Pirates of the Caribbean: The Price of Freedom

CHAPTER TEN
Revelations
THE DAY THE WICKED WENCH TURNED her stern to Calabar Harbor, Jack
looked forward to putting a goodly number of nautical miles beneath
her keel. Thoughts of Zerzura, and its treasure, reverberated in his
mind like siren song, and he was impatient to get there. Unfortunately,
the winds were against them, blowing west to east. Coming back to
Africa was easy—going away was the challenge. For the next few
weeks, they’d have to tack back and forth to make forward progress,
rather than the comparatively easy and straightforward progress of
running before the wind. Fortunately, Jack and his crew were used to
dealing with the vagaries of the winds, and accustomed to having to
“beat to westward” until they cleared the bulge of Africa and could pick
up the easterly trade winds.
The day had began auspiciously with their early start, and
continued with fine sailing weather. As soon as dawn broke, Jack,
mindful of his passengers, dispatched his carpenter and the new
carpenter’s mate, Newton, to rig up a temporary cabin for the unlikely
pair. The carpenters quickly framed in a six-foot square on the main
deck, next to the minuscule cabins allotted to the ship’s officers and
quartermaster, then used canvas to create its “walls.” The little “cabin”
even had its own “window”—an unused gun port. Jack appointed
Chamba “Passenger Steward” for the duration of the voyage,
instructing him to see to the needs of Ayisha and her friend.
By the time the ship reached blue water on the Atlantic, Jack left
Second Mate Frank Connery in command, so he and Robby could
grab a few hours sleep. They emerged before noon, after breaking
their fast, to find the ship on the starboard tack. The lower bulge of the
African coast, which had been barely a smudge on the northern
horizon, was gone. Jack was well satisfied with their progress, after
checking the traverse board, the record of the chip log, and their