Sails Across the Sea: A Tim Phillips Novel (War at Sea Book 8) by Richard Testrake
Authors: Richard Testrake
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Davison wondered why they were telling the man such a story.
“As soon as that dhow makes port, that captain will be telling his mates about the great swindle he did with the infidel captain of a British ship. I do not wish them speculating on our possible purpose in these waters. If they think we will be bringing merchant ships here to trade, they will be talking about how to get as much silver from us as possible. If they think we are coming for military or naval reasons, we might be met with a fleet of Turkish frigates. We will sail around Cyprus as fast as we can and locate the island we are looking for.”
No further adventures of note happened upon them for the next week. Terrier sailed around Cyprus and then east toward the Asian mainland. The quarterdeck officers believed they were nearing their destination when they began encountering fleets of small fishing boats. Some were substantial, decked craft, capable of staying out for days at a time. Others were merely large open boats the size of Terrier’s launch, but carrying a lateen sail.
None seemed frightened of the strange warship. They sailed close by a bevy of the craft, without any taking fright and panicking toward shore. Davison wondered if perhaps they knew a fleet of the Sublime Porte’s warships were in the vicinity to protect them.
Phillips answered, “Perhaps more likely they think Terrier is one of his warships. In any case, it seems fruitless to speculate. We will keep our lookouts alert for warships and hope to quickly find this villa where Lady Forsythe might be kept.
Normally, Phillips just kept a lookout on the main masthead during the day, but now he asked the first officer to station another of the fore masthead. He also had leadsmen at the mainchains, swinging the heavy lead lines armed with mutton tallow to warn of shallow waters.
Now, with no bottom to be found they sailed uneventfully, but then one lead touched bottom at ninety fathoms. The tallow in the recess of the lead weight showed traces of grey sand and tiny bits of shell that it had picked up. The sailing master made careful notation in his log, but reported there was no mention of the bottom’s composition in his copy of the old chart.
Soon the lookouts reported land, and the depths began decreasing. Night was coming on, so the brig sailed out to gain a little sea room in case bad weather came upon them. At dawn, cleared for action and the men at the guns, they began closing the land. When the morning mists cleared they had a good view of the promontory they sought, and a sprawling villa stood at the summit.
A rocky spur jutted out into the sea for a few hundred yards. A beach spread along it, and on this beach were a dozen or so open fishing boats. More boats had already put to sea and some were advancing toward Terrier.
Phillips called Devers to the quarterdeck. Devers, by now, had been given honorary ranking as a wardroom officer and was welcome aft whenever he wished. At the moment, Phillips wished to question him about this activity. “Mister Devers, why would you imagine they seem to be unafraid of us?”
“Sir, remember I have only visited this place once a few years ago, and then I was a slave at the oars. Nobody gave me much information then, and what I did learn, I have probably forgotten.”
“What I think though, is that this Rashid fellow who owns the place is a feared man in these parts. I doubt if any of the locals are brave enough to ask questions where he is concerned. The fishermen probably believe we are here on his business and are not about to interfere.”
Phillips wondered, “What about troops? Does he have many men guarding the place?”
“Well, again, I was only here once, for a matter of a few weeks. While our galley was being repaired, we were kept in an old stone fortress inland a few miles. At the time, I think there were maybe fifty armed men who mostly guarded us. The word then was, Rashid had the villa full of beautiful
“As soon as that dhow makes port, that captain will be telling his mates about the great swindle he did with the infidel captain of a British ship. I do not wish them speculating on our possible purpose in these waters. If they think we will be bringing merchant ships here to trade, they will be talking about how to get as much silver from us as possible. If they think we are coming for military or naval reasons, we might be met with a fleet of Turkish frigates. We will sail around Cyprus as fast as we can and locate the island we are looking for.”
No further adventures of note happened upon them for the next week. Terrier sailed around Cyprus and then east toward the Asian mainland. The quarterdeck officers believed they were nearing their destination when they began encountering fleets of small fishing boats. Some were substantial, decked craft, capable of staying out for days at a time. Others were merely large open boats the size of Terrier’s launch, but carrying a lateen sail.
None seemed frightened of the strange warship. They sailed close by a bevy of the craft, without any taking fright and panicking toward shore. Davison wondered if perhaps they knew a fleet of the Sublime Porte’s warships were in the vicinity to protect them.
Phillips answered, “Perhaps more likely they think Terrier is one of his warships. In any case, it seems fruitless to speculate. We will keep our lookouts alert for warships and hope to quickly find this villa where Lady Forsythe might be kept.
Normally, Phillips just kept a lookout on the main masthead during the day, but now he asked the first officer to station another of the fore masthead. He also had leadsmen at the mainchains, swinging the heavy lead lines armed with mutton tallow to warn of shallow waters.
Now, with no bottom to be found they sailed uneventfully, but then one lead touched bottom at ninety fathoms. The tallow in the recess of the lead weight showed traces of grey sand and tiny bits of shell that it had picked up. The sailing master made careful notation in his log, but reported there was no mention of the bottom’s composition in his copy of the old chart.
Soon the lookouts reported land, and the depths began decreasing. Night was coming on, so the brig sailed out to gain a little sea room in case bad weather came upon them. At dawn, cleared for action and the men at the guns, they began closing the land. When the morning mists cleared they had a good view of the promontory they sought, and a sprawling villa stood at the summit.
A rocky spur jutted out into the sea for a few hundred yards. A beach spread along it, and on this beach were a dozen or so open fishing boats. More boats had already put to sea and some were advancing toward Terrier.
Phillips called Devers to the quarterdeck. Devers, by now, had been given honorary ranking as a wardroom officer and was welcome aft whenever he wished. At the moment, Phillips wished to question him about this activity. “Mister Devers, why would you imagine they seem to be unafraid of us?”
“Sir, remember I have only visited this place once a few years ago, and then I was a slave at the oars. Nobody gave me much information then, and what I did learn, I have probably forgotten.”
“What I think though, is that this Rashid fellow who owns the place is a feared man in these parts. I doubt if any of the locals are brave enough to ask questions where he is concerned. The fishermen probably believe we are here on his business and are not about to interfere.”
Phillips wondered, “What about troops? Does he have many men guarding the place?”
“Well, again, I was only here once, for a matter of a few weeks. While our galley was being repaired, we were kept in an old stone fortress inland a few miles. At the time, I think there were maybe fifty armed men who mostly guarded us. The word then was, Rashid had the villa full of beautiful
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