Read Online Young Samurai: The Ring of Wind by Chris Bradford - Free Book Online
Authors: Chris Bradford
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faster than the wind,’ said Jack.
If her battered hull and wrecked rigging can hold out long enough
, he thought. But he didn’t admit this to his friends. ‘The three of you start throwing crates and the bamboo overboard. We need to lighten the load.’
‘NO!’ cried the captain. ‘Those are my goods.’
‘They’ll be no good to you if you’re dead,’ Jack shouted back, before darting up to the stern’s deck and wrestling the tiller from the inept captain.
‘This is
my
ship!’ he protested, shocked by the apparent mutiny.
‘Then let me save it for you,’ replied Jack, revealing his face to the captain for the first time.
‘Y-y-you’re a
gaijin
!’
‘I’m also a sailor and a pilot,’ said Jack, leaning hard on the tiller and steering the
Golden Tiger
on a westerly course.
‘What are you doing?’ cried the captain in alarm. ‘We should be running before the wind, not heading into it!’
‘The Wind Demons have two sails,’ stated Jack. ‘They’d catch up with us in no time. Our only hope is to outsail them. We need to be close-hauled. Now get your men to trim the mainsail.’
The captain looked thoroughly unconvinced by Jack’s plan of action. Nonetheless, still in shock at his foreign appearance and with the pirate ship surging towards them, he ordered his crew to pull in the sheets. The canvas stopped flapping, no longer spilling precious wind power, and the
Golden Tiger
immediately picked up speed.
Jack realized he was taking a great risk. Close-hauled was the most challenging point of sail and the hardest in which to get the best out of a boat, especially one as battered as the
Golden Tiger
. The difficulty lay in how close to the wind he could get. Jack had to aim the
Golden Tiger
’s bow as high as possible, while maintaining the fastest attainable speed. He’d be sailing on a knife’s edge. The brisk breeze meant a sudden gust could capsize them at any moment. If he steered too much into the wind, the
Golden Tiger
would enter the no-go zone and stop dead in the water. If he angled further away from the wind, the boat would increase speed but have to cover a lot more ground – and this would allow the faster pirate ship to gain on them.
Jack’s sole hope relied upon their enemy being less manoeuvrable and unable to take such an acute angle to the wind. This would force the ninja pirates to tack more often, slowing their progress every time they had to beat a new course.
Miyuki, Yori and Saburo continued to dump cargo into the sea. Whimpers of pain and loss sounded from the captain with each crate thrown overboard. But the
Golden Tiger
benefited from the reduction in weight and began to fly through the water.
‘They’re still going to hit us!’ wailed one of the crew.
Jack glanced back. The fearsome pirate ship, its black spider sail seeming to swallow the stars behind, crested a wave like a breaching whale. Its exposed hull revealed timbers reinforced for ramming. As its bow came crashing back to the sea, plumes of white spray spurted into the air.
‘Change tack!’ insisted the captain to Jack. ‘They’re headed straight for our port side.’
‘No,’ replied Jack, steadfastly keeping his bearing. The
Golden Tiger
was virtually nose to the wind, the telltale feathering of the canvas warning Jack of just how close they were to disaster.
‘
CHANGE COURSE!
’ screamed the captain, throwing his arms over his head and bracing himself for the impact.
The pirate ship drove towards their port quarter … and missed. It sailed past like a great black ghost, its menacing crew glaring over the side at their escaping quarry.
Unable to sail Jack’s line, the pirate ship was forced to tack several more times in order to make another run at them.
‘Pin that sail in tight!’ Jack shouted to the crew, seeing the canvas begin to flap again. Waves lapped over the leeside gunwale as he fought to keep the boat on its extreme bearing. The wind whipped past, sending chill sea
If her battered hull and wrecked rigging can hold out long enough
, he thought. But he didn’t admit this to his friends. ‘The three of you start throwing crates and the bamboo overboard. We need to lighten the load.’
‘NO!’ cried the captain. ‘Those are my goods.’
‘They’ll be no good to you if you’re dead,’ Jack shouted back, before darting up to the stern’s deck and wrestling the tiller from the inept captain.
‘This is
my
ship!’ he protested, shocked by the apparent mutiny.
‘Then let me save it for you,’ replied Jack, revealing his face to the captain for the first time.
‘Y-y-you’re a
gaijin
!’
‘I’m also a sailor and a pilot,’ said Jack, leaning hard on the tiller and steering the
Golden Tiger
on a westerly course.
‘What are you doing?’ cried the captain in alarm. ‘We should be running before the wind, not heading into it!’
‘The Wind Demons have two sails,’ stated Jack. ‘They’d catch up with us in no time. Our only hope is to outsail them. We need to be close-hauled. Now get your men to trim the mainsail.’
The captain looked thoroughly unconvinced by Jack’s plan of action. Nonetheless, still in shock at his foreign appearance and with the pirate ship surging towards them, he ordered his crew to pull in the sheets. The canvas stopped flapping, no longer spilling precious wind power, and the
Golden Tiger
immediately picked up speed.
Jack realized he was taking a great risk. Close-hauled was the most challenging point of sail and the hardest in which to get the best out of a boat, especially one as battered as the
Golden Tiger
. The difficulty lay in how close to the wind he could get. Jack had to aim the
Golden Tiger
’s bow as high as possible, while maintaining the fastest attainable speed. He’d be sailing on a knife’s edge. The brisk breeze meant a sudden gust could capsize them at any moment. If he steered too much into the wind, the
Golden Tiger
would enter the no-go zone and stop dead in the water. If he angled further away from the wind, the boat would increase speed but have to cover a lot more ground – and this would allow the faster pirate ship to gain on them.
Jack’s sole hope relied upon their enemy being less manoeuvrable and unable to take such an acute angle to the wind. This would force the ninja pirates to tack more often, slowing their progress every time they had to beat a new course.
Miyuki, Yori and Saburo continued to dump cargo into the sea. Whimpers of pain and loss sounded from the captain with each crate thrown overboard. But the
Golden Tiger
benefited from the reduction in weight and began to fly through the water.
‘They’re still going to hit us!’ wailed one of the crew.
Jack glanced back. The fearsome pirate ship, its black spider sail seeming to swallow the stars behind, crested a wave like a breaching whale. Its exposed hull revealed timbers reinforced for ramming. As its bow came crashing back to the sea, plumes of white spray spurted into the air.
‘Change tack!’ insisted the captain to Jack. ‘They’re headed straight for our port side.’
‘No,’ replied Jack, steadfastly keeping his bearing. The
Golden Tiger
was virtually nose to the wind, the telltale feathering of the canvas warning Jack of just how close they were to disaster.
‘
CHANGE COURSE!
’ screamed the captain, throwing his arms over his head and bracing himself for the impact.
The pirate ship drove towards their port quarter … and missed. It sailed past like a great black ghost, its menacing crew glaring over the side at their escaping quarry.
Unable to sail Jack’s line, the pirate ship was forced to tack several more times in order to make another run at them.
‘Pin that sail in tight!’ Jack shouted to the crew, seeing the canvas begin to flap again. Waves lapped over the leeside gunwale as he fought to keep the boat on its extreme bearing. The wind whipped past, sending chill sea
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