_Salamander_

There may not have been the participation you envisaged, but nevertheless thank you for organising. It’s the first time I’ve participated in BoBS and while I think every entry of mine was late, it did get me building regularly and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed taking part. Cheers!

“Captain Petrik Voss” the stranger announced, extending his hand before adding “sorry for me manner earlier - I bear ye no ill will, but there be all manner of marauders round these parts so it pays to be cautious. Any ship ferrying booze is no threat to me.” “Understandable. Welcome aboard The Golden Frog, Captain Voss… I’m Corliss Freeman - Captain - and this is my first mate, Jacqueline Morel-Benoîte. Sadly we’re… well, a little lost. Again.” “Ye say ye be bound for Hellion; I reckon I can be helping ye - in return for passage, of course” “Passage?” “Aye, for me an’ me crew. We been stranded here for some months now, and I’d be liking to put this rotten isle astern. We have maps and charts, but no means o’ makin’ sail.” “We’d like to help, but as you can see The Golden Frog is… compact. I doubt we could accommodate your whole crew. I saw no wrecks around here… tell me, how did you come to be stranded?” Voss inhaled through his teeth. “Ah, a rare misfortune for sure. I chartered a party raft for me crew, so as we might celebrate the anniversary of our first voyage with some drinkin’ and bein’ merry out on the water - but a sudden storm arose an’ we had to lash the sail for shelter. After the storm, the sail were all but destroyed an’ we were left adrift, ‘til we made land here.” “Does the raft still float?” Jacqueline asked. Voss cast her a sideways glance, “I reckon so. Seems a hardy thing. We hid it for safety.” “I was just thinking, Corliss,” Jacqueline continued, “that we could spare a sail or two.” … Voss’ crew retrieved the party raft from its hiding place, and after several hours of enthusiastic carpentry, The Golden Frog’s studding sails had been removed and repurposed, rendering the party raft seaworthy once more. “Captain Voss, it would be my pleasure to escort you to Hellion” shouted Corliss. And with that, the party raft set out into the waves, leading The Golden Frog on its way. … The atmosphere in Hellion was jubilant, with Oktoberfest well underway. The Octan Tanker had already arrived, of course, and the crew were busy extolling the virtues of something called ‘Phlogiston’ to any and all who would listen. Having organised the supply of beer and sausages for the event, the renowned Dr. Thaum could be found at the centre of the festivities, congratulating the crews who had completed the run. Minor celebrities such as Pirate influencer Findus R. Swagg could also be seen pushing their latest collab deals. Oktoberfest maybe wasn’t the best pitch for the Portable Parallel Parrot Perch (compatible with all major Psittacines), and sales pleas fell on disinterested ears. For his part though, Corliss enjoyed some success in finding buyers for his tavern’s ales (Oktoberfest being a decidedly good market for this sort of trade) and was able to strike a number of supply deals, with his ‚Weiß Not?‘ wheat beer proving particularly popular. Once the selling was done, he and Jacqueline joined in with the celebrations. Many hours and many drinks later, they returned to The Golden Frog. “You know Jacqui… *hic*… with all these supply deals we’ve struck… *hic*… we’re gonna need a bigger boat…” ___________________________________________________ The final entry into The Route du Rhum from me. It’s late, and the challenge has ended… but I’ve built it, so I’ll post it! Thanks for looking!

This is superb! The building itself is really impressive, packed with great use of colour and texture, and some really nice parts usage - I especially like the sprue piece for the upstairs door handle and the way you’ve built the well. And the Camel!

I really like the details in this build; the market, the use of the turtle’s head as the pub sign, and that one of the wanted posters appears to depict the guy standing in front of it!

Having lost sight of the Octan Tanker, the crew of The Golden Frog once more ploughs the waves alone. Days pass without sight of another vessel - or anything even remotely dry - until at last; “Captain! Land, dead ahead!” “Furl the mainsail… and thank Poseidon! I was beginning to worry this ocean was nothing but water from one side to the other!” ”Seems to be inhabited Captain, but I don’t see any obvious signs of allegiance. We can’t be sure that whoever calls this home will be friendly.” “Well, I think anyone who goes to the effort of carving a giant smiley face into the rock is probably friendly enough, don’t you? Look, there’s someone on the shore...” ”Erm…” “…Hello there!! Ever so sorry to bother you, but we were wondering if you might be able to provide some assistance?” The figure on the shore casts his gaze toward The Golden Frog, waiting a moment before offering a response. “Ye speak in the way of a Corlander, yet ye sail under the flag of Oleon. Whatever it is ye be seeking… I be certain ye’ll be findin’ it elsewhere.” ”Well yes, actually. We’ve got a hold full of booze and we’re trying to get to Hellion for Oktoberfest.” ”Ye be a long way from Hellion here… and I wager a long way from any that’ll miss ye, aye?” ”A curious thing to assert, but yes I suppose so.” “Hold full of booze, ye say…” “… per’aps I oughta come aboard, for a little chat.” ___________________________________________________ Very late (even more so than last time), but thanks for looking!

Somewhere in the New Haven Sea… Having resupplied, The Golden Frog once more sets sail, with not much to navigate by but a vague heading… “Ship ahead, Captain!! It’s the Octan Tanker!” “A Corrington vessel! Excellent! Let’s get abeam of her and ask very nicely if we can borrow a good quality map!!” “Aye Captain!” ___________________________________________________ Very late, but thanks for looking!

I love this - the way the smoke cloud towers above the ships, really made me laugh! Must be the power and efficiency of phlogiston!! My own Cat D entry will be a little late, as I am in Germany and my bricks are not, but after seeing this I might have to adjust my building plans anyhow…

Really nice shoreline build! I particularly like the use of vintage gates for the windows, and the ETTC figure - I picked up a few of those BAM torsos myself as soon as June came around, but have yet to use them

The Golden Frog makes a ‘planned’ stop in Avestia… The plan had been to resupply in Spudkirk, but over the course of the journey it had become clear that the special offer map and compass set bought from Dodgy John’s Discount Cartography perhaps wasn’t the great money saving deal it had appeared to be, and now the crew find themselves Somewhere Else Entirely. Having made it here though - wherever Here is - at least there are folks willing to trade Rum for provisions, so all is not lost! ___________________________________________________ Thanks for looking!

I really like that salt flat build - reminds me of those on La Palma in the Canary Islands! Perfect choice of expression for the figure shovelling salt too

These are brilliant - especially those brick built sails! I hope you’re successful in the BDP!!

Love the idea, and the build! Poor technician looks like he’s about to lose his eyebrows.

Out on the open water, the crew of The Golden Frog have hoisted a set of studding sails, greatly increasing the ship’s maximum speed! ___________________________________________________ Not entirely happy with how the studding sails turned out. I’d intended to make them from the same material as the main sail, and although I recall keeping some aside with that intention, can’t now find where I’ve put it… hence, they’ve ended up being made from paper. If I find the material I’ll refine them. Thanks for looking!

Nice vignettes; I especially like the subtle colouring of the quayside. The Birger Jung looks very sleek though and really steals the show!

@Professor Thaum - I’m limited to 0 PMs each day so can’t message you my route. My chosen route is 32, 35, 37, 42. If I’ve understood correctly how routes work, this puts The Golden Frog somewhere south of Maldria.

Love it! I remember a time when Octan seemed to be on everything

That’s a beautiful ship, and really looks like it’s built for speed - do those outriggers move?

My ship is there… but the link to the map doesn’t work so I can’t pick a route!

The Golden Frog departs to sail the Route du Rhum! Aye, a day late… but, better late than never! Class 2 Merchant R3 M3 G1 C1 $2 H2 ___________________________________________________ This is the first time I’ve created a ship for BoBS so hopefully the stats are ok. It was The Caribbean Clipper that got me into Lego Pirates back in 1991, so it felt right to pay homage with my first BoBS vessel. Use of the medium hull inspired by Legostein’s Caribbean Ribbit, which I saw on these pages some years back.

Corliss Freeman Born in Corrington, Corliss Freeman emigrated at a young age when his father purchased a small tavern in Oleon. Now, some 20 years later, Corliss is trying to manage the family tavern through difficult times. In an attempt to sell his ales more widely and open up new business opportunities across the seas, he has purchased a small transport vessel. So far, his strategy shows promise; he has been able to sell his ales into a couple of ports, and it looks like this might be the way to turn the tavern’s fortunes around. On his last voyage though, he heard tell of the “Route du Rhum”, and his attention was turned; could this be the opportunity he’s been seeking?

I’d like to give it a go, but never participated in BoBS before.