Vesper Boat Race Challenge

he pirate Hawkeye Pike had challenged the citizens of Britannia to beat him in a boat race. One landlubber named Zuckuss had accepted the challenge to race against the pirate on a given route. The course would start at a given point on a southern isle in Vesper, lead north through the Vesper channels into the river, and from there to the Minoc stables. The tip of the boat had to touch the river bank by the stables, turn around and sail back to the Vesper isle. Each participant would sail separately, and the time would be taken to determine the fastest seafarer.

As the number of spectators were limited, they decided to let them hop aboard the racing ships and witness the sailing skills of the captains. Each participant would bet an amount of gold. If the pirate beats the landlubber, the prize goes into a pot. This way, the pot will accumulate and raise with each boat race until someone manages ta outsail Hawkeye Pike. If someone beats him, the winner will receive the whole pot. A total of 1,250,000 gold coins had been collected for this race, and Hawkeye prepared to race first.

The pirate chose a tricky route through the channels, but also the shortest. He made a little mistake and bumped against one of the bridges, but still managed to maneuver his vessel quite well through the narrow waterway. He reached Minoc after 3 minutes and 48 seconds, turned around and sailed the same route back. Hawkeye Pike finished after 7:54 minutes, which wasn't so bad after all.

When Zuckuss started, Hawkeye immediately noticed that he was quite skilled at sailing. However, he chose the route that was a little longer, but easier, as he had to pass two bridges less and could mostly sail straight forward through Vesper. But Zuckuss made some small mistakes, too. In the end, Zuckuss arrived after 8:17 minutes. Hawkeye had outsailed him by 20 seconds.
The 1,250,000 gold coins went into the pot, and new bets would be added at the next boat race, which would probably take place next week.

06/2009

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