Old Sunny's single-sail boat was also called Swordfish, which meant that it was as fast as an arrow and as nimble as a fish in the water.
However, there were far too many such boats in Whitestag and no one bothered to remember their names.
Even when the town hall registered the residents' personal property, it was recorded that Old Sunny's family owned a single-sail boat.
There were three cabins under the deck and one had to open the covers before going down.
The two cabins at the front were one big and one small. The big one had a single wooden bed for the crew to take turns resting on during the night fishing.
The small cabin was used for storage, such as storing charcoal and firewood for hotpot. Sometimes, it could be used for cooking on the water.
The last cabin was the life cabin. It was also the largest among the three cabins. The purpose of this cabin was to store water and raise fish.
There was a trapdoor at the bottom of the cabin. When it was opened, the lake water could enter the cabin. As long as the fish caught were kept in this cabin, even if they fished for two days and three nights, the fish in the cabin would not die. When they returned, they would still be alive and fresh.
Lake Balinga was huge. It was said to be a hundred kilometers long and ten kilometers wide.
One end was connected to the sea and the other to Swamp Kemda.
To be more precise, Lake Balinga was where the freshwater river and the sea met. However, due to its flat terrain, it became a deep sea lake.
That was why the water in Lake Balinga was rather strange. A third of the lake near Swamp Kemda was freshwater, while the other third of the lake was seawater. The third of the lake in Whitestag was a little muddy and tasted a little salty.
It was due to the unique environment that the fish from Lake Balinga were unique and tasty even when made into dried food.
For instance, the long-tailed swordfish from Lake Balinga were mostly made into dried fish and sent to the royal capital as a tribute to the Stellin royal family.
There was no helping it. The swordfish couldn't live for more than three hours out of the water and could only be made into dried fish.
"Hoist the sails!
Swordfish is about to depart! "Eriksson shouted as he held the wheel at the helm.
Welikro untied the mooring rope from the pier and Claude pulled on the pulley on the mast to raise the broken sail that had gone through countless repairs.
Borkal tapped the wall of the dock with his pole and the fishing boat slowly left the dock and drifted towards the lake.
Borkal stood at the bow of the ship and licked his right middle finger. He dipped it in his saliva and stuck it in the air. After a while, he turned to Eriksson and shouted, "There's no wind! Why are you raising the sails?"
"It's fine to rise first. There'll be wind a little further from the shore."
Eriksson pointed at Claude and Welikro. "You two, don't slack off. Hurry up and row faster. It's already the middle of the night."
Claude had no choice but to place the oars on the deck on the side of the boat and row with Welikro on the left and right.
After rowing for more than ten minutes, they were already a hundred meters away from the shore. Only then did they feel the breeze on the surface of the lake.
Eriksson said happily, "It's done. Adjust the sails and pay attention to the direction of the wind. You two don't have to row anymore."
He and Welikro retracted the two oars and Claude sat down on the deck. He rubbed his shoulders and complained, "I'm so tired."
"You lack training. Look at Wero. He's fine," said Eriksson.
Borkal fixed the sails to the deck with a rope and asked, "With our current speed, how long will it take us to reach the designated landing spot?"
Eriksson pretended to look at the extent of the sails. "About two to three hours. The wind isn't strong and the sails aren't at full strength, so there's no way we can go that fast."
"Why do we have to land at the waterway opposite the stone sentry post? Isn't it still the same as crossing Lake Balinga from there?
We can land anywhere. If we're fast, we might not even need an hour, "complained Borkal.
Eriksson shook his head with a smile. "Boa, you're neither a fisherman nor a sailor. Anyone who has made a living on Lake Balinga knows that the shore between the foot of Egret and Lake Balinga is basically a swamp. Boats can't dock there.
It's filled with water plants and shrubs, but anyone who steps on it will sink in at least half their body.
That's why it's a short distance to cross the lake from here, but we won't be able to reach the shore. In the end, we'll have to spend more time along the shore to reach the landing spot opposite the stone sentry post. That's the only place with rocks and hard ground. There's also a small waterway that we can dock there. "
Claude turned to Welikro and asked, "Wero, didn't you go to Egret with your father during the holidays for the past two years? Did you take this route as well?"
Welikro replied with a muffled voice, "We didn't take a boat and we didn't take this route.
Because it's winter and the weather is cold, the area between Lake Balinga and Swamp Kemda is covered in thick ice.
My father brought me over the ice on a horse-drawn sleigh to the foot of Egret.
At that time, the swamp by the shore was covered in ice and hard ground, so we could climb the mountain from anywhere. "
That made sense. It was only the end of May and the flowers were blooming. The shore was lush with water plants, which was a stark contrast to the vast expanse of white in winter. It wasn't that convenient to go ashore, so they could only go to the rocky shore opposite the stone sentry post.
However, it was a little too boring to stay on the deck of the small fishing boat for two to three hours. Eriksson was at the helm. He came up with an idea. He had brought two casting poles with him when he moved the fishing net. Now, he was going to have a fishing competition with the others to see who could catch the most fish.
It wasn't like a fishing boat docked to fish. Fishing during a voyage was much more difficult. Borkal and Welikro happily went to the stern of the boat with their casting poles and stood behind Eriksson. They began a fishing competition while bragging about who was better at fishing and who would be able to eat roasted fish for dinner.
Claude couldn't be bothered to get up. He leaned against the side of the boat and looked at the white clouds in the blue sky. The golden rays of the sun shone on his body, making him feel warm and fuzzy.
The water in the distance sparkled and the sails of the fishing boats dotted the surface of the lake. A light breeze caressed his face, making him feel like he was in a beautiful painting.
But it didn't take long for Borkal and Welikro's bickering to break Claude's leisurely time.
The two idiots had somehow tangled the lines of the two casting rods and were now accusing each other of their wrongdoings.
Eriksson said helplessly, "Claude, help me steer the boat. I'll go untie the fishing lines for those two."
When it came to work on the boat, none of them were as skilled as Eriksson. He was born to do what he could.
It wasn't the first time Claude heard the sailors at the docks praise Eriksson. They said that even though he was only sixteen, he was comparable to a seasoned sailor who had been at sea for five or six years. The Altroni family had a successor.
Perhaps the sailors were praising Eriksson for Captain Altroni's sake, but if he wasn't capable, they wouldn't be able to praise him even if they wanted to.
Just like that, the fishing line that Borkal and Welikro couldn't untie after arguing for a long time was untied in just a few minutes. After checking the hook and the pendant, Eriksson had the two of them each take a corner of the boat to prevent another argument from breaking out.
"I think we can fix the rudder as well. The lake is so big and we can only sail in one direction. There's no need for someone to keep an eye on it," said Claude.
Eriksson stood beside Claude and smiled. "That won't do. The most important thing for a boat to do on water is to steer it. It's not just about the direction, but also to prevent the two boats from colliding with each other or hitting a reef.
Even though we're in Lake Balinga and there aren't any reefs, there are many fishing boats here. It's best to keep a distance of a hundred meters between the two boats to avoid affecting each other's fishing.
In addition, sometimes there are a lot of undercurrents in the lake. Some fishing boats will put down fishing nets in the undercurrents and come over every once in a while to see if they have any harvest. In this way, we have to be careful to avoid those floating wooden tubes. This is the responsibility of the helmsman. "
Claude nodded. "I see. I didn't think there were so many things to pay attention to when steering. I thought all I had to do was get the direction right."
"Hehe, it's no trouble after getting used to it."
Eriksson stretched his finger to test the direction of the wind. "You steer the rudder first. I'll go adjust the sails. The wind's a little stronger now, so we can go a little faster."
The two of them took turns steering the rudder while Claude asked Eriksson for some advice. Time passed quickly and they didn't feel bored at all.
Borkal and Welikro, on the other hand, didn't even manage to catch a single fish after two hours. Instead, they used up all the red worm bait Eriksson brought.
They saw a dilapidated stone fort on the shore of the lake. They were almost at Stone Outpost.
It was said that a few hundred years ago, pirates were rampant and would often attack the fishing villages near the sea. They committed all sorts of atrocities and Whitestag couldn't escape the fate of being pillaged by pirates.
Later on, the town organized a militia and built a stone fort at the entrance of the waterway.
In the beginning, it was used as a lookout. If a pirate ship entered the waterway, it would be lit to warn the townsfolk to take cover. That was why the stone fort was called Stone Outpost and the name was still used to this day.
Later, they discovered that the pirate ships had lost their flexibility and initiative after entering the narrow channel, so they set up a trap and ambushed the pirate ships. Using catapults and rockets, they captured all the pirate ships in one fell swoop and won a great victory.
From then on, Stone Outpost became a military camp. When Stellin IX fired the first shot at Whitestag to revive the kingdom, a flintlock battalion under the fief baron of Whitestag was stationed at Stone Outpost. However, they arrived too late and Stellin IX had already taken over Whitestag and the fief baron became his captive.
The Musket Garrison Camp accepted Stellin IX's recruitment and changed from a local garrison camp to the first official combat camp under Stellin IX.
From then on, Stone Outpost was no longer garrisoned by troops. It was only after Stellin IX ascended the throne that he officially announced the abandonment of the military camp.
"Let me do it," said Eriksson as he took over the helm. He had to steer the ship for the last part of the journey.
"Do you see it? There's a depression in the waterway opposite Stone Outpost. There's a small waterway inside. We'll follow the depression and enter the waterway. We'll stop there at night," said Eriksson as he steered the ship with one hand and pointed it at Claude with the other.
Claude gave it some thought and said, "I don't think the entrance to the waterway is too big. Let's put the net there.
That way, we'll be able to see if we catch anything when we return the day after tomorrow. Perhaps we'll be pleasantly surprised. "