Strolling above the Sound with the pungent smell of the mud flats wafting up the slope and seagulls crying of storms brewing, we came across two adjacent dry docks offering weathered pirate ships for sale. We checked with Lloyds of London yet they declined to invest (their loss), so we tossed in two dollars each and hauled the vessels to our shelter for refitting.

A thorough swabbing from poop deck to the deep hold and the hull gleamed. Two new portholes needed constructing, yet sails deployed easily, rigging was intact, and anchor chains deployed smoothly.

Next we decked the ships out with fitting flags and pennants to celebrate future successful plundering. Stella (the mermaid manatee) chose a classic Odalisque pose for posterity and Pussy (the Shiva Octopus) struck an “all hands on deck pose”.

Recruiting a crew was a challenge since boutique cruise lines were paying bonuses and free grog for genuine rogues. Long John Silver was off seeking buried treasure. So we took the drastic step of dragooning several crew members from other narratives:

the frog who stole grandfather’s teeth and Carl the robot from A Day With Wilbur Robinson, the bear and rabbit from I Want My Hat Back, and Owl from The Night Owl.

Though not happy, the crew settled in comfortably when they realized more adventures did await, and they could avoid being stuck in the same narrative day after day.

So now the refitted vessels sit at anchor waiting for two young Masters to go down to the sea in ships. Young Captains Horatio and Jack Aubrey are preparing their sea bags for the next voyage.