recollection of it.
The crew was performing miracles of efficiency, making a turn after
turn, and Kristoff, standing at the helm, was cursing the whole
world laying the ship in tight turns, to avoid high fountains risen
by cannon shots and missiles hurled from the walls.
Sparks,
looking at his slim, tall figure topped by a triangular hat while
crossing behind him after being thrown from one side to the other
by the ship’s heeling, for the first time in her life felt a true
admiration for another man’s skills, which she would never be able
to grasp. For the first time she also felt fear. Fear so paralysing
that countering the deep rolls of the deck posed serious balance
problems for her, while he stood unmoved at the helm, without a
shadow of doubt on the strong face.
Dozens of
turns later, when she thought that the worst was finally behind
them... the worst was yet to come. Using the few minutes break in
the shelling from the walls and the current concentration of fire
on the “Thunder Led”, four ships of the line sailed into the area
protected by the artillery, as their captains came to a conclusion
that without going into the reasons for which the fortalice had
been shooting at an allied ship, sinking an enemy unit was always
appreciated by their superiors. The four ships of the line were
sailing on beam reach and after having taken their positions in a
line formation fired with their whole boards in the direction of
the weaving ship. The salvo etched in the waters of the bay just a
few feet away from the side of the “Thunder Led”. Were gunners
dealing with a heavy, western frigate, their missiles would reach
the hull of the ship below the waterline, where they could inflict
massive damage almost certainly synonymous with the sinking of the
unit. Lightweight design of Kristoff’s vessel was flying over the
water being carried by the front runners, making the salvo pass
under the ship. The captain, knowing that at this point the eastern
gunners were reloading their cannons with chain-shots and setting
the bearings of the gun carriages to sweep away the sails of the
fleeing ship, made a sharp turn into the wind countering the
manoeuvre of the ships of the line passing ahead and trying to
leave as little sail in target as possible. The turn slowed the
“Thunder Led”, but positioned it perpendicular to the opponents at
the exact time of their salvo, thus helping to avoid major damage.
Kristoff immediately reached away from the wind leading his ship in
a tight loop until it caught the downwind. The unexpected manoeuvre
put the ships of the line behind his stern before their gunners had
time to reload. The sloop came out of the loop with the wind in her
back, and the captain shouted something to the bosun. A whistle
sounded and the crew rushed below the deck. The gunners took their
places by the windlasses, and sailors carried out the new sails
onto the deck, then dropped the foresail, and fitted it to the
front mechanism. In less than a minute a foremast and mizzenmast
began to rise from the deck with already mounted sails, which
almost immediately began to fill with wind. The captain leading the
line took up the chase reaching away from the wind in a wide arc.
Thus, he sailed directly into the fire of the port artillery, which
forced him to a sharp turn greatly reducing his speed. That was
enough. The “Thunder Led” put up all sails already as a
three-masted schooner and sailed along the shore to escape hostile
warships. Losing a possible pursuit was only a matter of time
then.
Exposing the
abilities of his ship was not to Kristoff’s liking. He always
treated changing the ship’s silhouette while outsiders were
watching as the last resort. When the outsiders were also direct
enemies, issuing the order to change the ship’s
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