Daily Doodle 896 by Amarynceus on DeviantArt (original) (raw)

Blown off course and damaged by a storm, and finding itself near the Spindles, a barquentine has been captured by a pirate skyship. A flying boat is landing a boarding party, while the ship herself hovers some distance off, concealed gunports open and guns trained. She is of a common sort of pirate ship, the converted freighter; indistinguishable at a distance from a regular merchant ship, but concealing a variety of small and medium artillery in hidden batteries.

Though it may seem odd to see sailing ships in a setting with steam-powered flying steel monstrosities, remember that merchant sail clung on until WWII on Terra before fading completely. Even as steamships fill the seas and skies, certain trades remain profitable for sail, especially bulk commodities like lumber, coal, ore, and such.