Following a brief but fierce sea battle the HMS Baci limped back to the coast of Patagonia seeking a place for repairs. Night found her still plying the turbulent coastal waters, every man jack of the crew scouting the coast for a sheltered inlet. Lightning flashed and St. Elmo’s fire danced on the ship’s yards. […]
Mermaid Noel – Christmas 1835 – Maidenus Celebratus
Of all the stories related by Sir Edmund Roberts, world adventurer, naturalist and explorer, one of the most endearing is his account of Christmas Day, 1835. The good ship Baci was becalmed as crew and captain celebrated in their own ways the significance of the day. A service was held, then later, gifts exchanged, hymns […]
Mermaid Marie and Sir Edmund C. Roberts – Sea Maiden 38
The hold of Sir Edmund C. Roberts’ ship, Baci Finale, was chock-a-block full of gadgets and inventions when they departed English waters, many of them late to be roused and utilized. An example of which was the Morse Mark I Naval Diving Helmet, Suit and Air Pumping Apparatus Roberts cajoled the British Admiralty to allow […]
Mermaid Leslie and Merman Sea Maiden 38 – Maidenus Leisurus and Maximus Leisurus
The good ship H.M.S. Baci breasted aside long rolling swells as she sailed from the Japan Isles then along the Kuril Islands to the Russian mainland, the Kamchatka Peninsula her goal. Heading north in the spring was a heartbreak to captain and crew alike. As they put aside their lighter clothing tempers were tested as […]
Mermaid Jane Breastfeeding Baby Sea Maiden 36 – Maidenus Leche and Infantus Contentus
Then it was February and Midway Island, Sir Edmund Roberts, the inveterate adventurer and Sea Maiden questor, spying at last his gooney birds; the world’s most accomplished fliers. They were, however, less adapt at rejoining terra firma. Again and again naturalist and crew laughed heartily when the big birds drifted to land, lowered their webbed […]
Mermaid Gloria, Sea Maiden 33 – Maidenous Urgenus
Sir Edmund Roberts, explorer and Sea Maiden quester continued his search, sailing to Pitcairn Island. One evening Captain Constance Daphne Fitzwillie startled the naturalist with a question. “May I tell you something in strictest confidence?” she asked. Sir Edmund laughed quietly. “And with whom do you fear I would share your secret? Our good friend […]
Mermaid Dolly and the Lighthouse Cat – Sea Maiden 32
Edmund C. Roberts and the triplets, Sara-Sue-Marie, crouched behind the dune and watched in near-silence. There in the shadows of the lighthouse a Sea Maiden and a black and white cat sat counter-posed, rapt and oblivious to the voyeurs. At last Sara whispered, “I heard onst that Sea Maidens and cats and lighthouses are a […]
Mermaid’s Dawn and Elaine, Sea Maiden’s 30 & 31 – Maidenous Languorous and Maidenous Serenous
Sir Edmund Roberts, inveterate explorer, gentleman naturalist and Sea Maiden quester, continued his voyage aboard the HMS Baci. It must be noted, however, that the primary sources of information regarding the journey are Sir Edmund’s journals and those documents on occasion demonstrate colossal vaults in logic or, as in the case, inconsistencies regarding the flow […]
Mermaid Cathy, Sea Maiden 29 – Maidenus Fantasia
Sir Edmund Roberts, gentleman naturalist and Sea Maiden questor, left the Galapagos Islands in a haze of doubt and sailed south southwest through the unforgiving main. Captain Constance Daphne was at the height of her beauty, her body that of a glorious and mature woman, her confidence soaring as she was truly master of the […]