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# The Blue Marlin

The Blue Marlin is an oddity that should not exist, yet does. She is the invention of the shipwright Galenor, who is either a genius or a madman depending on who tells the story. Most who have never set foot on her insist that he is the latter. Those who have sailed her know better. They speak of her with the same tone soldiers reserve for blades that never fail.

The Blue Marlin

## Design and Structure

The most striking feature of the Blue Marlin is her pair of outriggers. These long floating arms stretch out from either side of the hull. Outriggers are a familiar idea in the islands of the south seas, but on a ship of this size they are unheard of. Galenor claimed that the sea did not care for tradition, so neither should he.

The outriggers change everything. They make the ship nearly impossible to capsize, which lets her carry sail that would tear tip other vessels in a light breeze. The hull is narrow, sleek, and shaped like a hunting spear. With her outriggers holding her upright she hardly needs a keel. Her draft is so shallow she can skim over waters that would trap ships half her width. She is a sleek, agile beast made of wood, rope, and wind.

## Speed and Performance

The Blue Marlin is fast enough to outrun any ship that floats unless cornered or taken unaware. When the wind is strong she does not sail so much as leap. In storms she becomes exceptional in her own way, because she can remain upright long after other vessels must lower their sails. Skilled sailors talk about her as if she has moods. When she is moving at full speed the hull hums, and the outriggers slice the sea into ribbons.

Every sailor who has seen her pass believes she should sink. Every sailor who has sailed her knows she never does.

## History and Reputation

Before the campaign begins she has served as a fast trader. She carried small valuable cargoes and passengers who needed to be somewhere yesterday and did not want questions asked. On more than one occasion she arrived ahead of the authorities and ahead of trouble. People trust her speed more than they trust, or want, the law.

This work built her reputation. Some say she is unlucky because she attracts desperate clients. Some say she is blessed because she has never failed a run. The truth is that she is simply what she was built to be, an answer to the sea that most shipwrights never had the imagination to even see the question.

## Capacity and Crew

The Blue Marlin has generous space below deck. Most ships of her size carry mountains of cheap goods. She was designed to carry small precise shipments that matter. The extra room is given to her crew. Her cabins are still cramped, yet they are not the sweat pits found on ordinary merchant barges.

She carries two skiffs that can be lowered to reach any shore, no matter how shallow or wild. These skiffs are sturdy and light enough to drag across sandbars or mudflats. The Blue Marlin thrives where harbors do not exist.

She is manned by a complement of thirty sailors who handle the sails, the outriggers, the rigging, and the endless work that keeps her moving. They speak of her with pride. Even the newest recruit knows they serve on something rare.

## A Ship Apart

The Blue Marlin is not simply another vessel. She is a gamble that paid off. She challenges every assumption of naval tradition. She outruns anything that chases her. She reaches places other ships cannot touch. She bends the sea to her purpose rather than the other way around.

This makes her perfect for the search for the Waverider. Only a ship this strange and this bold could hope to follow the path of another legend.

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