Adventure #2: Gibraltar to Mars
In reply to Grimsby H. Baskerville (msg # 25):
Joseph cast a puzzled frown at Petras,
"'Floated it in'?" Joseph asks, repeating the young Lithuanian's words, "You mean 'floated' as in floating on the water? Petras, is this ship seaworthy? I mean, is it both watertight as well as balanced to float upright? If it is, then yes, the easiest solution would be to relocate to a regular ship's dock and tie up there. But if the ship won't sit right on the water, or worse, if she's just too heavy....well, forget that."
"But, wait--when we found you, the ship was secured the way I've seen Germans anchor their dirigibles, when I was in East Africa. It was tied off to a few trees, but was still floating--just with no forward motion. We can do that here, yes? The field seems large enough. We hover just a few feet off the ground, then tie off to a pair of stakes driven into the ground at both the bow and stern. Then we get one of those long gangplanks--the kind used by the big commercial steam liners to disembark passengers. One of those should be able to get from the ground up to the main deck without too steep an angle, I should think."
The frown returns to Joseph's face,
"Actually, to get such a gangplank from a commercial line, we'd likely have to rent it. Hmm. Perhaps, Grimsby, we could, maybe, borrow one from the Royal Navy? I believe such a gangplank as would be used for a Cruiser--or for a Battleship, if one is available."
"A long gangplank, that is." Joseph smiles, "Not a Battleship. I know the Royal Navy has several Battleships! I just don't recall seeing one docked here, when we left."