CHAPTER ONE
Hal smiled to himself as the Heron cut smoothly through the water, rising and falling gracefully; swooping over the small, even waves and sending showers of spray high into the air on either side of her bows as she sliced down into the troughs.
It was good to feel the slight vibration in the tiller and the surge of the deck under his feet once more. He and his crew had spent the winter building this new Heron and he was enjoying being back at sea, and in command.
They were off the Sonderland coast, well to the west of Hallasholm, carrying out final sea trials on the new ship.
‘She’s definitely faster than the old Heron,’ he commented to Stig, who was standing close by, keeping an eye on the taut curve of the sail.
His first mate smiled. ‘That’s only to be expected,’ he said. ‘She’s two metres longer on the waterline.’
Hal nodded. The extra length would make the ship faster through the water. But he had also had time to – 4 – experiment with the cut of the sails – to shape them and reinforce them with extra seams so they formed a smoother, more efficient curve when the wind filled them. In addition, he had increased the height of the mast and yardarms, so the new ship carried more sail than the old.
All in all, he thought, it was a good result. But there was one thing that bothered him slightly, and that was one of the reasons they had put to sea – to test the new ship under a variety of conditions and see if she would deliver maximum performance.
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