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[Ended] A Day in the Life of Captain Yarnacle .... WINNERS

RosyStarlingRosyStarling Moderator, Guest Posts: 4,718
edited 01.05.2022 in Contests & Awards

A Day in the Life of Captain Yarnacle


This exotic adventurer, Yarnacle, half-brother of Captain Barnacle, comes to your cooperative village from afar and is interested in one thing: materials!

However, he has no currency to pay you... just lots of valuable rewards!
The adventurer can provide seeds of exotic fruits and other useful things.
Work with your cooperative to maintain the adventurer's boat and befriend him for even better rewards.
You must constantly maintain his cabin, otherwise it will collapse and the adventurer will no longer be able to deliver new goods.

Your task is to write a story on what he is doing while he is away.

I'd love to know where he takes our produce to, and what he does on board.

If you cannot log into the forum send it HERE and I will post it for you.

No character limit 



My friend Diana, our Polish Moderator will be the judges.

PRIZES

First:      4,000 gold
Second: 3,000 gold
Third:     2,000 gold
Fourth:   1,000 gold
Fifth:          500 gold

10,000 gold will then be shared equally among all other entrants. Maximum 750 gold.

Standard contest rules apply. HERE

Closes for entries 12:00 noon 30th April


The same contest is running on Discord
If you enter both the story must be different


Post edited by RosyStarling on

Comments

  • Blue Denim (US1)Blue Denim (US1) US1 Posts: 5,253
    I do not do the Co-op stuff as I am not in a Co-op, I will pass on this contest, but good luck to everyone else, :)
  • Bennet Drake (US1)Bennet Drake (US1) US1 Posts: 488
    edited 19.04.2022

    Spinning a Yarn

    The sun was setting as Captain Yarnacle sailed away from the Ripper Street jetty. He grunted and mumbled, rearranging the supplies he managed to obtain.

    “Arr, those people are so ungrateful. They don’t understand how difficult these journe… aaahhhh…” He tumbled head over heels as his boat struck a rock. “Where did that come from?”

    He stared incredulously at the big hole in the cabin wall. Then he had to duck as a branch scraped across the top of his boat, ripping the sails. He dived for the helm, struggling to steer the boat back on track.

    “One of these days I’m going to have to get a real captain’s qualification,” he grumbled. He fumbled around, finally unfolding the tattered map. “My sweet thing I got these flower bouquets for is waiting!” Munching on one of his cherry cookies, he squinted at the map, tracing the winding river with a dirty fingertip.

    He startled up as he heard a blasting ship’s horn, and was just in time to swing his boat away from the big merchantman. “$&*%#, Barnacle,” he yelled, waving his fist. “You think you’re so much better, you thundering typhoon!” Groaning, he raked the spilled cargo back into the stowage, helping himself to an almond muffin as he did so. One of the packages had broken open, and he tried in vain to stop hundreds of nails spilling out into the water.

    “Arrgghh, I’ll just have to get more nails next time I dock,” he sighed. He debated for a moment to lash down the timber supplies he had picked up, but after spotting a bag of apple turnovers, he forgot all about it and lay back against the burlap bags to munch on a few. He noticed some loose decking, and with the other hand dragged a can of resin over, pouring it over the cracks. “That should do it!”

    He checked his compass, realizing he had just enough time for dinner before reaching the harbor where his pretty little girl was waiting for him. Scrabbling around in his supplies, he found the fresh bluefish filet that was packed for him, and dug in, dreaming of the day he’ll have a sleek, expensive boat to impress the ladies in every port. Every now and then he was startled out of his dream as ships blasted their horns at him, and he managed to avoid any really bad collisions by hanging on to the helm with one hand. Nevertheless, he got bumped and shaken around a bit, and by the time he moored, he and his cargo was rather wet and bedraggled.

    He wiped his face, grabbed the sodden and rather wilted bunch of wildflowers, and stepped onto the quay. His piercing green eyes searched the mass of human flesh milling around. Finally he spotted her under an awning next to the dilapidated little pub, and his powerful legs ate up the ground. When she spotted his distinctive red mop in the crowd of milling sailors and dockworkers, she rushed over and jumped into his arms.

    “Yarnie!” Her three teeth flashed briefly in the street lighting before she covered his face in kisses. “Is that for me? Oh, they’re beautiful,” as she grabbed the wildflower bouquet from him, burying her nose in it. “Oh, and it smells so sweet and alluring, with just a hint of fish….”

    He put her down gently, planting a kiss on her forehead. “So good to see you, Ruthie. I missed you.” He looked around. “Did you bring your brothers with the truck?”

    “They’re inside,” she gestured at the pub. “I thought maybe we could take a nice walk along the pier…?”

    “Not tonight my darling. We have to unload and I need to be on my way.”

    She pouted, looking up at him with those baby blues.

    “Soon, my love, we’ll have all the time in the world to spend together. Once our house is done.”

    She flung her arms around his neck, nuzzling his ear, whispering. “I can’t wait Yarn, oh, I can’t wait.”

    He patted her playfully on her rear towards the pub. “Get those brothers of yours.”

    It took the men nearly all night to unload the spruce, oak and poplar from the boat onto the truck. Yarnacle spent time with the older brother looking over the plans of the house it was for, scribbling adjustments here and there. Ruth sat on the deck of his boat, munching on almonds muffins and humming to herself. Finally her brothers set off with the load and he extended his hand to help her up.

    “Will you come look at the house next time,” she asked, “it’s going to be so beautiful, our own cabin here in Cape Catfish, overlooking the Atlantic?”

    “Yes, my love.”

    She patted the pile of bamboo left in the stowage. “What is this for, Yarn? We don’t need bamboo for our house.”

    “That will be sold, sweetheart, so we can buy other things for our house.” To stop her asking more questions, he planted a kiss firmly on her nose before jumping back on the deck of his boat. “Now I must go, honeybun. My boat needs fixing, I need to make some sales, and then pick up more timber for our house.”

    “I love you, Yarnie!” she shouted, but her call was lost in the blast of a ship her sailorman barely missed colliding with. Another few timbers groaned and split, and as he steered for the harbor exit, he clumsily lashed them together with rope.

    Finally he was in quiet water and could plop himself down on a crate with another cherry cookie. He shook his head with a smile as he reached for his map and compass and set sail for Akimoto City where Suki was waiting for him and his load of bamboo to build them a beautiful house overlooking the Eastern Sea.

    - Bennet Drake, Ripper Street co-op

    (983 words)

  • Heather Norsk (US1)Heather Norsk (US1) US1 Posts: 7,346
    Good story @Bennet Drake (US1)  :)

    I just finished typing out my thoughts, but my character count was over 3,000 (word count around 625)
    I'll need to work on it more tomorrow to get it down to under 2k

    Question @RosyStarling   - - my character counter gives # based on with or without spaces. Does the 2,000 limit include spaces?  (or do we count just the # of actual letters/characters)

    @Blue Denim (US1) This is just a made up story about a character that happens to dock in the village. You don't actually have to use this boat daily to make up a story about the captain (just in case you're feeling creative & might want to write one)
  • Good story @Bennet Drake (US1)  :)

    Thank you. Not meant to be taken seriously... lol... Yarnie is the worst sailor ever and a bit of a joke in Ripper Street.

  • RosyStarlingRosyStarling Moderator, Guest Posts: 4,718
    I do not do the Co-op stuff as I am not in a Co-op, I will pass on this contest, but good luck to everyone else, :)
    Yes like Heather says it just a made up story which you can do without using him

  • RosyStarlingRosyStarling Moderator, Guest Posts: 4,718
    Good story @Bennet Drake (US1)  :)

    I just finished typing out my thoughts, but my character count was over 3,000 (word count around 625)
    I'll need to work on it more tomorrow to get it down to under 2k

    Question @RosyStarling   - - my character counter gives # based on with or without spaces. Does the 2,000 limit include spaces?  (or do we count just the # of actual letters/characters)

    @Blue Denim (US1) This is just a made up story about a character that happens to dock in the village. You don't actually have to use this boat daily to make up a story about the captain (just in case you're feeling creative & might want to write one)
    I'm afraid spaces count

    It is because those who can't post here but need to use the google form are limited to those characters so it makes it even for all

  • RosyStarlingRosyStarling Moderator, Guest Posts: 4,718

    RULE CHANGE


    No character limit


    It is only the Discord version that needs a character limit

    Apologies to those who have spent unnecessary time on this in trying to reduce the characters
  • Heather Norsk (US1)Heather Norsk (US1) US1 Posts: 7,346
    Thanks @RosyStarling so very much for lifting the character limit !!!  :)

    If someone has to use the google form, would they be allowed to send it in 2 parts to get their whole story in, if they need/want to go over that limit?  (Or is the google doc limited to 1 entry)
  • RosyStarlingRosyStarling Moderator, Guest Posts: 4,718
    They can send it complete

    It was a misunderstanding on my part

    It Is Discord that has a limit not the google form
    I based the rules on Chickadee's  A Day in the Life of Rosy McClundy which only ran on Discord


    The limit on the Discord version remains as that is imposed by Discord
  • Blue Denim (US1)Blue Denim (US1) US1 Posts: 5,253
    Good story @Bennet Drake (US1)  :)

    I just finished typing out my thoughts, but my character count was over 3,000 (word count around 625)
    I'll need to work on it more tomorrow to get it down to under 2k

    Question @RosyStarling   - - my character counter gives # based on with or without spaces. Does the 2,000 limit include spaces?  (or do we count just the # of actual letters/characters)

    @Blue Denim (US1) This is just a made up story about a character that happens to dock in the village. You don't actually have to use this boat daily to make up a story about the captain (just in case you're feeling creative & might want to write one)
    I would rather write bout chars I can see & use rather then ones I never use in My game, but thanks for the advice just the same, :)
  • Thank you for the "no limit" :smiley:
  • farmerjohn 22 (US1)farmerjohn 22 (US1) US1 Posts: 37,770
                     

                As the sun had risen just enough to send a glaring beam of light through a crack in the wall of his ramshackle abode, Capt. Yarnacle awakened, groggy as usual. He had stayed later at Johnny's Juice Bar last night than he intended and now he was paying the price of one too many tropical cocktails. He stumbled to his simple kitchen to get a pot of coffee going, he was gonna need it today. It was going to be another busy day and another new adventure! The Big Farmers had given him all he needed to repair his boat and fill it with their goods! Awesome!  Many thought that he was a reckless and inept sailor because his boat always returned with a lot of damage, but nothing could be further from the truth.  In fact, he was one of the most skilled Captains to sail the seas!  He's sailed through the most treacherous waters with ease, while the ships of lesser captains lay wrecked on the sea bottom below. It's miraculous that he's survived so long where so many have failed. Today his cargo would go to the people of the island of Probono in the South Pacific. This island appears nowhere on any map, but can only be found by an Adventurer. The natives are very friendly and have an enormous appetite for the delicious baked goods from our Bakeries. But to get to the island meant crossing a shallow reef of razor-sharp coral. "Piece of cake" said the Captain to himself as he finished loading the cargo and prepared to shove off. Just then he heard a small splash and saw his pet octopus slide up over the side of the boat, a freshly-caught lobster wrapped in it's tentacles. "I see you've got your breakfast already, little buddy", he said smiling. He looked out at the horizon and the open sea that awaited him, his excitement growing. How he so loved his life of adventure!  The voyage started out with a clear sky and a brisk wind to fill his sails and all was well, but that soon changed as dark skies loomed ahead of him. Severe storms were common in these waters and he was always ready to plow through even the worst of them without fear. Adventurers aren't scaredy cats, that's for sure! This storm wasn't as bad as some. Too bad, the worst storms make for good sea tales, he thought. After he broke through the crashing waves and navigated the deadly reef surrounding the island of Probono, he could see in the distance the shoreline filled with welcoming natives waving and shouting greetings to him. They didn't get many visitors, so the Captain's boat was always a welcome sight. He pulled his boat up close to shore and tossed a waiting villager a rope to tie up his boat, then stepped ashore to speak to the happy natives and cut some deals with them. The soil on the island was very poor and anything the natives tried to grow did not do well. That's why they so desperately needed the foodstuffs that the Captain brought them. Soon all deals were done and Capt. Yarnacle was now ready to head for home. The people of the island sent him off with much honor and he knew he would be a most welcome guest anytime here. As he sailed back home, he thought it might be nice to stop off at the tropical island farm to visit his old pal Johnny Apple for a few juice drinks. 😁  And so ends another day in the life of Captain Yarnacle.


  • Heather Norsk (US1)Heather Norsk (US1) US1 Posts: 7,346
    Oh me oh my, I just realized I forgot to post my story - - here is my rendition of what Yarnacle is really up to.

    Captain Yarnacle is a fun-loving fast talking, sneaky, retired salesman-turned sailor. 
    Yarnacle, unlike his brother Barnacle, is not a natural sea-faring man. 
    Yarnacle always had a flare for words, so salesman had been the perfect job for him; he could talk almost anyone into almost anything he wanted to.
    Besides persuading people, Yarnacles other love is liquor. More specifically, his liquor of choice is Bazic Vodka, produced in Hamburg, Germany. 
    Well, I suppose I should say it's a little more than liquor of choice, Yarnacle has become quite obsessed with it.
    He yearns for it, dreams of it, but it is so hard to come by and he often has to settle for something else.
    At a family reunion one year, he discovered that Barnacle's gig was based out of - none other than Hamburg, Germany and he just had to find a way to make this work for him.
    He tried all his smooth-talking tricks, but his brother just would not let him ride along on his boat.

    Then, one day out of the blue, Barnacle told him that GGS was loking for a captain for a new boat to sail from their village dock.
    Yarnacle jumped at the chance and said he'd do it!  He was so excited, a direct link to Hamburg! 
    Then he realized he knew nothing of sailing, nor did he have a boat, nor the funds to build one.
    But he was determined to make this work. 
    So, he had to get clever. He decided the farmers at the village could provide the materials for the boat & help build it. In exchange for their work he just promised "goods", without specifying what those goods would be. 
    It was a perfect way to buy him some time, and man were those farmers gullible for doing this! Yarnacle realized then, this was the start of something really good.

    During the time it took to get the building materials, Yarnacle worked on learning to be a sailor, BigFarm style. 
    Since every farm and village is connected via electrical cables and/or wifi signals to Hamburg, this would have to be his medium. 
    Next, he had to figure out how to build something that looks like a ship but can travel by these means.
    He found some clever scallywags to help him, and they haphazardly threw together a design, and once the supplies arrived they slapdashed them together into a form that basically looked like a boat.

    Not only is Yarnacle not a good sailor, this is not a smooth means of transportation; each voyage is quite rough. 
    The vessel is constantly running into the sides of the narrow passages, and they never really figured out a way to stop it ... other than crashing.
    To overcome the obstacle of this vessel being constantly destroyed, Yarnacle again used his crafty sales experience and enticed the farmers to repair it for a few extra goodies.
    All he had left to do, was figure out how to get some of his beloved Bazic Vodka when he was in Hamburg.

    GGS orginal plan for this vessel was just a means to trade with the farmers some goods in exchange for produce, but this is where Yarnacle put his schemes to work.
    Using his sweet talking salesman skills, he has gotten everyone else to pay each other for everything he does and needs.
    No one has yet realized that Yarnacle is asking for more produce than GGS is asking for.
    Each time he docks in Hamburg, he takes shore leave. During this time, he secures a case of the Bazic Vodka in exchange for that extra farm produce he's been requesting.
    Then, he leaves 1 bottle of vodka for the GGS staff who pays him for it with the extra goodies that he just gives the farmers for repairing his boat.
    So clever as clever, he is living out his fantasy. 
    For only 2 short voyages each day, he now has all the Bazic vodka he could ever desire, and he spends the rest of his time lounging on beach enjoying it. 
    What a life!
  • Jenny1979 (GR1)Jenny1979 (GR1) GR1 Posts: 1,639
    edited 30.04.2022

    A Day in the Life of Captain Yarnacle

    Not many know much about Yarnacle.
    He calls himself Captain and everyone goes along with it but no one really believes it.
    He has this wreck for a boat and every time he shows up needs materials to fix it otherwise... there will be no boat (if you can call this wreck a boat) and we, the people of the farm, always wonder if he will make it for his next visit to us but he manages every time to come back like he did today. Oh how many beautiful things he brought once more.
    Exotic fruits and many goods and chests with usefull materials for our farms. None of us ever wondered how he finds them? cause this cabin of his can't really take him anywhere far and Yarnacle left our farms with a smile ... thinking that he is safe once more...
    cause Yarnacle has a big secret that no one knows. He pretends he is a bad sailor and uses this wreck cabin but he really is a pirate! a legend of the seas! Barbarossa brothers are nothing compared to the two brothers Yarnacle and Barnacle. Thats what he does when he is not visiting us and thats how he collects all these goods!

    Yarnacle took his (wreck) cabin and when he got far away from our farms... he went into a small sea cave where he followed a secret path. (thats why he needs a small cabin, to get through) At the end of this cave path ,in his exit was an enormous ship waiting for him. A Pirate ship! with Barnacle and a crew of the best sailors and pirates you can think of. He tied his little cabin safely in the ship, got on board and started his next trip. His mission today? to plow the seas, again
    Every ship he finds takes it under his control, which isnt't really that difficult cause of his legend. Afterall he is a mighty pirate. Most are afraid and give him control, others he has to fight them first but he always manages to undertake them. No waves can beat him either he is a capable sailor, manages to gide his crew through every storm and with the help of his brother Barnacle is able to approach the most remote islands for the best exotic fruits and hidden treasures of course.
    Today was a very good day for him, he found a royal ship, had to wait the night to fall first and approach with a few small boats and some of his best men to get on board, attack and capture the guards. they found gold and many treasures on this ship. 
    Yarnacle never riskes the lifes of his men with no reason thats why they are faithful to him.
    Yarnacle always rewards them richly. He is not greedy! 
    It is a satisfaction for him, the goods he collects, but what he craves really is the adventure!!!
    thats why he gives some to us by exchanging them with only a few materials like wood and bricks.
    He loves that everybody awaites him with impatience and joy and feel kindness for what they think is a poor and lonely sailor.. if only they knew he thinks ...and smiles
    and once again he begins the journey back to us...
    Yes..if only we (all the farmers )knew who he is... what we would be thinking really?

    Hope you enjoy!
  • RosyStarlingRosyStarling Moderator, Guest Posts: 4,718
    edited 01.05.2022

    A Day in the Life of Captain Yarnacle




    Wow!  Diana, maty and myself really, really enjoyed your tales.

    We did wrangle over the order, not quite coming to blows!

    in the end as there were no entries to share the extra 10,000 we have decided to give all the entrants - 

    5,000 gold each!

    In order of entry our winners are :

    Bennet Drake (US1) 
    farmerjohn 22 (US1) 
    Heather Norsk (US1)
    Jenny1979 (GR1) 

    Amazing stories about our lovely Captain Yarnacle 
    We had a fantastic time reading them and thank you 


                                 
    Post edited by RosyStarling on
  • Thank you :-)
    Congratulations to all the storytellers.
  • Heather Norsk (US1)Heather Norsk (US1) US1 Posts: 7,346
    edited 01.05.2022
    Wow - cool - thank you @RosyStarling !!!
    Congrats to all; I enjoyed reading all the stories. All so different, but all so clever and entertaining :)


  • 24K Mayhem (US1)24K Mayhem (US1) US1 Posts: 494
    Very nice stories!!!  WTG Winners!
    Congrats!
  • Blue Denim (US1)Blue Denim (US1) US1 Posts: 5,253
    Congrat's to all the winner's, well done :)
  • Jenny1979 (GR1)Jenny1979 (GR1) GR1 Posts: 1,639
    oh wow.. thank you very much @RosyStarling, @Maty, @Diana for the contest and the decision you made
    you surely made all of us happy!  :) and congratulations to Bennet Drake, farmerjohn and Heather Norsk!!!
  • DianaDiana Moderator, Guest Posts: 4,037
    Good morning :)
    Congratulations to all the winners. Yours stories were amazing. :)
    Diana 
  • RosyStarlingRosyStarling Moderator, Guest Posts: 4,718


    All rewards paid


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