I don’t know what made me think of it. Maybe it was knowing the iPhones have been turned off, and texting and emailing are incredibly spotty here in Spanish Wells, but I remembered that we had won two Kenwood family band radios at a West Marine promotion back in Pittsburgh many years ago. Six AA’s and they were working as good as new.
We knew we would need to communicate because today’s mission was to find a replacement for my Brudda bottom cleaner who turned up so high that he couldn’t sit up straight, and with a serious expression said he couldn’t start on our boat because he was waiting for his man for a joint to keep his focus on the work. Oh, well sure I grew up in the 60’s, I understand trying to corral one’s mind toward work. Chasing the dragon. But with all his excuses about rebalancing his finely tuned blood chemistry Marce said there’s no way he’s touching our bottom.
It was blowing like stink out of the east again 25+ kts. and a dinghy ride was like taking a saltwater shower. After gaining the docks I just started asking everyone for a diver and eventually somebody said yeah, my sister’s husband is a diver. Nice guy, almost twice as much but I bet he shows up. After a radio consult with Marce a deal was struck.
Walking back to the dinghy I noticed commotion in the mooring field. A small modern sailboat that had been weaving back and forth on the mooring ball, had broken free and beached herself. Bandit pulled it off the bank and was trying to drag it to another mooring against the wind. He obviously needed help and yelled over to Marce who was watching the drama on deck. “Where’s your launch?”
Marce told him it was ashore, then called me on the radio and said you had better get back here, they need your help. More salt spray but I got there and quickly realized that Bandit couldn’t hold the sailboat in position and reeve the new line through the mooring ball at the same time. Tricky in so much wind but in fifteen minutes we had her tied up to the new mooring. Jim Dandy to the rescue. As I headed back towards Escape Velocity I got a polite smattering of applause from the trawler that took a least 1/2 hour to pick up her mooring in the high wind.
Well, we’ll see if our new diver shows up. Tomorrow will tell the tale.