IC: YARR!, Be ye scurvy enough...? Options

[Ray Becker]

Clump through all that brief exchange had gone to the rail and was leaning on it and gazing out over the ocean marvelling as he always did at the sheer beauty he beheld all around him.

"Bah!! Ah might as well tak the wacth Ca'in gives ah fellah somthing ta do."

[Lindt]

"What'eva' floats yar boat" Iron gives a toothy grin. "Fish for breckfast, could be worse I suppose" He walks back to the bow and takes a seat on the deck, again savoring the sun and the spray.

[RangerJoe]

Over the next few days, folks settle into routines aboard the Albacore. It’s a tight ship, but with a crew as she has, there is never a dull moment. Some captains treat their crew worse than bilge rats, but Slosh seems to respect each of the crew as equals.

On the morning of the fourth day at sea, you are all awakened at dawn by an eerie light pouring in through the small portholes in your cabins. For those who have lived on the sea, the sign is unmistakable—red in the morning, sailors take warning.

[FXcalibur]

"This can't be good." I muttered over a plate of fish I had managed to stow away for the night. "I won't be able to catch any lunchables if this keeps up." So I set the plate back down and walked back up on deck to get a good view of the sky.

"Well, I haven't seen this is a very long while, guys. What do you make of it?"

[Lindt]

"I dunna know lassie, but I think the famous saying is Batten Down the Hatches. Might wanna get some food in ya while ya can, dosent look like this is gonna provide us with time for lunch" Iron looks over the ocean with a mix of aprenhention, fear, and a little bit of gusto. This is what people live for... he thinks. "Im gonna tie my gear down, and suit up for foul weather." Rodger goes below to make sure his personal gear is secured, and put on a wet suit and life vest.

[RangerJoe]

Clouds scud angrily across the sky, and the air feels wet and heavy.

"I'm going to have a quick peek," Slosh says, sitting himself down on a bench in the cockpit. "One of you mind tending the wheel?" With that, his eyes close and his body relaxes. It ain't Doppler 8000, but you've got to trust that Slosh knows a thing or two about magical weather forecasting.

[RangerJoe]

Returning to his body with a stifled “BURP!” Slosh makes the following report: “Well, I’ve got some good news and I’ve got some bad news. The good news is, we can expect unusually light patrols while we shoot the Carrib. The bad news is we’ve got a roarer comin’ our way, and she looks like a big one. We’ll hoist sail and try to stay ahead of the worst of the storm, but it looks like she’s comin’ in fast.” Waiting for the frightening words to sink in, he continues, “Look sharp, folks! Batten down loose ends, see to covering Aesir and Ran with the waterproofs!” As the crew hops to his instructions, those with sharp ears see him grip the wheel apprehensively, muttering, “I just love this time of year…”

[Ray Becker]

Clump headed over to his waterscooter and double checked that it was secure, before he proceded to check each line in his area. Shortley there after he was making his way back accross the deck to the pilot house.

"Lines be secure Slosh"

He mutterd as he braced himself for the quickly approching storm.

[ Spoiler ]

Sailboat Check
08 04 04 01

Athletics
11 09 01

[Lindt]

Iron returns from his bunk looking like a polyurathane coated Irish setter, and about as afraid of the water as one.
"Ill start from the bow, make sure lines are good and tight"

[ Spoiler ]

Sailboat 04 02
Athletics 08 01

This post has been edited by Lindt: Sep 27 2004, 04:20 PM

[FXcalibur]

"Umm, I'm not very good at sailing." I said, clinging onto a nearby line. "But I'll give it a try."

[ Spoiler ]

Sailboat (defaulting to Int): 04 02 02 01 (eek)
Athletics: 04 04 03 03 02 01

[RangerJoe]

Watching the storm approach is like watching a car wreck—you want to be discrete and tend to your ship-borne tasks, but your morbid curiosity keeps drawing you back to the wall of clouds, surf, and rain, that is steadily advancing on you. An hour or so after daybreak, the red glow of the morning has given way to a gloomy, dark gray. The wind gusts incessantly, which drives the Albacore onwards over the surf. Shimmering visions, like fish and dolphins, lick out of the sea at the fore of the ship, mysterious creatures of pure water. They seem to be racing against the vessel, egging it on.

With a thunderous crash, the rain begins. Buckets of water plummet down from the sky, cascading and bursting off of the sails and rigging. “Trim sail!” Slosh hollers over the roar. Thankfully the Albacore’s rigging is fairly simple, and can be manipulated from the canopy, with no need to go aloft.

The ship pitches and rolls in the storm, the seas trying the stability of even the well-hulled catamaran. Slosh spins the wheel to and fro, expertly keeping the ship driving into the surf. You cannot tell for sure if it is sweat or spray which is making his brow drip.

From out of nowhere a large wave rolls in from port. You can see it rising, a mountain of water, about to catch the Albacore broadside! As the port pontoon begins lifting, the glittering sea-life (which had ceased racing the ship when the rain broke) burst from under the keel, smashing into the mountain with a mighty splash, dispersing the wave. “That was close!” Slosh bellows.

[Ray Becker]

Clump instantly leapt to do as Slosh ordered grabbing the rope that would trim the sail he started to do so. He caught site of the gigantic wave that was rushing towards them out of the corner of his eye and paused momentarily, growling to himself he quickly got back to work.

By the time he had finished his task he watched as the large wave dissipated before reaching them. Throwing back his head he laughed before he made his way carefully across the deck checking the lines again.

[ Spoiler ]

Sailboats:
09 07 04 01

Athletics:
14 04 04

[RangerJoe]

From between blasts of drive rain and spitting surf, glimpses of something dark and looming appear to your storm-watered eyes. Skittering across the deck, but maintianing his footing, “Land ho!” a sopping Clump hollers over the storm. “We won’t last too much longer out here!” Slosh bellows, as more water is heaved up on deck. “It’s stronger than I thought it would be!” Slosh spins the wheel, angling the ship towards the hulking mass of shadows. Gradually the outline of a low island appears through the spray, surrounded by a churning wall of surf—a reef! “Hold on!” Slosh shouts, as the Albacore lurches towards certain doom.

Around the reef, the waters surge and swirl. Gradually the area dead ahead of the ship piles up with water, although when the surf ebbs, sharp fangs of coral still rear up above the waterline. With a rushing lob, a wave lofts the Albacore over the reef wall, the sickening sound of snapping coral and scrapping Plexiglas clearly audible over the storm. Inside the lagoon, the wind is still driving, but the seas are much calmer. Slosh steers the boat towards a small embayment. “Lower sail,” he mutters, looking haggard. “We’re going to wait this out.”

[Ray Becker]

A rather wet Clump moves to comply lowering the sail, which looked to be only slightly damper than he felt. That done he set off for tha galley something hot in the stomache would be swell right abouts now.

[Lindt]

Iron, having spent most of the time hanging on for dear life, releases the death grip that had set it self on the bulkhead. "Ah feel like a drowned rat out here... " He goes to assist in the shoring up of the ship.

[RangerJoe]

At first you just imagine it, but after a few hours, there is no mistake—the storm is moving on. The sky is clearing. The rain slowly stops, and a warm breeze flickers across your drenched bodies. The clouds, now puffy and dark blue in the afternoon light scud away to the northwest.

There’s good news and there’s bad news after the storm. The bad news is, the Albacore’s sails are partially shredded (the stitching on the bullet holes was first rate, but it was no match for the howler) and the hull has been scraped by the reef. Slosh informs you that the boat is letting on water at a determined trickle—nothing life-threatening, but patching is a priority and the water tanks have been breached. “Any volunteers to go ashore and look for a spring?” he asks.

The good news is that you’re all alive, though wet, and seem to be stuck, for the moment, in paradise. The beach which slopes down to the lagoon is littered with debris, palm fronds, and old buoys, but the sand is white and gleaming. Behind the beach, a lush forest spreads forth up a steep hill. The island is not enormous by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s no sand bar either. From all appearances the island is uninhabited. Compared to some of the other rocks you’ve washed up on, this place doesn’t look half bad.

[Ray Becker]

Looking around Clump decides that he'd enjoy the excursion to shore.

"I'll go Ca'in just give me a moment to gather ma gear."

Popping down to his cabin he grabbed his manhunter a spare clip one of his spearguns and his secure jacket, arriving back on deck he gathers a few water bottles and heads over to his waterscooter. Lowering it to the water he dropped onto it and called out.

"If anybody wants ta join me ther're gonna have ta swim only room fo one on here also if ah ain't back in half an hour expect trouble."

and with that Clump set off for the shore.

[ Spoiler ]

Moterboat roll(closest thing I've got to water scooter)
2 4 8 4

[Lindt]

"We gonna try do the hull repairs in the water, or are we gonna beach it and work on it there?" Iron strips off the wet suit, and goes about checking the holds for water damage. He shoots back "If ya aint back in half an hour, well assume ya found some pretty island lady, and ya wanna stay"

[RangerJoe]

With no sign of Carol on deck, Slosh begins to fear the worst. Then again, of all the crew to wash overboard, he figures she is the one most likely to survive the encounter. Knowing her accustomedness to storms, the wee lass might even be below decks taking a nap. “Come right back when you’ve found a spring,” he hollers over the roar of the jet-ski. We’ll organized a proper bucket brigade then.” Turning to Iron, he continues, “No sense in beaching her. It’d do more harm than good at this point. If we could fashion a dry dock out of them palm fronds, that’d be another thing altogether. For now, we can just try to patch her up using some marine epoxy and a little trick I picked up a few years ago. You might want to put the suit back on. Storms like those can kick up a lot of mighty cold water and fill the lagoon.”

After surveying the damage with Iron, Slosh grabs a few tubes of sealant and heads back on deck. Donning fins and a diving skin, Slosh hops overboard. From beneath the waterline there is a small * thump * and a curious gulping sound. When Iron joins Slosh in the water, he is amazed to see a dome sticking off the side Albacore, rooted to the hull, and keeping the water away from a large tear. “I’m going to stay up here and keep the water back, eh?” Slosh offers. “You’ll find you can breath just fine in the bubble, but work quick so the fumes don’t get to you. I’ll move the bubble when you’re done on that section.”

[ Spoiler ]

Iron, roll patching up ships, Clump, roll perception

[Lindt]

Iron surfaces and goes to load up his diving gear and make sure hes got enough epoxy to do the repairs. "Not a bad little set up ya got there"

[ Spoiler ]

Powerboat B/R 10 04 03 (Im doing hull work, I dont see a reason to default to sailboat)
Diving 05 05 05

[Ray Becker]

[ Spoiler ]

Perception(using Intel)

23 05 05 04 02 02
#D:6 TN:8 H#:23 S:1