Bluenose adapted to her situation quickly, much more so than Angus had expected. While it would've seemed like a sensible thing to give her to a nurse mother, sailboats didn't adopt and if he tried well, it was the kind of thing you only did once. So Angus was foster mom so to speak. Sailboats had a very short childhood and Bluenose displayed that. After a week, she was too big to fit in the makeshift basket that Maggie had made for her. The second week saw her sleeping on their bed. She took up more and more room by the day but she did make for a great foot warmer and Angus had to admit she looked adorable curled up at the foot of the bed between them.
By the third week she was too big to carry and couldn't sit anywhere on the upper level or else she'd break the floor. It was time to put her back in the water. She was placed on a specially made platform on wheels that allowed her to use her rigging lines to pull herself along. Bluenose for her part, was enjoying the ride despite the harry start on the front steps. But once out on the street life couldn't be better as far as she was concerned. Maggie had packed her some smoked fish to munch on which she did so, purring away happily especially as Angus gave her head pats every other stride. Her soon to be captain stayed by her side for the 5 mile trip to the waterfront.
They came to a hill, part of the quiet road that lead to the water. Angus eyed the steep slope warily but Bluenose gave a eager bark and with one fierce push from her rigging, down she went. "Bluenose!" Angus shouted, racing after her. He didn't have a hope in hell of catching her though. Bluenose giggled veraciously as she rolled along faster than any human could run. Her tongue hung out the side of her mouth as she grinned, tasting the wind. The ride ended as the platform met the water and it not being a raft, started to sink. Her cries of joy became cries of terror. Strapped down to it as she was, she couldn't escape.
Angus dove into the water, swimming out beside her. It was cold but he ignored it and his numbing fingers swiftly undid the ties at the base. His sailboat rose level, towering over him. At 3 weeks old, Bluenose already drew 10 feet with an overall length of 70 feet and a beam of 20. She had some filling out to do which would occur over the next few weeks. Her sails were the first things to finish growing, a necessary point for any ship seeking to flee a predator. 102 feet for the foremast and 126 feet for the mainmast. All the rigging was in place. She just needed sails. A natural sailboat would've had their own sails by now but it was common practice to make a small cut in the base of the masts immediately after birth that prevented this feature from appearing. It allowed for people to have their say in what kind of sails their ship could have rather than the ship growing them themselves. Either way, Bluenose was in the water now and she was getting canvas.
Returning to shore, Angus ignored his sopping wet clothes for the time being and set about rigging his ship. Bluenose never liked being tied up and she tugged impatiently at her mooring lines. "Steady now. These things take time." He soothed her. She huffed, sticking her tongue at him good naturedly. He flicked it and she whined. "That belongs inside your mouth missy." She rolled her eyes, giggling as he attached the sails to her mainmast. Usually, a full crew would be used but Angus had yet to find men and he doubted Bluenose was ready for them anyways. She was wary around strangers and had taken a special attachment to him, unlike anything he'd seen before in other sailboat families.
Sailboats familial attachments went about as far as their attention spans and schooners were some of the worst in that department. Reaching sailing age by six weeks and full maturity by 10, there was no room for any kind of maternal bonding. Schooners Bluenose's age would've already left the berth by now, learning how to fend for themselves with whatever knowledge their mothers taught them in that short time. The rest they would need to learn on their own. But Bluenose showed no signs of wanting to go anywhere. In fact she seemed to be even more clingy the older she got. If Angus so much as went 5 feet down the dock she'd start whining. Oh tonight was going to be hell! But she needed to learn how to be on her own.
Putting that out of his mind for now though he finished with the mainmast and moved onto the foremast, setting up the sails and leaving them furled to the masts so she could get used to them. These were the standard sails, the ones she would use when sailing on the Grand Banks. "Try those out." Angus ordered, stepping back to allow her room to drop the sails. Most sailboats would take it slow and test one at a time but again Bluenose was unusual as she dropped all the sails on her mainmast, wiggling her boom back and forth to get a feel for the movement. The mooring lines strained to hold her in position as the sails caught the wind and thinking fast, Angus undid them, just managing to climb aboard before she took off. A happy giggle told him Bluenose knew exactly what she was doing and was enjoying it too. The sails on her foremast went up and she heeled over to port, her starboard rail digging into the sea. Angus made his way to the wheel, feeling the song of his ship the second his hands touched it. He turned the wheel to port, following the channel in a wide lap around the harbor. Customary for any ship on their first run.
Bluenose once again was breaking the norm with the sheer speed she was going at. She had to be sailing at at least 12 knots and she showed no signs of being tired. For a youngster, such speed was trying and they would quickly tire, having no endurance built up but what Angus couldn't see or know about yet was his ship was born for this. The bloodline told most of the story. Gilbert B. Walters was a speed demon. He could run at a record breaking number of knots but only for short periods before he started to tire and would slow down. Delawana, god rest her soul, was the exact opposite. Oh she was fast but her main ability lied in near constant runs to and from the fishing banks without tiring. Bluenose was a product of this cross breeding. Speed/endurance. Have it the other way and only one trait would emerge but the father-daughter lineage of speed and the mother-daughter lineage of endurance ensured that Bluenose had both. Her heart was already fully grown and weight twice as much as the average schooner's. Her lungs had additional capillaries, allowing her to absorb larger quantities of oxygen. Her throat could expand wider, allowing for greater, easier air flow into the body. Her canvas was over 10,000 square feet, one of the largest ever seen on a schooner. And her masts were reinforced inside, to allow her to withstand the greater speeds she could generate with her large canvas area. As she plowed along in open water, Angus took the time to listen to his ship. Beyond the water splashing against her hull and the wind humming in her rigging, he could hear her pace. The steady beat of her breath, not panting, not exerting, just a constant snort that turned to steam in the chilly morning air with every exhale, like a locomotive. He also noticed something else, something very important for his plans. Bluenose didn't fall off the wind as she came down off a swell. Most ships would but somehow, Bluenose's sails took a bite out of the wind no matter what angle her bow was at. She practically floated across the bay.
Angus turned the wheel again, bringing her around on a course back to the docks. He could feel Bluenose's disappointment and hear her annoyed pout. "I know girl. But that's enough for today." He said, giving her a pat. Bluenose tossed her head and trotted back to her berth. William Berenger was on the dock with the lines when they returned. "That's a nice Jenny you got there Angus." He called as he tossed a line up. Bluenose scooted warily away from the newcomer but Angus had the line tied off swiftly. "He's alright girl. This here is an old friend of mine." "Not as old as yourself old man!" Berenger teased. Bluenose gave a confused bark. As Angus tied down the wheel and made sure all her sails were furled properly, Berenger finished with the remaining lines and went up to her bow, holding out his hand. Bluenose's nose twitched as she took in his scent and deciding he was okay she gave a friendly bark, promptly licking his face. Berenger jumped back. "And hello to you too." He said, wiping the drool off his face. "Bluenose," Angus admonished. "What have I told you about licking people?" Bluenose looked only partly regretful as she giggled, nudging Berenger gently with her nose. The man laughed. "She's a sweet thing." He said. "You looking for crew Angus?" "You volunteering son?" Berenger gently thumbed Bluenose's lower jaw, something that made the schooner purr in delight. "I saw you practicing out there? Was that your first time out?" "It was." "Looked like it was your 10th." Angus chuckled. "Bluenose may be inexperienced, but caution is not in her vocabulary." "Nor is slow apparently. I clocked you between the inner and outer markers." Berenger said. "Oh?" Angus was interested and so was Bluenose, the schooner's amber eyes fixed on him intently. "A minute 35." "1:35 flat, for the inner and outer markers?" Angus had expected a fast time but that was unheard of! "Yeah, I thought my watch had broken but I know what I saw. You've got a winner here Angus. Give her some proper racing sails and she'll run the masts right off those Yanks." Bluenose gave an agreeable bark. "And you know what this racing business is about missy?" He asked her but she'd already lost interest for a mooring line instead. He sighed. "How old is she?" Berenger asked. "3 weeks." "Really?" He looked her over with a professional eye and Bluenose puffed up a bit for him. "Well, she'll be a fine specimen when she's grown. I'd be happy to crew if you'll have me." "William, welcome aboard." And it with that William Berenger became the first Bluenose crewman to be signed aboard, sealed with a handshake from Angus and a few more rounds of licking from Bluenose.