"This is ... our new flagship?"
The next day the seamen boarded the refurbished Buttercup under Lorraine.
At yesterday's meal, Lorraine formally announced the first phase of the Chamber's program schedule, along with a fleet-style reorganization of existing ships.
The flagship was officially transferred to the Buttercup.
A Brigantine-type two-masted mixed schooner in a standard fire configuration, the Buttercup was 30 meters long and 8 meters wide with two masts.
The foremast is 20 meters with transverse sails, the mainmast is 22 meters with longitudinal sails, and there are four triangular bowsprits and two intermast catch sails.
The large, comprehensive sail rig and slender, pointed-bottomed hull squeezed her into the ranks of high-speed ships, with a high speed of twelve knots downwind and four to five knots upwind.
She has five decks, two on the inner deck, one on the main deck and two on the upper deck.
The bottom is watertight, mostly below the draft line, and is often used for supplies and cargo holds.
Middle gun deck with 10 nine-pounder long-range guns, five per side.
The upper main deck, equipped with eight six-pound long-range guns, was normally stowed in the bow cabin and only pushed up to the deck in wartime.
The bow cabin is a double-deck structure.
The upper deck was used as a gun room, Lorraine had moved to install the Scott crossbow on the upper deck, after all, this antique weapon had become Lorraine's trademark, and Lorraine wasn't quite used to it the day he didn't see it.
The lower level was built on the gun deck and used as a chicken coop and sheep pen. Offshore shipping had less need for raw poultry farming, but Lorraine wouldn't be nesting offshore all the time, and Hina loved small animals.
The transom compartment has three levels.
The lowest level, also set on the gun deck, was the stern gun compartment, configured with two six-pounders short-range guns. The sleeping cabins of Crane and Ramos, as well as the shipwright's workshop, were also housed on this level.
The mezzanine level has the dining and cooking compartments, Pierce and Noah's sleeping compartments, in addition to two empty compartments that are temporarily used as ingredient storerooms and divination rooms.
Noa's tarot divination was popular among the sailors, vaguely replacing the role of the confessional as the centerpiece of the sailors' spiritual solace in the face of the priest's reluctance to board Lorraine's ship.
The upper deck, on the other hand, was undoubtedly Lorraine and Hina's sleeping quarters. This was the center of power for the entire ship, with the steering wheel resting on the upper deck above their heads.
The duties of seamen have also been fine-tuned.
The captain was Lorraine, naturally, with Haina serving as first mate and helmsman, Keren was third mate, shipwright and head sailor, and Noa was still just a soothsayer.
Pierce has grown up a bit, gradually highlighting the gift of a good eye, and has now added the label of lookout to his duties as second mate intern and chef.
Ramos made his first embarkation as a seaman.
He had been a Division Gunner on HMS Battlemind in the Royal Navy before he retired, and had come aboard because Buttercup needed an expert gunner to take control of the guns and help Lorraine share the pressure.
Lorraine divided the ships of the Chamber of Commerce equally into two fleets.
The First Fleet, flagship Buttercup, under the Atis Beauty and the Beverly Merchant, operating primarily on the route from the British Isles to the Iberian Peninsula, with Governor Lorraine self-appointed, and the post of Vice-Governor given to Ramos.
The Second Fleet, flagship Lucky Grass, under the Cavil Drunkard and the Knight of Northrend, main the relatively comfortable British Isles to Scandinavia route, with Governor Eddie.
The two fleets will continue to be based on the three Black Ports, gradually shifting their center of gravity to the four major ports of Edinburgh, Southampton, Stavanger, and Bilbao, while stabilizing their profits.
May 1, 1778, Port Elgin, Scotland.
The refurbished Drake's Chamber deliberately chose to sail on the first of the month, for in the far east this day was different from every other day of the month and symbolized new beginnings.
It was a cloudy day, but the wind and waves were calm, and the Buttercup gathered up her anchors on both sides, and, propelled by the shore waves, slowly retreated into the wide sea.
Noa sat on her knees at the bow of the ship, spreading her silver tarot behind Lorraine.
"Pick one, my Captain."
"It's May 1, and I'm going to go with the fifth one from left to right."
Noa gently drew the card, turned it over, and laid it flat on the deck.
"Number I, the magician in the positive position. Mercury has heated eyes and a confident smile, symbolizing new beginnings and changing forms. You have great strength and skill, they will help you and you will realize ambitions."
Lorraine smiled and owed, "What a blatant blessing, my Lady Diviner."
"All is fate, Master Captain."
"Thanks."
Pierce ripped off his hood on the lookout, "Wind south-southwest, four knots, moderate!"
Kron laughed and yelled at the sailors at the top of his lungs, "Half-sail, gentlemen! Run up on deck!"
The Buttercup's sails were slowly raised, and Haina ticked the handwheel, the slender hull arcing and turning over the bow, posing in a finish line with the Atis Beauty and the Beverly Merchant.
Lorraine's boots stepped on the bow rail and he drew his longsword with a clang, "Raise the chamber flag! Target Belle Mayo, Drake Chamber of Commerce First Fleet, set sail!"
...
In a flash, more than three months.
Westminster Pier is the largest port in Southampton, and Herbert Walker Street is again the main street of the Westminster Pier harbor area.
79 Herbert Walker Street is a small, red brick, three-story building with street frontage and no courtyard.
This was the brand new headquarters of the Drake Chamber of Commerce, which had been functionally and officially separated from the trade house in the harbor area, and was used primarily as a place to handle the administrative affairs of the Chamber, as well as a resting place on land for Lorraine and his seafarers.
The Chamber's development went smoothly, and with the fitting of the powerful Brigantine ships, the First and Second Fleets never encountered another pirate attack.
Fully loaded and equipped, and with sailors becoming more and more proficient in gunnery, the Buttercup was undoubtedly formidable offshore.
The strength of the Lucky Grass was two or three notches worse, but in the North Sea Route, which was far more restful than the Cantabrian seas, it wouldn't be an object that pirates would want to mess with easily.
Peace of mind is the Chamber's best friend.
In three months, the Drake Chamber of Commerce developed rapidly, successively taking trade licenses from Spain, Wales, and Denmark, reaching into the Baltic Sea while also officially shifting the center of gravity of the Chamber from the original three black harbors to the large, bustling ports.
Stavanger, Norway; Copenhagen, Denmark; Edinburgh, Scotland; Cardiff, Wales; Southampton, England; Bilbao, Basque Country; and Gijon, Spain.
Together, the seven major ports form an upgraded version of the Northwest Europe Triangle trade chain, with profits climbing every month, and at the center of it all is Southampton.
That's why Lorraine set up the Chamber of Commerce headquarters in this civil harbor city with the strongest business atmosphere in the south of England.
This voyage was lined up for Lorraine and Noah's turn.
Carefree Noa had arranged a short trip to Alminsk for herself early on, ready to take advantage of her vacation and trade her cut for a cozy, hand-woven floral rug to decorate the brand new Divination Room.
Lorraine, on the other hand, was not as well off; in addition to being a seafarer, he was also the president of the Chamber of Commerce, and could not afford to be idle until the Chamber was actually on the right track.
Taking a sip of his aromatic Colombian coffee, Lorraine rubbed her brow as she spread out the Chamber's accounts.
The development is very pleasing.
The markets of Denmark, Wales, England and Spain did not require a share of profits with the partners, and the regular large ports were far below the black ports in rates of taxation, so that the many advantages converged in one place, and the earnings grew very rapidly.
For the entire month of July, after all expenses and profit-sharing, the Chamber's profits officially hit the £2,000 mark, with Lorraine taking 60% and getting £1,200 all to herself, Pierce £200, and the four seamen sharing £600 equally, giving each man £150 for the month alone.
He now had £4,270 cash on hand, and nearly £6,000 worth of goods in the warehouse and on board, and by November, tightening up, he would be able to fully fit out the Lucky Grass.
Is that just not necessary?
For the current Drake Chamber of Commerce, the North Sea is still relatively stable in its form.
They had good dealings with the mighty Vikings, and the Lucky Grass with its full six-pound center gun was enough of a deterrent there that there seemed to be an unnecessary rush for firepower upgrades.
The money could have gone to better places, such as adding two inexpensive Ketch-type two-masted longships to serve as a coastal transshipment fleet for the British Isles, increasing the efficiency of the two fleets in running commerce.
Or go up a level and instead of the Cage, just go with a mixed-sail Skooner type that carries more cargo and is much faster?
Because there was essentially no need to configure guns along the coastline of the British Isles, two mixed-sail Skooners would have required little more than £2,400 to spend.
Form a transit fleet, recruit a down-to-earth and steady governor, and open up the Irish market along the way - after all, Dublin has always been a coveted major port ...
The more I think about it, the more I think this is a good direction to go ...
Lorraine hesitated to go to Plymouth at once to settle the matter, when Miss Jeanne, who had been promoted to secretary of the General Council, suddenly knocked at the door.
Lorraine frowned, "Miss Jeanne, is something wrong?"
"Urgent letter from Bilbao, Lord President." Jeanne blushed as she gently placed a tube of letterboxes sealed with fire paint onto Lorraine's desk and said under her breath, "Miss Xavier says that she wants you to read the letter at the first opportunity and make a decision as soon as possible."
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