This part of the Ship is somewhat damaged by the weather and some of the planks might break under the weight of a visitor. One also has to pay attention to the ropeworks hanging here and there, just at the height of a young Pirate, as well as to the piles of rope, wood, saks of asphalted canvas, iron scrap and other miscellaneous items lying on the floor.

The main Deck

On the main deck, a wooden openwork hatch allows for a direct access to the steerage which, for now, remains almost completely in pitch darkness. Only a few moon rays throw a faint light on a flour which also seems cluttered by forms which are difficult to identify without going down there. In front of the hatch, the great master of the Suzon - which has only two masters and a bowsprit (well, did you expect a Six-Master, or what?!) – rises through the deck. Looking upward, one distinguishes the look-out post, a hoist – the pulley, naked of any rope, probably usable to load and unload through the hatch – and the yards, where, by the way, no sail at all hang anymore! Astonishing… Or, that said, not; for in which condition would be the sail now if they had been let there under the assault of the most various weatherings?! At any rate and in short, this is for sure an issue to solve for our young friends, if not only they intend to weigh anchor, but also to set… sail, how it is in fact quite appropirate to say!

On the other hand, a positive point: the riggings seem to still be in good condition, at least looking at them with a inexperienced eye such as our friend Young Pirates have. Let's see if the masters stand the first storm… But we're not there yet!

The Forecastle

Towards the prow, the main deck ends up with two scales - one on each side - which allow to reach a higher deck at the front, from where emerges the bowsprit, as naked as the other masters. The whole set of riggings and ropeworks seems however to be in place even if it remains to be checked whether all the stuff is still usable…

That deck is the Forecastle; there is no guardrail and if one somewhat bends overboard while leaning on the bowsprit, one can observe the figurehead from above: a kind of horse relative bust with long ears which - well, no! – is no donkey but will later prove to be, no! No donkey, said we, but… – who, by the way, can identify such an animal?! – a zebra! The figure is actually coated with paint and thus shows alternating pink and yellow strips, with the sexiest possible effect… That said, that is not easy to clearly more than guess it by moonlight.

Otherwise, except the equipment to cast and weigh anchor – a cylinder which turns around a vertical axle, crossed by two rods as handles – and the chain of the said anchor, there is nothing special to notice there for the time being… Er, well, yes! We almost forgot to mention two unfolded deckchairs, placed right in the middle of the deck, like ready for use… That said, it is not advisable to jump into any of them for, if the wood still is in a good condition, the cloth and seam are totally worn out and will be torn apart at the tiniest tension!

The rear deck or navigation post

The rear deck is much bigger than the forecastle. It is also connected to the main deck by two scales but they are longer for a complete level occupies the space between the two decks - hence a height of two meters – the whole structure being the rear castle of the Ship. The rear deck is surrounded by a quite ornated guardrail, on the other hand probably less enjoyable in case of naval battle… The spanker mast is installed about at two thirds of the lentgh towards the stern, lightly reclining backwards. It has no more sail than the other but the riggings seem to be in good condition. (By the way, who in the group knows something about naval construction?)

The Steering Rod is located at the center of the free space in front of the spanker mast. And, er… no! Don't even try to dream of it! It is no magnificient Ship's wheel to pretend to be the Space Pirates (Never mind what was meant here…) but a simple horizontal two-meter-fifty long steering rod, attached to an almost vertical axle piercing through the deck into the entrails of the Ship… To those who try to handle the helm, it is difficult to handle, not to say completely impossible. A bon entendeur…

Actually, we'll see that the gouvernail is stucked in a mass of seaweed and various boughs which accumulated over the years and that is that, which entrave the movement, otherwise easy to handle, even for young children, which is also not too bad for the following in our story, by the way.

Finally, the keenest in the group will notice (on a Success to a Roll versus Power + Look-Out, dear Game Master), at the bend between the rod and its axle, a circular hollow. On a Critical Success, one will even detect a thin groove and a tiny hole in the form… It is impossible to know what the use of such a thing could be. Is it possibly only a decorative element? (Friend Game Master, check in the description of the Kitchen Corner a bit further to know more about that…)

Further to that, one can find on that deck, towards the stern, two big lanterns, of which some of the glass walls are broken and which would not work anymore without a complete cleaning of the lighting system: wicks fallen into dust and oil dried in thick black stain in the tanks… There is nothing more to say for now and it is probably the right moment to set for the interior of the Suzon: our Young Pirates have several options as to the order in which they want to explore nest; please, take care to organise that properly, Friend Game Master, using the other descriptive elements provided in the present section.

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