"The RW "P" buoy should come into view any time now." Said the captain. "Keep a lookout for it."
The approaching landfall after many days at sea found the captain and crew bustling about getting the boat shipshape for presenting to the owner. The approaching landfall also brought a change in the focus of navigating.
Sammy had the job of cleaning the nasty stinky head. Heads can have a tendency to get filthy on a choppy voyage as the ability to aim (in this story the crew is all men) is often nearly impossible when a boat is abruptly pitching about. "No one's allowed to pee over the side!" Barked out the captain at the beginning of the voyage. "The Coast Guard says that most men lost overboard and later found dead floating face down have their flies unzipped!" Sammy, wearing rubber gloves and a respirator sprayed cleaning fluid over the entire head compartment, scrubbed, wiped down and repeated over and over. "The owner likes a clean boat! He'll be meeting us at the docks with his wife and kids. Very good Sammy!"
"Thank you sir."
Sammy scrubbed and re-scrubbed the head. Carlos cleaned the galley and Jimmy manned the helm as the captain climbed the companionway stairs from the cabin to the cockpit.
"Now everybody listen up. Paradise is a low lying land. That means we ain't gonna see it until we're well within the entrance channel. And this fog ain't no help either. The area is also loaded with wrecks and we ain't gonna add to that pile. Now that we're approaching land, a greater vigilance is imperative.
"The RW "P" buoy that we're looking for is a whistle buoy. According to the GPS we're less that a quarter mile from it. Now, I want everyone silent and keeping to his work so that we can hear the whistle. And one big advantage of sailing over motoring is that sailing is alot quieter and we can hear that damn buoy from some distance away.
All was silent on the boat save for the sound of scrubbing and the waves hitting the hull. "Jimmy, keep a lookout at about 12:30 or a little to starboard of dead ahead. That sea buoy should come into view any time."
"I just heard something, kinda sounds like a dying cow." Said the helmsman.
"From where? Point to the direction."
"It sounds like it's come from dead ahead, maybe a little to the right of that."
"I can hear it down here." Said Sammy.
"I hear it too. Sounds like kind of a waaaaaamp, waaaaaaaamp, waaaaaaaaamp."
[to be continued]
Fair Winds
Captain Bill
The approaching landfall after many days at sea found the captain and crew bustling about getting the boat shipshape for presenting to the owner. The approaching landfall also brought a change in the focus of navigating.
Sammy had the job of cleaning the nasty stinky head. Heads can have a tendency to get filthy on a choppy voyage as the ability to aim (in this story the crew is all men) is often nearly impossible when a boat is abruptly pitching about. "No one's allowed to pee over the side!" Barked out the captain at the beginning of the voyage. "The Coast Guard says that most men lost overboard and later found dead floating face down have their flies unzipped!" Sammy, wearing rubber gloves and a respirator sprayed cleaning fluid over the entire head compartment, scrubbed, wiped down and repeated over and over. "The owner likes a clean boat! He'll be meeting us at the docks with his wife and kids. Very good Sammy!"
"Thank you sir."
Sammy scrubbed and re-scrubbed the head. Carlos cleaned the galley and Jimmy manned the helm as the captain climbed the companionway stairs from the cabin to the cockpit.
"Now everybody listen up. Paradise is a low lying land. That means we ain't gonna see it until we're well within the entrance channel. And this fog ain't no help either. The area is also loaded with wrecks and we ain't gonna add to that pile. Now that we're approaching land, a greater vigilance is imperative.
"The RW "P" buoy that we're looking for is a whistle buoy. According to the GPS we're less that a quarter mile from it. Now, I want everyone silent and keeping to his work so that we can hear the whistle. And one big advantage of sailing over motoring is that sailing is alot quieter and we can hear that damn buoy from some distance away.
All was silent on the boat save for the sound of scrubbing and the waves hitting the hull. "Jimmy, keep a lookout at about 12:30 or a little to starboard of dead ahead. That sea buoy should come into view any time."
"I just heard something, kinda sounds like a dying cow." Said the helmsman.
"From where? Point to the direction."
"It sounds like it's come from dead ahead, maybe a little to the right of that."
"I can hear it down here." Said Sammy.
"I hear it too. Sounds like kind of a waaaaaamp, waaaaaaaamp, waaaaaaaaamp."
[to be continued]
Fair Winds
Captain Bill
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