“Silver Adventures”- Captain Joshua Slane – 20MR19 – ‘Fine shootin' that is! The western tower is all but gone!’

⛵ ⛵ ⛵ ⛵. . . "Tour of the Gulf of Aden". . . (cont.)

[Last time...]

Galligan walked further west, towards the palace. There were no signs of the palace guards now as he approached the limp body of the fallen soldier…
“Sard! Whit a sight! Puir dobber…” He said quietly as he unfolded his neck scarf and placed it over the crushed skull of the guard, “Nae a guid day fur palace security…"

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

[On-board the Silverton…]

All eighteen cannon were still smoking hot and the crew was scurrying into an extended battle stations posture.

“Ahh need two mair men up haur oan th' upper gun deck oan th' dooble!" Cockpit Mate- Midshipman's Mate Fisky yelled.

A group of boys from the lower gun deck scurried up the galley stairs and saluted Fisky as they joined the cramped quarters on the top gun deck.
“Tokjockey Seaman- Landsman reporting for duty Sairrr! Arrrgh!!!” Tokjockey said with a smile.

“Help swab-oot those guns loon an' git them primed in case th' Keptin order's anither volley!"
“Aye Sairrr!” Tokjockey replied as he ran over and saluted Junior Petty Officer- Gunner's Mate Spinny who busy working the boys furiously on the gun deck.
“Grab a sheepskin rod an' start swabbin' these smoke barrels! Grease them doon guid an' stand ready fur powder!" Spinny commanded.

Tokjockey was in seventh heaven, his first real battle…

“Pirate Sunday oan Wednesday, I Love It!” He mumbled to himself as he grabbed a swab and went to work.

Meanwhile, up on the bridge, the Captain eyed the palace closely in the failing light off the portside rail…

“Braw shootin' 'att is! Th' western guard tower is aw but gain! Guid eye Spinny..." he said to himself as he held his thirty inch scope steady on the palace wall, "'Att aught tae git 'att dobber King Radwan's attention..."

By now the couple hundred townspeople who had crowded the south-east shore of the palace grounds were all running as fast as they could away from the royal palace and back into the town central…

[Back on the palace lawn…]

Commander Galligan waved the group to come forward and join him in the middle of the debris strewn lawn. In a moment they all stood silent, awed by the destruction that the Silverton had just thrown upon the great walls.

“Commander Sairrr, dae Ahh needs tae bide wi' th' boat?!" Seaman- Ordinary Seaman Errislravenhill asked.

“Nae mate. Nae one's gonnae be oot haur efter thes violence. Bide wi' us!" Galligan said as he turned and faced the main gates.
“Aye Sairrr!” Errislravenhill said as she got a tighter grip on her musket.

She couldn’t help to feel an odd attraction for the man who so gallantly led the assault on the palace and remembering also how he shielded her face from the flying debris. She shook off the awkward thoughts as she glanced back at the palace walls but the feelings lingered on…

[A mile north of Seychelles, on the Arabian Dhow…]

Asif carefully scoped the northern shoreline of the main island. A scattering of small boats were tied at anchor here and there amongst other fishing vessels, but no great warship. He lowered his scope and called out to Abdul…

“Give me more sail cloth and let’s try and round the northern point before morning!”
“Yes Asif! But may there not be the warship harboring on the east coast?!”
“With God’s help there will be!” Asif replied with a slight grin.
“Oh please Sir! Can we not just stay here in the north and watch from a distance?!” Abdul said worriedly.
“How can we watch what we cannot see my friend?”

⛵ ⛵ ⛵ ⛵


"Th' term gun deck is used tae refer tae a deck aboard a ship 'att is primarily used fur th' moontin' o' cannon tae be fired in broadsides. Th' term is generally applied tae decks enclosed under a roof; smaller an' unrated vessels carry they's guns oan th' upper deck, forecastle an' quarterdeck, an' these uir nae described as gun decks.

Th' term "gun deck" is also Scottish Navy slang fur fabricatin' ur falsifyin' somethin'. A possible explanation relates tae Midshipmen retirin' tae th' gun deck tae complete their celestial navigation assignments o' computin' th' ship's position. While some midshipmen might be conscientioos aboot computin' positions froms new observations, others waur reputed tae extrapolate an' back calculate observation data froms deid reckonin' coorses an' speeds from earlier observations, an' th' computations performed oan th' gun deck waur suspect. (Midshipman's Mate Fisky is noot one tae dae this! He knows better than 'att!)

This term is noo used tae indicate th' falsification o' documentation in order tae avoid daein' th' wark! *(Onie cheil 'att diz 'att oan mah ship will fin' himself takin' th' long swim in a hurry!" -💀 Keptin

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"Confused? Ascared? Seasick? Need a private chat with the Captain?" - [email protected]

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