After the rowing, topside is wide, vast and open. Captain Coppertree stood at the wheel near the back of the ship and smiles widely as you approach. 'The sea is the worst kind of lover,' She said without a greeting. 'Leave her and she'll go on fine without you, not caring that you've left. Stay, and she'll treat you like a Demon. Toss you about, batter you with wind and waves, do everything she can to bring you into her unforgiving embrace.'
'I hear you say "Then why? Why sail at all?"' She laughs loudly. 'Ask a rancher why they tame a horse or,' She say looking at you. 'Ask an Adventurer why they fight. It is because if you do, and you survive, there is no greater feeling. A sailor is an adventurer and, also, a rancher. Trying to tame the untamable, fight the unbeatable. The best you an do is a tenuous truce.
'I'm sorry,' she says somewhat shyly, 'When I haven't been out, I sometimes get philosophical.' She points at a man, medium height with a wiry build. 'Vard, there is the Bosun. He'll know what needs doing.'
Over the course of the next few hours, you begin to learn the basics of sailing: While the Captain makes the decisions, The Bosun makes sure everything gets done; The front of the ship is the bow, the rear is the stern, left side is port, right side is starboard, to heave is to lift, haul is to pull, etc. And, when asked about the anchor, Vard says is a rough voice 'Mostly is for not too deep water. there's only so much rope attached to it. Weighing anchor simply means Haul on the rope to bring it back up.'
With sails raised and the more experienced sailors doing most of the work, you find yourselves with time. Time to explore the ship and see what all is going on as the Annabelle dances over the waves vaguely north.