Amberís Maritime Presence
The office of Master of the Seas includes under its jurisdiction Amberís
Navy, the Royal House of Amberís Merchant ships, and the office of the
Harbor Master.
What's new
Amber has lost one ship, the Rebecca. While
this ship was assigned to Prince Gustav's use, Prince Dexter appears to
have decided to sink it in iceberg infested waters for reasons which remain
obscure.
Amberís Seagoing Ships
These are standard descriptions. Since ships would be in service for
50-75 years (baring sinking in storms, combat, etc.), there would be some
variation among the ships in terms of design and speed.
20 Armed Merchantmen
(note: these are the merchant ships actually owned by the Royal House
of Amber, there would be others (approximately 75?) under private ownership
of Amberís wealthier trading houses)
Crew: 50 Merchant Marine
Masts: 3
Length: 150 feet at the keel; 170 feet at the waterline; 180
feet longest point
Width (beam): 43 feet
Draught: 21 feet
Materials: Oak hull (10-15 inches thick)
Mast Heights: foremast: 175 feet; mainmast: 200 feet; mizzenmast:
150 feet
Armament: 12 ballistas
Speed: 10 knots
Armed merchantmen carry cargo and supplies to and from Amber to the
Golden Circle kingdoms. They are designed to outrun most pirates with some
armament but also significant cargo capacity. In time of war, they can
be used as troop transports.
14 Frigates
Crew: 150 Navy Sailors + 50 Marines
Masts: 3
Length: 150 feet at the keel; 175 feet at the waterline; 204
feet longest point
Width (beam): 43 feet
Draught: 23 feet
Materials: Oak hull (15-20 inches thick) with copper sheeting
over it
Mast Heights: foremast: 198 feet; mainmast: 220 feet; mizzenmast:
172 feet
Armament: 30 ballistas + 8 Catapults
Speed: 14 knots
Frigates are the standard Amber warship. They are built to comprimise
between speed and ability to fire projectiles. The ships are intended
to be fast enough not to be forced to engage in combat unless it is to
their advantage. They should also be fast enough to catch pirate ships.
1 Galleon
Crew Size: 450 (400 sailors + 50 marines)
Masts: 3
Length: 300 feet at the keel; 330 feet at the waterline; 354
feet longest point
Width (beam): 102 feet
Draught: 74 feet
Materials: Oak hull (15-20 inches thick) with copper sheeting
over it
Mast Heights: foremast: 250 feet; mainmast: 300 feet; mizzenmast:
225 feet
Armament: 60 ballistas + 12 Catapults
Speed: 20 knots
The Galleon originated outside Amber in a shadow called Essa. Amber
has aquired one through the efforts of Diedre and Admiral Grace with its
crew. The Amber navy is still determining how best to use this new ship
of the line.
4 Clippers
Crew: 120 Navy Sailors + 30 Marines
Masts : 4
Length:
Width (beam):
Draught:
Materials:
Mast Heights:
Armament:6 ballistas
Speed: 35 knots
Clippers are designed for speed and do not comprimise in any way to get maximum speed out of their sails. There are some ballistas on board, but the armament is very light for the size of the ship do to the hull design. There is very little room for the ballistas. There is very limited cargo capacity. The clippers are for expensive cargos that the need to be moved quickly. Clippers are also heavily used for messages and diplomatic correspondance to the Golden Circle kingdoms. There are no known ships that can outrun (or even keep up with) Clippers.
Clippers are viewed by some as expensive toys. They are relatively new to Amberís fleet.
One clipper is permanently assigned to the High Ambassador for his use.
Stormrider
Crew: 65 Navy + 50 marines
Masts: 3
Length: 130 feet at the keel; 140 feet at the waterline; 155 feet longest
point
Width (beam): 65 feet
Draught: 20 feet
Materials: seasoned wood
Mast Heights: foremast: 70 feet; mainmast: 285 feet;
Armament: 8 ballistas
Speed: 20 knots
Stormrider is a special purpose ship designed to go through storms safely. Specifically designed to enter the storms surrounding the Island of Haven.
2 Royal Yachts
Crew: 30 Navy Sailors
Masts: 2
Length: 70 feet at the keel; 85 feet at the waterline; 110 feet
longest point
Width (beam): 30 feet
Draught: 14 feet
Materials: Oak hull (10-15 inches thick) with copper sheeting
over it
Mast Heights: foremast: 108 feet; mainmast: 120 feet
Armament: 8 ballistas
Speed: 10 knots
The Royal Yachts are primarily for the local travel of the Royal family
and guests. The Royal Yachts are sometimes taken as far as other Golden
Circle kingdoms which is why they are built as seagoing vessels. They are
designed to withstand attack and have decent speed, but are definately
not warships. The primary use is to have a private space for the royals
and guests to leave the city and castle behind and enjoy the water.
Staff at headquarters/reserve:
Merchant Marine: 10
Navy: 60
Marines: 330
Headquarters staff is minimal and just there to keep records and manage
the fleetís business.
Office of the Harbormaster:
The office of the Harbormaster also falls under the Master of the Seas. This is a purely domestic function combining coast guard, harbor patrol and customs. The ships under the Harbormaster are much smaller than the oceangoing ships and not as well armed. They are not expected to engage in combat with warships.
6 Ferrys/Small Cargo Ship
Crew: 10
Masts: 1
Length: 25 feet
Width (Beam): 10 feet
Draught: 5 feet
Materials: Pine
Mast Height: 28 feet
Armament: none
Speed: 5 knots
Ferrys are used to get supplies to outlying islands and to ships anchored
outside the harbor when the harbor is to busy to accomodate everyone. They
also take supplies to and from Cabra.
6 Coastal/Harbor Patrol
Crew: 30
Masts: 2
Length: 65 feet at the keel; 80 feet at the waterline; 105 feet
longest point
Width (beam): 26 feet
Draught: 14 feet
Materials: Cedar Hull (10-15 inches thick)
Mast Heights: foremast: 90 feet; mainmast: 108 feet
Armament: 6 ballistas
Speed: 8 knots
The Harbor Patrol ships make sure that Amberís coasts are safe. They
patrol for spys, smugglers, etc.
Cabra Lighthouse - Crew: 2
Customs/Harbor Staff - 60 people
There functions include inspecting new ships arriving in port, aranging
port space for those ships, and collecting fees and taxes.
Navy Yard:
Drydock for building or overhauling 6 ships of the 100-220 foot length
2 Frigates are currently under construction
Current workforce is 200, but varies depending on the number of ships being overhauled, repaired, or built. 200 is about the minimum.
Smaller ships (I.e., ferrys and coastal patrol) tend to be built on
contract at private yards.
Totals:
1100 Merchant Marine
3600 Navy Sailors
1400 Marines
200 Harbor Sailors/Staff (I.e., Coast Guard and Customs)
200 Construction workers
1 Lighthouse keeper
1 Assistant Lighthouse keeper
Total: 6502