Flashing Rapier
General Information
The Flashing Rapier is a 16th Century Private Man-of-War (Ship) Household based out of the Barony of Glymm Mere, in the Kingdom of An Tir. She was launched in 2001 when her Captain, William Richard Drake, moved to An Tir from Artemesia. The Flashing Rapier is run by Captain Drake with help from his wife Serena Zane, and his crew, which currently numbers around 18 members with a smaller core group of around 8 that is fully active. The ship started in the Shire of Rivers Bend, where some of the crew still reside, but moved to the Barony of Glymm Mere in 2009. The ship is modeled after the "race built galleon" type of ship from the late 16th century and she is the Flagship of William's fleet. The captain and crew strive to keep things in the household within the pre 1600 period. The crew itself reside in several branches from Dragon's Mist to Glymm Mere along the I-5 corridor.
Ship Specifications
The Flashing Rapier is a "race-built galleon" with 40 guns, mostly of the culverin and demi-culverin types ranged on two decks. She is 143 feet long from Stem to stern and 167 feet if the beakhead is included. Her keel length is 96 feet and she is 120 feet at the waterline. She has a 33 1/2 foot beam and a 13 foot draft and displaces around 1100 tons. She has four decks plus a fo'c'sul of one deck and a stern castle of two decks. She is equipped with four masts, mounting course sails, top sails and top gallant sails on the Fore mast and main mast, and a lanteen sail on each of the Mizzen and Bonaventure mizzen masts. She is constructed of Oak and Sapele wood in the hull, keel and support structure, with the castles and decking of sapele, beech and ash. Her sails and rigging are both woven of a heavy silk, reffited on a journey to the orient. She can travel between 3 to 11 knots fully loaded and has a cargo capacity of 12,000 hundredweight or around 600 tons.
