Young Griff's Navy

I posted the other day on some of the dangers that Arianne faced in sailing to Storm's End. From discussing with u/ajninomi, I thought it would be fun to discuss the navy that Young Griff could potentially be building.

Background

The Golden Company stands apart from the other sellsword companies in the series. They are a legitimate professional army (augmented forces and all). That said, they do not have a navy.

If interested: The Size, Strength and Discipline of the Golden Company

The Volantene Voyage

If we remember the Golden Company had broken its contract with Myr (because some contracts are written in ink others in blood):

Are you aware that the Golden Company has broken its contract with Myr?"

"Sellswords break their contracts all the time."

"Not the Golden Company. Our word is good as gold has been their boast since the days of Bittersteel. Myr is on the point of war with Lys and Tyrosh. Why break a contract that offered them the prospect of good wages and good plunder?" -AFFC, The Soiled Knight

and instead of heading east to Daenerys as they were planning, they instead invade Westeros and make use of the ships in Volantis:

"Last night the talk here was all of Westeros. Some exiled lord has hired the Golden Company to win back his lands for him. Half the captains in Volantis are racing upriver to Volon Therys to offer him their ships." -ADWD, Tyrion VII

but due to storms the Volantenes drop the Golden Company in different places:

"The damned Volantenes are so eager to be rid of us they are dumping us ashore on any bit of land they see," said Franklyn Flowers. "I'll wager you that we've got lads scattered all over half the bloody Stepstones too." -ADWD, The Griffin Reborn

and while they land and conquer numerous places (if interested: Arrival and Initial Attacks by the Golden Company) the fact remains that they have no official navy after being dropped off.

The Pirates in the Stepstones

While the Golden Company has lads "scattered across half the bloody Stepstones", we find out later on that the Golden Company has not just been scattered, but they have taken control of a good amount of the Stepstones as well:

"Tarth has fallen too, some fisherfolk will tell you," said Valena. "These sellswords now hold most of Cape Wrath and half the Stepstones. We hear talk of elephants in the rainwood. -TWOW, Arianne I

and while that quote is quite ambiguous, it means that we have the potential of a pirate fleet(s) coming under their control.

• Aurane Waters/Lord of the Waters

The former Grand Admiral/Master of Ships has potentially set himself up as a pirate king:

As soon as word of Your Grace's present troubles reached the river, Lord Waters raised sail, unshipped his oars, and took his fleet to sea. Ser Harys fears he means to join Lord Stannis. Pycelle believes that he is sailing to the Stepstones, to set himself up as a pirate." -AFFC, Cersei X

and:

A new pirate king has set up on Torturer's Deep. The Lord of the Waters, he styles himself. This one has real warships, three-deckers, monstrous large. -TWOW, Arianne I

As a bastard of House Driftmark, (his cousin Monterys is Lord), he may not need to have been defeated to enter into an alliance and may have been willing for a lordship, etc.

• Salladhor Saan

We also hear about Salladhor Saan potentially heading in that direction

"At sea." Salla would be sailing around the Fingers and down the narrow sea. He was returning to the Stepstones with what few ships remained him. Perhaps he would acquire a few more along the way, if he came upon some likely merchantmen. A little piracy to help the leagues go by. "His Grace has sent him south, to trouble the Lannisters and their friends." The lie was one he had rehearsed as he rowed toward Sisterton through the rain. Soon or late the world would learn that Salladhor Saan had abandoned Stannis Baratheon, leaving him without a fleet, but they would not hear it from the lips of Davos Seaworth. -ADWD, Davos I

If Salladhor Saan encountered the Golden Company, would he ally with them like his relative (according to the semi canon app) who was a member of the Band of Nine:

SAMARRO SAAN: THE LAST VALYRIAN - A notorious pirate from a notorious family of pirates from Lys, with the blood of Valyria in his veins. -TWOIAF, The Targaryen Kings: Aerys II

especially since he seems to also name ships after the band (Old Mother's Son)

Weird Note: If Old Mother's Son was run aground on Skagos:

The galleys Oledo and Old Mother's Son had been driven onto the rocks of Skagos, the isle of unicorns and cannibals where even the Blind Bastard had feared to land; the great cog Saathos Saan had foundered off the Grey Cliffs. "Stannis will be paying for them," Salladhor Saan had fumed.

how did it attack ships in the Stepstones:

A mate on the green galley wolfed half a dozen oysters and told her how his captain had been killed by the Lysene pirates who had tried to board them near the Stepstones. "That bastard Saan it was, with Old Mother's Son and his big Valyrian. We got away, but just." -AFFC, Cat of the Canals

Please also note Salladhor's anger towards Stannis above, that he likely knows Edric Storm is in Lys (and Lys' location).

and GRRM had this to say about Salla in TWOW:

If you've read my novels, you'll know that sometimes a character who seems very minor in one book assumes great importance in later volumes... and sometimes even becomes a POV. Let me hasten to add, this does not mean I am promising to make Salladhor Saan a POV character... but it does mean I am not done with him. -SSM, House Martell Casting: 6 Jul 2013

So it is possible that the Golden Company has the allegiance of one (or both) of the these pirate leaders (and their ships).

The Stormlands

We find out that the Golden Company has taken numerous islands, castles in the Stormlands:

The map was beautiful, painted by a master's hand on a sheet of the finest vellum, so large it covered the table. "Here." Pycelle pointed with a spotted hand. Where the sleeve of his robe rode up, a flap of pale flesh could be seen dangling beneath his forearm. "Here and here. All along the coast, and on the islands. Tarth, the Stepstones, even Estermont. And now we have reports that Connington is moving on Storm's End." -ADWD, Epilogue

and:

Whoever it is, Griffin’s Roost has fallen to them. Rain House, Crow’s Nest, Mistwood, even Greenstone on its island. All taken.”

Arianne’s thoughts went at once to her sweet Spotted Slyva. “Who would want Greenstone? Was there a battle?”

“Not as we have heard, but all the tales are garbled.”

“Tarth has fallen too, some fisherfolk will tell you,” said Valena. “These sellswords now hold most of Cape Wrath and half the Stepstones. -TWOW, Arianne I

and if we note (that due to the inaccessibility of Storm's End) the ships of the Stormlands are kept elsewhere:

The stormlands have also produced their share of great seamen and sailors. Storm's End itself, looming over the great cliffs of Durran's Point and the treacherous rocks of Shipbreaker Bay, offers no safe anchorage for either warship or merchant craft, but in the time of the Storm Kings, war fleets were oft maintained on Massey's Hook, Estermont, and in the towns and fishing villages along the Sea of Dorne. Later, other monarchs preferred to dock their fleets on the western shore of Tarth, where that great island's mountains helped to shelter them from the storms that often raged through the narrow sea. -TWOIAF, The Stormlands: The Men of the Stormlands

So while it is extremely possible that Stannis was able to gain control of some of these ships before he left, it should be noted that at least some lords defied him, such as the Lord of Tarth:

"All? No. Only those that would see me. They do not love me either, these highborns. To them I'll always be the Onion Knight." His left hand closed, stubby fingers locking into a fist; Stannis had hacked the ends off at the last joint, all but the thumb. "I broke bread with Gulian Swann and old Penrose, and the Tarths consented to a midnight meeting in a grove. The others—well, Beric Dondarrion is gone missing, some say dead, and Lord Caron is with Renly. Bryce the Orange, of the Rainbow Guard." -ACOK, Prologue

A Contract Writ in Blood

"Some contracts are writ in ink, and some in blood. I say no more."

While Illyrio's above quote is likely about the golden company, it could also ring true here. The least likely option is one of the greatest fleets in the world (The Iron Fleet), but it should be noted that the Ironborn broke a blood oath with Bittersteel:

A full account of their reigns can be found in Archmaester Haereg's History of the Ironborn. Therein you may read of Dagon Greyjoy, the Last Reaver, whose longships harried the western coasts when Aerys I Targaryen sat the Iron Throne. Of Alton Greyjoy, the Holy Fool, who sought new lands to conquer beyond the Lonely Light. Of Torwyn Greyjoy, who swore a blood oath with Bittersteel, then betrayed him to his enemies. Of Loron Greyjoy, the Bard, and his great and tragic friendship with young Desmond Mallister, a knight of the green lands. -TWOIAF, The Iron Islands: The Old Way and the New

and you might say, ya no one cares about oaths that happened almost a century ago, but it should be noted that the guy currently in charge of the Iron Islands (Asha's husband) was potentially present for this blood oath:

He had married her to Erik Ironmaker and named the Anvil-Breaker to rule the Iron Islands whilst he was chasing dragons. Erik had been a great man in his day, a fearless reaver who could boast of having sailed with her grandsire's grandsire, that same Dagon Greyjoy whom Dagon the Drunkard had been named for. Old women on Fair Isle still frightened their grandchildren with tales of Lord Dagon and his men**.** -ADWD, The Wayward Bride

TLDR: Young Griff/The Golden Company may have acquired a navy/ships from one or more of the following sources ranging in varying likelihood from the pirates in the Narrow Sea/Stepstones, the ships of the conquered Stormland houses (Tarth, Estermont, etc. where the Baratheons potentially housed theirs) and a 3/4 century old blood oath with the Ironborn. While the anchorage around Storm's End is unsafe, the ships could still help as they take Storm's End via "guile".