Monday, May 12, 2008

Ristiinná

The Ristiinná is a two masted, flush decked, blue water trading ship from Skavva. She belongs to the type of vessel known on the Starshine Sea as a búza, is 20 metres long on the berth deck, displacing roughly 85 tons. She is square rigged on her main mast and gaff rigged on her aft mast.

She is owned by the Arikavla family who live aboard and sail her as is customary amongst Skavian traders, and her Captain is Ovla Arikavla. She has a crew of twelve adults and several children. Her hull is painted blue and her sails and trim are a faded yellow. A sunburst motif is painted across her helm. The Ristiinná is a familiar sight in Snoad where she makes a stop once or twice each year to trade foreign goods for agricultural produce.



Skavva is the generic name of the cold, sporadic lands which lie to the north of the Starshine Sea. It is a land of forests, fjords, small princedoms and bustling trader ports. Skavians are noted sailors, famed for their hardiness and intrepid spirit and feared for their rapacious greed. Skavian traders sail in a variety of clinker built ships ranging through the old fashioned knarrs and kogges, to the more modern búzas and carracks. Skavian raiders usually sail in xebecs and are sometimes known to attack coastal communities.

Here is a picture of another, slightly larger Búza seen from the rear under full sail. Note the sailing rig is the same as the Ristiinná's.

The full adult crew of the Ristiinná are:

Ovla Arikavla (Captain and oldest brother)
Gáddjá Harkki-Arikavla (Ovla's wife)
Kálle Arikavla (Ovla's oldest son)
Yrsullá Jalkenen-Arikavla (Kálle's wife)
Bávval Arikavla (Ovla's son)
Állet Arikavla (Ovla's oldest brother)
Bierril Arikavla (Ovla's cousin)
Mikkhu Arikavla (Ovla's brother)
Rávdná Koskela-Arikavla (Mikkhu's wife)
Láras Arikavla (Ovla's youngest brother)
Máret Arikavla (Ovla's unmarried sister)
Máijjá Sariola (Family friend)

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