Word has reached the dockyards: a Portuguese captain named da Gama is fitting ships for a voyage around Africa. If he finds a sea route to the spice lands, the Mediterranean trade that has made men rich for centuries will collapse overnight.

You have one season. Buy low in ports glutted with surplus. Sail where prices are dear. Sell before the market turns. Every week at sea is a week closer to the end of an era.

Fill your hold. Watch the winds. Make your fortune while there is still fortune to be made.