[COR - Ch1 Cat A] A morning swim

[Bregir]

Captain Jonathan Cooke had a habit of taking a morning swim, as life on the quarterdeck does little to maintain one's physical fitness.

This day was no exception. His command the HMS Athena had just anchored nearby an uncharted island, and the crew was preparing the launch for an expedition to explore the island. In the meanwhile, Cooke had dived off the quarterdeck head first, and taken a long underwater swim. As he jumped, he had just missed the lookout shouting "Boat on larboard bow!", and had inadvertently headed directly for the strange boat.

As he surfaced, a curious sight met him, as he saw a large canoe with four rowers and a helmsman at the stern. On the bow, a raven-haired, exotic beauty was standing in perfect balance with the waves, playing a strange flute, sending out harmonic tunes. Cooke was thrown into a trance-like state for a moment, until an oar missed his head by inches, and he was pulled back to reality. The natives seemed unaware or indifferent to his presence, and rowed on. Cooke placed himself low in the water and took care to observe every conceivable detail. He knew Montoya would appreciate any detail he could give. The canoe was outfitted with nets and weights, obviously for fishing, and the men all had painted faces. All wore adornments of brass or gold and their attire was made of a multitude of materials including both hides and cloths.

Back on the Athena, Cooke shared his observations with Montoya, who had been observing the spectacle closely through his looking glass:

"…but I wonder what that music was for… It was obviously a fishing trip!"

Young mr. Baker suggested with an enthusiastic smile:

"Perhaps it was to keep the rhythm of the rowers?"

Cooke shook his head:

"There was no particular rhythm to the music - it was more free flowing, like a song."

With a fascinated look, Montoya leaned in:

"It is probably part of a ritual - perhaps to please the gods of the sea to give them a good catch. Such is seen in many primitive cultures… Even the fishermen and farmers of Oleon are known to host similar rituals!"

Suppressing a joke, Cooke the added:

"And the canoe was of a most curious design… Long and slender, but very steady on the waves… I could not quite discern the construction techniques…"

Baker and Montoya took elaborate notes as the discussion went on, while the crew was making the final preparations for the expedition. An expedition that now had a goal - the cove from which the canoe had come!

_______________________

Thanks for viewing - I will be looking forward to your feedback - this is my first try at an underwater scene. Originally, I only had the surface part, but it seemed a little bare, so I added the scene below. Considering all the diver-sets I had as a kid, I really need to find a use for all those sea creatures!

[Kai NRG]

Nice work Bregir, especially with the water above! The shape of the canoe is great too!

[Bart]

Nice build, above and below the surface.

I like the shape of the canoe

question, as it appears you shaped it on purpose, what are the trans bricks behind the swimmer underwater?

[Gideon]

Very nice build, I especially like the underwater section!

Great way to illustrate the disturbed water behind the legs.

I also like your interpretation of the natives and I like that you indicate that they have technology to make bronze and gold. The photography and presentation is top notch, although I'm not that fond of the added vignetting as I think it made the pics a tad too dark.

[Garmadon]

Excellent build Bregir, awesome shaping on that canoe, and the underwater section is very nice too! I'm really liking the trans-clear and trans-light-blue on the surface of the water as well, might have to try that some time!

[Captain Dee]

Unique and interesting take on the challenge - I've been wondering how long it would be before someone used the native minifigs. The canoe looks great and the rest of the scene is nice as well. I really like that rolling water technique and the girl standing on the front is a neat (and slightly precarious) idea. Good work.

[Spader]

Lovely use of the native American figs.....and nice build!

[TitusV]

As always, great builds from you! The water is excellent, and I especially like the first one! You did a good job on lichting too

[Elostirion]

The posing of the figures and the canoe itself is excellent. The underwater part adds a nice touch as well - great build overall.

[Captain Genaro]

Great job with the water, especially mixing the trans plates with the solid blue. The trans-clear in particular reminds me of the foam on ocean swells. The posing of the canoe is perfect; it truly appears to be flying across the surface in the fist shot. The bow may be a little stubby, but I didn't notice it until the second picture. The seafloor is simple, yet effective. Still, I think some coral could add some color and help make add some detail to the seafloor.

[Bregir]

Nice work Bregir, especially with the water above! The shape of the canoe is great too!

Gracias, Kai - As I said, I started out with only the top part, so I had to put some effort into it

Nice build, above and below the surface.

I like the shape of the canoe

question, as it appears you shaped it on purpose, what are the trans bricks behind the swimmer underwater?

Thanks, Bart.

As Gideon remarks below, it is meant to represent the disturbance of the water from where he just swam and surfaced.

Very nice build, I especially like the underwater section!

Great way to illustrate the disturbed water behind the legs.

I also like your interpretation of the natives and I like that you indicate that they have technology to make bronze and gold. The photography and presentation is top notch, although I'm not that fond of the added vignetting as I think it made the pics a tad too dark.

Ah, there will be even more brass and gold to come!

I can die in piece now, having received praise for my photography from the master himself! (seriously - well, not about the death-part... )

Your comment about the vignetting is noted - I used it because the corners seem really bare, but I agree that the picture does appear rather dark.

Excellent build Bregir, awesome shaping on that canoe, and the underwater section is very nice too! I'm really liking the trans-clear and trans-light-blue on the surface of the water as well, might have to try that some time!

Thanks, Garm - The canoe did turn out well, and it is sure more fun than using the otherwise nice lego-version. However, I was looking for a less North American design, room for more people, and a sturdiness for ocean travel, so I had to design my own.

Making the overall shape with blue pieces and then adding the texture with the trans-pieces really worked out better than I expected.

Unique and interesting take on the challenge - I've been wondering how long it would be before someone used the native minifigs. The canoe looks great and the rest of the scene is nice as well. I really like that rolling water technique and the girl standing on the front is a neat (and slightly precarious) idea. Good work.

I have far too many of them, so finding a use for them here was a pure bonus! Gald you like the water - the "rolling effect" was one of my main purposes of the build. And while we enlightened Corlanders might find ceremonial additions to practical matters odd, I am sure the Oleanders will find it much closer to home. (And I wonder why no one commented on my cleverly disguised jab at the Oleanders and their religion... )

Lovely use of the native American figs.....and nice build!

Thanks, AS - Will you be joining us here? (Or did you already? I am loosing track! )

As always, great builds from you! The water is excellent, and I especially like the first one! You did a good job on lichting too

Thanks - actually, the light was rather bad, but with a tripod, automatic shutter, and long exposure time, you can get very nice pictures - For instance, I really like the shadows in the underwater section.

With long shutter times, you avoid the need for articficial light, which often gives strange, uneven light on the build, unless you have skills and/or a really nice set up.

The posing of the figures and the canoe itself is excellent. The underwater part adds a nice touch as well - great build overall.

Glad you like it! Especially the underwater part

Great job with the water, especially mixing the trans plates with the solid blue. The trans-clear in particular reminds me of the foam on ocean swells. The posing of the canoe is perfect; it truly appears to be flying across the surface in the fist shot. The bow may be a little stubby, but I didn't notice it until the second picture. The seafloor is simple, yet effective. Still, I think some coral could add some color and help make add some detail to the seafloor.

It was my intention to have the transwhites represent where the wave breaks, and where the canoe breaks the water. I am not sure I entirely achieved that effect, but I am glad you like it!

Further, it is really nice to hear you like the canoe posing - that was one of the focal points of the build - having kayaked a bit, I was trying to recreate that feeling of flowing with the waves.

Corals are a really good idea, and as I doubt this will be my last underwater scene (since I introduced a diving suit...), I will experiment with it in the future!

[blackdeathgr]

Awesome idea, even nicer implementation :) i am a sucker for underwater scenes

[Maxim I]

As it is an excellent canoe, I indexed it in the Ship Index!

Edit: I also indexed the HMS Athena in the Faction Ship Index as "Rumoured/WIP" under the Unlicenced Corrinton Vessels because story-wise seen, the ship clearly already exists

Edited January 21, 2016 by Maxim I

[SilentWolf]

This is an awesome build and I think the underwater aspect of it made it even better! I am worried though that with Jonathan being distracted by the singing he might miss the shark angling for his legs....

The posing makes this a superb build. It really does convey the moment being shown with the shocked face, the oblivious singing, the focused rowers and the happy chief.

Edited January 21, 2016 by SilentWolf

[Bregir]

Gald you like it guys - posing was one of my focusses of this build, and the underwater scene was really fun to build. I already have one more underway

[Staslegomaster]

It's hard to say which is better - the creation or the story.

[Pieter Dennison]

Congrats on 1st! Great Build and definitely rewarding :)

[Dzoni90]

Great build! I love the water and minifigs' posing.

Edited March 6, 2016 by Dzoni90

[Athos]

The posing of the sawfish is, somehow, perfect.

Steve

[Bregir]

I was wondering at those names, gentlemen, as I had not recognized them. But then I realised I had ended up on the frontpage!

Welcome to BoBS - why not stay around?

It's hard to say which is better - the creation or the story.

Thanks, master! As most others have commented on the build, I am happy to hear you like the story too.

Congrats on 1st! Great Build and definitely rewarding :)

Thanks, Pieter - None are more suprised than me - but I did feel like I had made a very nice build. Never realised it was that good, though!

Great build! I love the water and minifigs' posing.

Thanks, Dzoni - That was some of the focus points of the design, especially before I added the underwater part.

The posing of the sawfish is, somehow, perfect.

Steve

Thanks, Steve - looking at it again, I completely agree!

It does have a rather dramatic quality!

[Staslegomaster]

I pay attention to stories because I often write them, too and I even ask fans to comment on my stories. as for your creation it's really unusual because you made it with bricks.