Well enough

The bulk of the harbor's shipping had left several hours earlier with the turn of the morning tide, so navigating the crowded waters was easier than it might have been. It took longer than he would have liked, but even though the ebb of waters from the docks was not as strong as it would be in an hour or so, Brennan's new schooner responded well to even the gentle breeze that blew into the sheltered harbor. Brenan saw several other merchantmen and a dangerous looking frigate all preparing to depart, but he was confident he would be well out to sea before any of them cleared the crouded shipping lanes.

Using just the ship's mizzen sail was enough to allow her to glide past the ships anchored in the busy harbor as soon as he cleared the last of the main navigational obstacles he ordered the main sail raised as well. The two Lantian twins and Harry responded promptly to his commands but he was pleased to see that James too was ready to jump to the ropes, once he understood what was needed.

Brenan was happy to be leaving Freeport in his wake. The number of Veertor agents and their interest in Sasha made him uneasy, and any fight that might take place trying to ward them off could easily result in the authorities impounding his ship until the whole mess can be sorted out.

Brenan could easily imagine Ambrose suing him for the loss of his perishable cargo, with few if any available funds Brenan could have even lost his ship to that greedy little merchant. But now, clear of the harbor and with a fair wind on his cheek Brenan was breathing far easier than just an hour ago. Now all I have to worry about are pirate ships like the Siren and Peregrine, or attacks by Kranderkill, or storms or Julien somehow missing Red or ... Brenan laughed out loud surprising Kyle who was standing not far away adjusting the tension of one of the maintop brace.

"Raise the topsails!" Brenan ordered "Let's see her under full canvas!" Technically he had two flying jibs he could set as well, but it was pretty close to full sail and he wasn't too worried about the slight exaggeration. Again the crew climbed the masts, unlike the two big gaff-rig sails which were raised from the deck the top sails were bundled along the top spars. In order to set these two sails the crew had to release the ties from above and then tighten and belay the lines down below.

Kyle and Tyler did the climbing, releasing the gaskets that secured the topsails to the yard and then sliding down the stays instead of climbing down the shrouds to help heave on the halyard to hoist the two sails into place. Harry directed the others in fixing the sails in place belaying the lines with practiced ease before moving to the mizzen topsail.

With the two additional sails set, the schooner tilted a few more degrees to the side and her pace picked up noticeably. This course would take them well away from the island's east side and the shoals that made sticking to the coast dangerous. With the wind from her rear quarter the square rigging was very effective, Brenan was pleased with the ship's ability to run with the favorable wind. The closer he turned into the wind, the less useful the square rigged sails would be, but the gaff rigged mainsail and mizzen sail worked better for tight sailing. He wouldn't have to worry about that until later today when he'd turn back North-east and aim for the island where he'd rendezvous with Red.