Forever Young The Beginning by Gerald Simpkins

morning,
all headed a bit to the west of Tico’s course. Ian thought that he
might have missed Marseille by a few miles. They kept their heading
and as they came closer, they didn’t yet see a city. He altered
course to the west and they continued on, parallel to shore until
the lookout cried out “Port of Marseille to starboard, Port
Marseille to starboard.” Within the hour Tico dropped anchor in the port of
Marseille.

Chapter 8
    Ian shouted “Lads, we all need a
bath.” He was answered with a chorus of “Aye!” as the men began to
strip off their clothing. Soon the cargo net was lowered and the
men were all swimming and cavorting, diving off of the bowsprit. Li
and Ian took their clean clothes off of the line they had rigged
and went to kindle a fire in the galley to roast a sea bass they
had caught.
    After they had all eaten Ian said “We
need to find the harbormaster and present the documents Cap’n
McCloud gave me. He can help us find what we need, and God willing,
maybe even a vessel bound for Barcelona. We could send word to the
Cap’n that we made it in one piece.”
    “ Aye, Ian, and maybe tell
that bonny lassie that you’re still alive too?” At this everyone
had a good laugh including Ian.
    “ It seems you’ve found me
out after all” he replied laughing with them, as Li and Tom slapped
him on his back. Then he said “No need of you laughing too hard
Tom. We’ve all seen you making calf’s eyes at Celita.” There
followed a chorus of ‘Ooooo’s from the rest. Tom blushed red as a
beet, as all the rest of the men bellowed with laughter.
    Ian flagged a passing
fishing boat and got a ride to shore, taking Tom and Lorn with him
as translators. By the time the day had ended, he had made
arrangements for a sail maker to come to take measurements for a
new set of sails for the foremast, and had contracted with a marine
salvage and construction firm to begin repairs on Tico .
    Visiting the Harbormaster,
he had presented the documents that Angus had sealed in wax and
oilcloth, allowing the Harbormaster himself to open them. A brief
explanation followed and the Harbormaster recognized the chain of
title and cleared them for anchorage, declaring that he would enter
all of the information in his log book. He also intended to tell
his brother who owned the local newspaper to interview them because
of their saving the Spanish ambassador’s daughter and surviving the
storm. Ian bought a small dory so they could get to and from Tico and set watches for
the coming night.
    ***
    Elsie’s Cloud rode at anchor in the harbor at Barcelona. Her
longboat had carried Angus and the ladies to the main pier,
adjacent to the harbormaster’s office. Armando had accompanied them
as interpreter. They were accorded royal treatment by customs and
the harbormasters office once the facts of their arrival became
known.
    That night as they sat to
dine at the Vasquez home, Alandra’s mother stood and announced a
toast to the brave men of Elsie’s
Cloud for their part in returning her
daughter and Celita safely. She announced that every member of
Elsie’s crew would receive a golden doubloon, a new white shirt
with each crewman’s name, and a dark blue pair of long seaman’s
pants. She told Angus that his gift would arrive with the others
before they left port. They all drank a toast to the safety of the
crew of Tico and
that all would go well for them in Marseille. Alandra was smiling
and talking courteously, but Angus could see that she was
distracted with worry about Ian’s fate. Sitting next to her, he
reached out his hand and warmly clasped hers. Their eyes met, and
he said “I worry too Alandra, but know this; Ian is among the
finest sailors I know. In my heart of hearts, I know that he’s
already in Marseille.”
    ***
    The next day they
moved Tico to the
repair wharf before eating breakfast. The new mast was lying nearby
ready for the carpenters who were due to come today as well. Soon
the sail maker’s son