"Blimey, when this is done, I might consider practicing keelhauling on a few bilge rats," he jokes while watching the quartermaster make her way to a swivel cannon with relief. 

A giant wave pushes the ship back and his nostrils flare. These aren't optimal conditions for a swivel cannon. Waves can alter their course if enough water is pounding down against them. He eyes the waves like a hawk, timing when he fires rounds. Didn't he ask the lasses to handle the swivel cannons? This is a mess! How many crew members are alive? Did anyone fall overboard? Was anyone... eaten? No, that wouldn't make sense, the creature was too distracted to make dinner out of anyone. Though, he wouldn't doubt a dozen or so men fell off the vessel. Celeste almost fell, and she had a death grip on the railing. 

"Must be a messenger for Davy Jones' locker," a grim expression stretches across his face as he mumbles, not wanting other crew members to hear him.

The beast thrashes around, trying to throw the women off its back. If this continues, the monster will only become agitated, "If the beast looks like it's going to turn on the ship you need to begin firing."

What a situation, he thinks while shouting commands. Those two better pull off a miracle!