I
Departure from Cinder Quay
We cast off at first bell, the dial trembling to north-east. Gulls like torn proclamations overhead. The driftwood helm — salvaged from a wreck older than the lighthouse — turns smooth as buttered clockwork.
✦ · An instrument of wind, current & seasoned timber · ✦
Turn the dial.
Read the drift.
Set a heading on seasoned driftwood & brass, trim the throttle against the current, and the computer lays your projected drift across the chart. Scroll the page to stoke the boiler — the mainspring winds, the gears turn, and a ghost ship sails your plotted course.
⟡ Drag the dial · scroll over it · or use ← → keys
⟡ Scroll the logbook below to sail each leg
❖ Helm Dial ❖
N
E
S
W
⚓
045°
North-East
Speed
Drift
Steam
Voyage Plan
- No fixes yet — set the dial & press “Fix from dial”.
❖ Admiralty Chart · The Verdigris Reach ❖
H 045° · 6.0 kn · 12 h
Landfall: —
projected drift
sailed (scroll)
easterly current
reef / lee shore
▼ Scroll down — the logbook sails your course ▼
— Captain's Log —
Each chapter is a leg of the voyage. Scroll a chapter into view and the dial answers the helm.
II
Cross-currents of the Reach
By noon the easterly current takes us by the shoulder and walks us sideways. The needle argues with the compass; the wise captain splits the difference and lets the dial do the sums.
III
Threading the Brass Narrows
Reefs grin either side like brass teeth. Throttle eased to five knots, breath held, eyes on the dotted line. The computer has never lied to me yet — though it has, once, been economical with the truth.
IV
Landfall at Driftwood Light
Full steam at last. The light swings round — there! — and every scroll of the log has sailed us closer. Mark the landfall bearing in the plaque above, sign the log, and export it for the Admiralty.
— Signals & Dispatches —
Your settings live in the link itself — no account, no wireless, just brass & paper.