The Adventures of Captain Jack Sparrow

Saint John's Bonfire

The following days were not better for the British Navy. They sent spies to the Spanish Main but couldn’t detect any special or different Spanish War ship that could defeat their fleet. They sent spies to the islands but they were heavily guarded and there was only one route allowed to be used. There were warnings everywhere saying ships that tried to approach the islands from a different path would be sunk. That wasn’t an empty promise. Many ships were sunk.

Spain was not only keeping The Terror of the Seven Seas, Thomas Drake’s Duchess, and Anne Bonny’s Revenge out of sight but it was also protecting their new fleet of faster, smaller vessels, with fewer cannons that could shoot longer distances. That was how they were destroying whole English fleets.

The British were lost in the dark of ignorance. They didn’t know how the Spanish were attacking them, how they communicated the British fleet location, how they could reach them in a short time, and how they could defeat them without leaving any survivors who could know what had happened and prevent future attacks.

On top of that, a mysterious ship was killing their privateers and buccaneers. They were clueless if it was a Pirate or the Spanish. But the King would soon demand answers, and Woodes Rogers wasn’t helping much. He was still mad about his ship, The Duchess being robbed in Port Royal. And that his privateer was sent to our port dead.

But things would turn worse for the English, the next morning, another privateer’s ship on flames sailed towards the Bahamas Port. The following night another ship buccaneer’s ship on fire sailed towards another English port. It was every single day like this for ten days. The governors of several ports went to Port Royal to discuss this issue. No pirate wanted to work for the crown if there was a “pirate” killing those who betrayed other pirates. They couldn’t overtly attack Spanish Galleons and bring war between the two kingdoms. Besides, the Spanish had a new fleet they couldn’t detect and they not only destroyed the whole fleet that dared attack their galleons, they killed every sailor so there would be no witness to tell anything about this ghost fleet.

Admiral Davenport laughed. All the governors looked at him. “You must admit, Gentlemen, this time, the Sapaniel have outsmarted us. They protect their galleons. They destroy our ships. They kill our officers. They don’t leave any proof behind so there is no conflict. They don’t complain about us trying to steal their cargo and we cannot complain about them for killing our men and destroying our ships without admitting we tried to steal their cargo. It’s a masterpiece! Not satisfied with that, King Philip V declared his friendship with pirates, sentenced privateers, buccaneers, and corsairs to death, and hired a very efficient killer. Now all those scoundrels are afraid and won’t work for the crown. Amazing! Bravo!” he clapped his hands.

Duke Nottingham said, “I understand your frustration, but let’s try to find a solution to this situation. Governor Rogers, could you find out anything about the Spanish ports.”

“It is worse than I thought. They don’t let anyone get close to the coast. They only allow one way in and out. Anyone getting close using an alternative path is sunk. They placed canons all over the coast, especially on the islands. I sent people to the islands, they are not allowed to walk out of towns, and they cannot explore. There’s no way we can know what’s going on there. The officers don’t mix with the townspeople so they don’t get drunk in public, they cannot get bribed. They took all the measures to avoid any information about this ghost fleet reaching us. I guess those officers never get in touch with the local officers. Maybe they don’t even know where they are. They keep that very secretive.” Rogers informed with frustration.

“Maybe, it would be nice if you supported your fiancée’s new business venture and escorted her to Havana, you could ask her to show you around the island, James.” Admiral Davenport suggested.