Bregir

HMHV Athena | Bregir | Corrington

Great to see some far-west (? ) architecture in BoBS! The idea of showing the setting in micro scale is brilliant, and I think the building is full of great details. The story is great too! Well done!

Just a quick picture of the guns: And for the record, nine pounders are not small guns for the classes of vessels part of the MRCA so far. Historically at least, they are more likely to be top of the range! And the four pounders for the Otter I will respond to the comments later

Can anyone clarify what the rules are for vessels owned by companies in terms of ship-limits and upkeep? Gracias!

NIce vessels and brilliant storyline, very well illustrated with some brilliant action shots, sir! I really liked it, and the tactical considerations were really cool to follow. I agree that the picture of the firing cannon is great, and I think your island is pretty cool too. The pictures are much improved. Overall, very nice work! However, I do hope they will get at least some small guns for the Vif soon!

Should it not be the transaction forms? @All: In the interest of full disclosure, would it not be best if all bids are made public post-auction? So that we can see that Kai has handled it impartially? If the other bidders agree, I too will allow my bid to be public.

And so the long awaited (by me, at least ) HMHV Athena has been posted! Corrington rule the waves! HMHV Athena

Cooke was in high spirits - This was the kind of sailing he was made for - Cracking on through the waves at nine knots two fathoms under every conceivable scrap of sail. The HMHV Athena was heeling over, and the frequent spray of sea water reached as far as her main mast each time she broke a wave. Cooke we driving her hard, just this side of reckless, and he loved it. So did the crew - After weeks of lying moored in King's Harbour, keeping harbour watch and working hard on shore, they were now back were they felt at home. Familiar duties, meals, and watches that to most landsmen would seem insufferable, was their way of life - and they loved it despite Cooke constantly calling for sail trimmers to get that extra half a knot. Currently, most of them had a respite. It was nearing noon, and Cooke was occupied with his sextant, measuring the angle of the sun at its highest, a daily ceremony that would mark the start of a new naval day and allow him to lay down his latitude with the utmost accuracy. A landsman might have remarked that with the coast of Cocovia clear on the starboard side, this was perfectly superfluous. One had simply to keep it there, and they would invariably reach Quinnsville, their destination, in due time. In fact, Montoya had done so, but surprisingly (to Montoya), Cooke had not attended to his arguments and instead suggested that he should retire to the main-top from where he might spot some curious birds. Right ahead, some wreckage had been spotted, and some of the crew where now exercising the chasers, running out the starboard nine pounder to fire at an empty barrel. This was a procedure they had done countless times, and they were already expert gunners, yet they never seemed to tire from the joy of the great guns firing and hitting true to their mark. On the fore top-gallant yard, a midshipman and a seamen were in the progress of shaking out the last reef in the top-gallant as the wind had dropped slightly, and Cooke believed she would carry it. The HMHV Athena is a snow-rigged sloop-of-war, formerly of the Royal Navy. Originally built in Oleon, but captured at the onset of the last war, she had been Cooke's first independent command and allowed him a small fortune in prize money, as well as several chances to distinguish himself as an enterprising commander, none of which he had passed over. However, during the peace, the Athena had been sold out of the service and Cooke set ashore on half pay. Recently, Montoya had inherited a considerable sum and purchased the Athena, and had now outfitted her for an expedition to the new world. The crown had caught news of this expedition and offered its support, assigning a contingent of Royal Marines, protection from impressment of its crew, and access to ports and supplies, in return for claim to any land discovered. Therefore, the Athena now carried the designation HMHV: Her Majesty's Hired Vessel. She is armed with four 18 pounder carronades per broadside and four long bronze nines for chasers. The long range chasers enable her to harass an enemy from afar with swift and accurate fire during a chase, often allowing her to take weaker enemies, or escape from stronger, without significant damage. And while the carronades are ineffective in long range engagements, they give her the punch of a much larger vessel, if she manages to close with the enemy. Cooke had recently received orders from the Crown, which was the reason for all this cracking on. Not only had his appointment as military governor of King's Harbour been confirmed, but he had also been appointed Military Commander for Cocovia. A rank in navy terms comparable to commodore, and only in very few cases bestowed upon a mere commander, not yet even of post-rank yet. It should be of no surprise that Cooke was both excited and nervous to do a good job. This might well be his best chance for a promotion to post-captain, and perhaps the command of a frigate he had always seen as the pinnacle of naval enterprise. Currently, this new command included only a few forts, a gunboatand the HMHV Athena, plus whatever the mayor of Quinnsville had at his disposition, but his orders had also told him that a mixed battalion of cavalry and infantry was despatched for Cocovia. Therefore, the Athena was stretching out towards the East-coast of Cocovia and Quinnsvilleto discuss military dispositions with Sir Thomas Smaugton, the mayor of the settlement, and to get at better insight in the tactical situation there. At the same time, he would circumnavigate Cocovia to survey all possible landing sites and vantage points, as they may prove to be of tactical importance at a later time. _____________________________________________ Thanks for looking and reading - I hope you enjoyed it - I am quite happy with how this vessel came out, but C&C is always welcome - I would like my next one to be even better. The pictures are a bit potato, but they were taken in the rush of pacing everything up and moving out. I would have preferred a better background and I struggled abit with the sunlight, but I hope you can still enjoy the moc. There are a few more detail and overview shots in flickr. While the landsman might take her for a brig, she is actually snow-rigged, due to the small trysail-mast just abaft the mainmast. I think the Athena is best fitting for a 4A, but thoughts on this is welcome too. I am not going to license her for quite some time, as I will be using her for story purposes, rather than risk losing her in the MRCA. Plus, having her sail around wouldn't fit with my story.

May I add something? As you can always license a sistership, it will be very rare that the original owner buys back his vessel himself. Look at it this way: I am the original owner, and I can buy back the vessel, or simply pay the license fee and have a sistership ready. Therefore, it would be irrational to pay more than the license value (unless I am emotionally attached or unwilling to let others have her). However, John Doe does not like to build ships, but would still like to participate in the MRCA, so he places a premium on a vessel that is already moc'ed and ready for use. Therefore, he will bid more than the license value, and win the bid. Is this the outcome of these auctions we want? For me, it seems counterintuitive to the story. In other news, when will we hear the result? :)

Woah, dudes and dudette(s?) - I was merely jesting that Kai seemed to be very well versed in the rules. I am pretty sure that she is already doing what you suggest. The title was just for fun In general, this is the discussion thread, so optimally, this is also where discussions should take place, so we are sure that all will have a chance to chip in. It is, in fact, with questions and answer, the main purpose of this thread. Please don't hide general rule discussions in some obscure thread no one sees.

Nice fort, mr. Clarke! I was sure I already commented on this, as I definitely remember laughing to my self at that hoarder! As to the firing arch of the guns: While your gun ports might be on the small side, keep in mind that guns back then would probably not be on a turntable, but on trucks (small wheels) and rather than turn around the place a turntable would fix it, they would be moved sideways (turning around the gun ports instead. That way, the guns can turn without exposing the gunners to the fire through a large gunport!

Very smug little research office, with a lot of stuff inside! And, of course, I can only support any pursuit of science! Well done! As to the colour discussion: After being hailed as "Yellow man" when I was in Nigeria (I am a perfectly average looking Dane) without any ill-will, as the most natural thing in the world (although I had to collect myself a moment) I have decided that colour is just that - Colour. And if a man is black, brown, yellow, pink, purple, call him that if you want - but just remember that behind the colour, he is still a man like you. (And the same goes for women - before Fuzzy gets all fuzzy about it! ) Thus - I feel the same applies to minifigs. I will admit that I prefer yellows, for the classic feel, but mix and match all you want for my sake.

More publicity is better publicity! Nice to see BoBS represented! *throws handsigns* I am quite surprised such a distinguished Olean Hero goes rogue though! As to transport of vessels... I had to transport two vessels 300 meter by car. It went fine until I had to unload them and accidently hit the bowsprit of one of them on some furniture... Well, lets just say I got to practice re-rigging!

The Chairman would like to thank the honourable Secretary and Founding Member, Captain Dirk Allcock for the excellent work in producing and publishing this charter. And now, lets get down to business - any interesting specimens to dissect? @CB: As should be clear, the Society care not for one's allegiance, as long as one has an interest in Science!

I petition that Kai is appointed "Keeper of Records" :P

Ska meant the fact that fortresses can't be licensed as a free license, Kai. :)

I love this little fort and the story of the penal regiment. I am, however, happy I don't have to command them! I really like your story, and the description of these rather undisciplined troops is great, and of course it is really cool that it is part of a greater story. Well done!

Ok - I think the forts are excluded from the free license(can someone confirm), and due to residential properties being cheaper, it is bad business using your free license on them. Forts are always full price (I know this ;) ), and if sea rats build (any property) in established settlements they have to pay full price to the owner of the settlement. But the Sea Rat's own settlements are always considered squatter settlements, so they have the half price for everything except forts. About building on other factions', or unclaimed, territory: IC, it is not allowed, but OOC you can do so. The faction in question might not be too happy about it, and you must be ready to face any IC consequences. Hope this helps! :)

It is my belief that for newbies and veterans alike, a fortress cannot be licensed under the free license, as there are some special rules for fortresses, including for how many each settlement can have. I think you might be able to find out more in the section "by land".

All looking great - and I am happy to see BoBS represented out an about - one wonders if we will see a big influx of new players with all this publicity! All parts are great, but the Corlander fortress is my favourite - those sloped and angled walls are brilliant, and in my long terms plans are something similar for King's Harbour - I am definitely going to draw some inspiration from this. Great work, and great publicity.

Wow, mr. Clarke - that is a great improvement I really liked the story, but the highlight is the cutter. First of all, I really like the snotted hull with the studs up railing. The general shape is nice, especially around the bow and stern - the colours are perfect, and that tiller and rudder works really well. The rigging is pretty good too - and I really think the rigging adds a lot to the overall look. I think the topsail rigging is really good for this vessel, and she looks really fast and agile. I agree with Kurigan that for a vessel this size, the mast would typically be in one piece. (On larger vessels, it would be in two, three or four pieces, very much like you have constructed yours.) The sails have a really nice colour and texture . A few comments: With a mast in one piece, you could get stability by putting tension on forestay, shrouds, and then adding backstays. (From the top of the mast to each side of the railings around the place where the yellow parts start.) Further, I would bring the boom of the mainsail (spanker sail) down to only just allow minifigs to pass under it, and bring the front of the sail close to the mast. All in all, very good work! I really like her, and enjoyed the story too!

Dear Cpt. Allcock, It was with the utmost pleasure I accepted your invitation, and I must say that it did not dissapoint! Of particular interest was the curious bat and the birds who seemed attracted to the trees, and I will certainly study the spread of the seeds more closely. The strangely bitter seeds where highly fascinating, and one wonders the beasts and birds seemed to enjoy them so. I do hope the foreman will not be too industrious in keeping them away from the plantation, but perhaps they are better studied on wild trees. On a sidenote, whenever it will be to yours and Sir James' convenience, we should meet and sign the founding charter for the Royal Society's new world branch. Your servant Don Isaac Montoya

*A letter with the official seal of Corrington arrives by messenger to the court of Oleon* To the Royal Family and leading council of Oleon While our great nations have not always seen eye to eye, this is a time to put historical differences aside, and it is with great sorrow in our hearts that we find ourselves informed of the tragic passing of his most exalted Majesty, King Stéphan II, and we approach you now with our most heartfelt condolences. We trust and hope that the succession will proceed untroubled and shall be looking forward to good relations with the honourable successor. Our sincerest well-wishes for the new sovereign - May the reign be long and prosperous. Our condolences on behalf of Crown, Parliament, and People of Corrington Don Isaac Montoya In her Majesty's Diplomatic Service

For the record, I have no complaints, Jacob. I really like this little vessel. ;) My comments where only meant to be constructive, should you wish to try something in the more realistic line. I personally try to be relatively historically accurate, but like the diversity of BoBS. :) Even in a fantasy setting, I suppose some laws of physics have to respected. ;) I try to comment on all the vessels here, and seek to help people get a better understanding of how a sail-plan works. All in good meaning, is what I mean! Sorry if I came across otherwise!

I too like this little vessel, and the colourscheme is great, and especially fitting for Corrington! Both fore- and aft-castle has just the right height to give her a gentle curvature of the hull, and details like the lanterns, the railings and the brick built gun are really nice. The use of that blue-ish sheet and those white bricks is actually very effective! As to class, I too would say class 1WR, or possibly 1F if she is mainly meant for patrols and light supplies. I would also suggest you give rigging a try, and for this one, I would suggest a cutter rig. See for instance here. Personally, I have been using simple paper sails, but some of the more advanced builders here have all sorts of fancy techniques such as coffee-coloured cloth stiffened with glue, and similar. In any case - Nice vessel and once more, welcome to BoBS!