Steve
We picked up a nice wind the first day out. There was a low pressure area stalled to the northeast of us, providing us with an almost direct stiff wind from the south-southeast. If we can keep this up, we'll be home in four days easy.
Chuck had the helm this morning and seemed to be contemplative about going home. I went up and handed him a fresh mug of coffee. "What's on your mind, Guy, anything to worry about?"
Chuck smiled and said, "I love being out on the water, but I really want to get home now. Part of me wants to get back to work doing all the crazy shit I do for a living, and part of me wants to take it easy. Lisa has the same "Jones" as I do and wants the excitement, but is a little apprehensive about the danger. I do have some new members of the family on the way, and I'll have four new little girls in less than a month. In about seven or eight months, there will be three more, and if Taiying and Sing get over their past implants, there will be two more from them. That's nine kids in a year, Steve, and that's about as scary as it gets. I know the women will be able to handle all of the kids, but will I? Should I go back to taking risks? Is flying even too big a risk?"
I put a hand on Chuck's shoulder as he watched the monitors and gauges. "Chuck, you always make good decisions, so I'm sure you'll make the right one now. Don't give up part of your life that you've enjoyed and felt you were contributing. That's the satisfaction you get out of life, contributing. You are doing great helping so many people. Tiny even told me you want to begin sending the wheelchair guys to law or medical schools, and others to be accountants. That's a hell of a commitment, but you know what? The rewards from that will be great. When those men have been educated and are practicing their professions, they will probably move out of your village and build something for themselves. You'll have another house to use for the next unfortunate man that comes along. How many houses are you going to be able to build at your village?"
Chuck smiled and said, "I think I'll do it in five sections, with a hundred houses in each section. The first hundred should be complete and furnished in another month. Over seventy men and families have moved into homes so far. The single guys are going to need some help along the way, so I'm having some help from Quality Wear to get some part time housekeeping staff. There seems to always be someone who needs a part time job for some extra money. I'm trying to get some of the housewives from the trailer park to do it, but there are not enough so far."
I told Chuck, "You know that with all of the kids that you are moving in with their disabled parents out there, we might soon need another elementary school. Sue and the women are teaching a big bunch of our close friends' kids at our home school program, but it's just not big enough to take care of your village. We both might have to contribute to get another school out our way. I'm worried about high school, since when all of our kids begin high school, they should probably go to a public school. Who knows though, perhaps the women will continue to home school right on through."
Chuck smiled, "Glad I don't have that to worry about for a while. It'll be what, six years before I have to do the school thing?"
"Not a chance, Buddy, in three or four years it will be preschool, in five it's kindergarten, then on and on. You'll be knee deep in books in only a year to a year and half. If you're lucky, some of the grandmothers will come and teach the kids to speak and read. That seems to kick the kids off right. First it's animal books, followed by kid mysteries, followed by the fantasy stuff. If your women are like mine, there won't be that many movies or TV programs the kids will watch. They'll keep them busy and outdoors as much as possible."
Chuck was smiling again, "What are we going to do with four Italian kids. Do you think they will be able to catch up to yours for schooling?"
I told Chuck, "Not to worry, the ladies will tutor them privately to get them up to where they need to be. I think our kids are all pretty advanced for home school kids, and I know the women are trying to teach them far beyond their age or grade group."
Chuck laughed, "I know you have one hell of music program."
We both laughed, thinking about how much music the kids had learned and been involved with this past couple of months. Chuck was smiling now, so I suggested, "How about I take over here and you go out and open the outdoor helm? The sun's hot enough that you might want the shade cloth, but the weather is perfect for manning the outdoor wheel."
Chuck headed out to the station there, and I watched as his equipment came on line. When Chuck used the intercom to say, "All set up," I shut down most of the inside monitors, leaving the two radar and weather displays up.
I was going to go out to sit with Chuck, but saw Gina, Julie, and Lisa get up to go out to sit with him.
Going below, Missy, Kathy, and Juanita were finishing up breakfast cleanup and I noticed all of the kids in the big lounge watching a DVD of the concert they had played in. Several of them had their guitars and were quietly playing along with the music.
I checked the cabin and found it straightened out with the bed already made. From there, I went below to the crew quarters end and found Sue, Mercy, and Mickey cleaning the kids' area. The ladies had a pile of clothes out by the crew galley ready for the laundry room.
As I walked by the storage room toward the rear of the boat, the two big cabins, and the office, I found Ben busy on the satellite phone. He was excitedly talking about another big deal. The man doesn't quit, that's for sure.
Passing the big laundry room, I saw Beth and the Asian sisters busy in there. Two were ironing and one was folding while waiting for the next batch out of the dryer.
I checked the desalinization room and did the water test. I noticed that even with all of the washing and cleaning going on, we were nearly full of potable water. There were a few things to do in the engine room, so I went in and began wiping down the two big engines. I went for a bucket and soap to do the walls and floors, as the engines could put a film of oil on everything if you let it go. By the time I had all of that cleaned, it was coming up to noon. I was hungry and would be relieving Chuck soon. You know, I didn't see Dewey or his women. I wondered where they were. I went up to the main deck, through the rear sundeck room, and there they were. All three, along with all of the band people, were lying back in lounges out in the sun, reading. Dewey glanced over his book, "Isn't this great. I love it back here. Now all Chuck needs on this tub are some waitresses to chase some drinks."
As he laughed, Sheena got up and asked, "What would you like, Master? Perhaps I can pull it out of my hat -- or would that be my panties?"
Dewey rolled his eyes before answering, "I'll wait, it's almost lunch time and I'm about ready to rest the eyes."
I toured the rear of the Lucky Lady, checking the lines and pulleys. Making my way past the helm and up to the bow, I did a thorough check of all the rigging. As I came back to the helm, I said to Chuck who was showing Lisa the sail configuration book, "All shipshape, Captain, how about I take the helm while you eat."
Chuck said, "Go ahead and eat first. Lisa and I will eat when you take over. I'll bet the kids and the band will want to play some music this afternoon. You know how that will be. Once they get started, they won't want to quit. I think I will chase them out to run around on deck for a while before we start with music so they get some fresh air."
I told them both, "All of the kids are below in the big lounge, watching concert DVDs. They should be getting tired of music by now."
Lisa said, "Once that music bug takes a big bite, you're hooked. It passes with some kids, but a lot of them will become more and more interested in learning to play."
Below, in the galley, the women had the kids at their table with some tomato soup and a platter of ham sandwiches. Sue waved me to the big table that was filling up with people for some of the same fare as the kids. Even Dewey and the group from the back deck had come down for lunch.
Mercy asked, "Have you talked to our immigration attorney about Gio and Gina yet?"
I answered honestly, "I only asked him to research what it was going to take. He'll need their passports to do any more. Don't you think we need them to get a chance to see if they like being around us twenty-four seven? They may think we're too crazy for them or they may get too homesick. Let's take it easy and not get in a rush."
Giovanna looked up at me with a smile, "Do you not like that I want to be with you and your family?"
Gio did speak the better English of the two sisters.
"Sure, I want you to be with us Gio, but if we start the process too soon, you could find out later it was a mistake, not tell me, and be miserable. What do you think, shouldn't we wait?"
Gio answered, "Don't wait for me; I am home with you and your family and I wish to say, my family. Perhaps Gina, but she is happy too. Why would we get homesick if we have each other and our children? If we want to see our father and aunt, all we have to do is call and they will come. You see, we have chosen you, and Chuck, will you keep us?"
Now that was direct, and all of the women, actually everyone at the table, were looking at me. "I will call this afternoon to make sure you two have the proper visas. You all know we went to Costa Rica and didn't even see a customs agent. Do you think Chuck just told him we were only going to be there a short while?"
Dewey said, "I know Chuck talked to someone about us being there. He gave them names, sexes, and ages. I guessed it might be a customs person he was talking to."
Sue said, "I have to call in this afternoon, so I'll talk to our man and give him the particulars. I think all of their passports are in the office below."
That got me off the hook for the time being, but I wondered if Chuck was going to put his foot into his mouth the same way I did. I should probably warn him before he comes below to eat.
Sue got up from the table and announced, "I'm up next to captain this boat, so you all better hang on. I wish there was a little chop to give us a thrill or two."
Dewey laughed and told her, "Just come on out west and I'll let you sail up to Alaska this fall. You'll have all the chop you could want. I think the water is rough up there all winter."
I told her, "I thought I was up next," but she showed me the schedule they had made. She said, "Chuck stayed at the helm most of last night and turned around to do eight to noon. I think he could use a break, even though I know how much he's enjoying being at the helm."
Kenny said, "I want to practice a couple of pieces this afternoon. It will be a great time to work up a couple of productions with the whole group. We won't be able to do this very often once we're back home. I want to get all the time I can with the kids. Chuck and Lisa too, but I know they will play with us almost any time they can."
I went up with Sue to relieve Chuck. Lisa, Gina, and Julie were sitting with him as he guided the big boat north. When Sue told Chuck she was taking over, he said, "There is some traffic out here, but I doubt if there is anything to worry about. There are a lot of merchant ships that travel this route. They're going faster than we are, so just watch and keep your distance so their wash doesn't toss us around."
Sue and I stayed at the helm together and she said, "What do you think about the Irish operation. Was that a mistake or do you think it can actually benefit the people there?"
I told her, "I don't know that much about the fashion world, but you've proven there is an everyday market for something like your basic blouse. If I was doing it, I would make that basic blouse first before I did anything else. Have your people turn out a quality product that you can sell throughout Europe, and branch out from there. And, Baby, who says you have to do this to only help the Irish? This should be profitable for the company or you shouldn't do it."
After a pause I added, "When your European sales people begin getting orders, we can probably begin selling T-shirts there too. If we do it right, we can ship them from our factories at home to supply the market. If we can't keep up, we'll build, lease, or rent another plant in Ireland or the U.K. somewhere. I think the important thing is to keep the manufacturing process that we know works. Watch your costs and branch out from there."
Sue said, "We do some mail order from all over Europe now, but I think our products will be more readily accepted if we have plants in Europe, and besides, despite all the free trade agreements, it's still cheaper to sell EU-made goods inside the European Union, as you have seen with your golf cart and industrial lift truck businesses. We'll just have to learn the market and the people so we continue to be successful."
"You know that who you choose to manage is what will make your brand successful over there," I said, thinking of how important it was to have the right people in place at my dealerships.
Nodding, Sue agreed, "That's for sure. Now that I have strong people in each of the big buildings, our production has gone up and the quality is still as near perfect as you could want. The T-shirt operations all have good people too. I'll have to watch for some people to move up and possibly to go to Europe to manage over there, at least to help the operations get a quality start."
Kids were coming from the salon, the boys running, and the girls clustered together walking around the boat. By the time the girls had made one trip around the boat, the boys had passed them several times and were now near the stern throwing some tennis balls around. I wonder how many tennis balls we've lost on our boats.
That's what we can research, some dissolving tennis balls or the equivalent so when a ball goes overboard, there's no chance that a big fish could swallow it. We've seen dolphins bat them around and even flip them with their tail but I'd bet a shark or two have decided the balls were snack size. I'll have to talk to Dennis about that. Gerry might even be the person to talk to about that.
Thinking about these subjects reminded me that I should go down and call Tiny to see how everything is going. "Sue, I'm going down to call Tiny. If you need to call in, I can relieve you now or later."
Sue said, "Why not relieve me now so I can have a long discussion with our immigration attorney. I want to get that stuff started."
I know I was probably treading in unstable water, but asked, "I know you girls always have a reason for something, but why Gio? Mickey was our special friend for a long time and lost Samantha, but Gio is or was a stranger. How come?"
Sue looked at me thoughtfully, "You know, Mercy and I have talked about it with Juanita, Kathy, and Mickey. We all really like Gio and Gina, and think they will be good for us and I know we will be good for them. They didn't have a life back in Italy as their father was always afraid for them. The kids were restricted as to where they could go or what they could do. Look at how our kids have taken them in. It's like they have been brothers and sisters forever. I don't know, Steve, but I do feel that keeping her is right. Perhaps she'll find someone else here that will make her happier, but she loves the idea of us all being together. I feel like she's fallen in love with all of us, and that includes you, Steve. Let's keep her, but let her keep her wings if she decides to fly."
Sue smiled, hugged and kissed me, turned, and went toward the salon to go below. I asked, and I suppose I was given as good an answer as there was. Did they just feel sorry for the two families, or had we all formed some kind of strange bond faster than we could have thought possible?
The kids were going back into the salon and I was hearing some electric guitar sounds, as well as strains of piano and organ coming out to my ears. I smiled, thinking about how crazy Bonita and Lizzy were about music.
About a half hour later, the collision avoidance alarm began a slow beep. I could see a small blip on the long range radar, seemingly heading toward us. The target would have had to be coming toward us for over fifteen minutes at that distance for the alarm to sound. The blip was just under twenty-five miles, so I switched the resolution to twenty-five from fifty miles. I configured the tracking so I could get some estimated times of intersect, or would that be intercept.
The system came right back with the information the oncoming craft was twenty-three miles out, approaching at twenty knots with an intersect time of an hour and five minutes.
Dewey was standing at the salon door, so I yelled at him, "Have Chuck come out here for a minute."
When Chuck arrived at the helm, I showed him the radar and the analysis of the collision avoidance system. Chuck commented, "That is kind of nuts. Are there pirates around that will take us on in broad daylight?"
Dewey had come over and told us, "Almost all of the piracy on the high seas occurs in the daylight. There are very few instances of night attacks, even though you've often been involved in night attacks. But they were not straight pirate attacks that we experienced on our way out of Florida waters."
Chuck sighed, "I think we'll scare the shit out of anyone who gets near. We won't do anything but line the side of the boat with armed people. We might put a rifle round into something on their boat to tell them we aren't messing with them and see what happens. I know if I was a small boat and I saw a dozen armed and ready people, I wouldn't bother. If they do act like they are going to attack and get within fifty yards, I'll just sink them and let them figure out what to do."
Mercy had come out to the helm to see what was going on, and after hearing me said, "What if it's like that family who was being held on their own boat. Should we find out about them first?"
Chuck said, "We are pretty far south to get any Coast Guard help. There is no help out here, and probably no law enforcement that could reach us. Let's give them a display of force and see what they do."
Mercy said it again, "But what if there are innocents on board that are being held. Shouldn't we at least find out?"
Chuck just shook his head, "Mercy, what do you want me to do? If we let them board us, we could have someone get hurt. The other side of this is that if we turkey shoot them all before they get here, you know we're going to tear up the boat and still possibly get someone hurt. If there are innocents aboard, it's called collateral damage."
Mercy looked angry, "That's just too cruel. Just shoot anyone who displays a weapon and let's make sure there is no one who needs help."
Now Lisa had joined us and was trying to get Mercy off to the side, but Mercy wasn't listening to any of our suggestions.
I told everyone, "Okay, we'll get everyone we want topside armed and ready. We'll get everyone else below. Dewey, go open the inside bridge. Sue and Lisa, go get the rest of the women and break out the rifles and shotguns. Chuck, get your big gun out in case we need you to sink the boat."
When Chuck came back out of the salon, he had his armor on, a field vest, his MP5 over a shoulder, and his big fifty over the other. His field vest was stuffed with magazines, and I noticed he had his sidearm as well. He said, "Go break out the weapons. I can't believe we keep getting into shit like this. There is just no way we can be this unlucky. I'll go put out fenders in case we do offer to tie up. At least the boat won't get scarred from the encounter."
I went into the salon, lifted the cushions and began getting rifles and shotguns out. The women began coming up to get their weapon of choice. Juanita and Mickey liked shotguns. Mercy and Sue each wanted a rifle. Kathy usually didn't get involved, but asked for a shotgun. As each took a weapon, I made sure they all put armor on.
Chuck's women began coming up, with Julie asking for a shotgun, the Asian sisters wanted rifles, and when Gina said she wanted to help, Lisa gave her a hug and told her, "Go below and help Gio, Missy, and Beth keep the kids calm.
Ben came up and asked, "Can I help? I know how to use a shotgun and I skeet shoot a lot."
I gave him an armored vest and a shotgun, explaining the first two rounds were explosive and the rest of them were buckshot. Chuck was placing people along the side of the boat the oncoming craft should approach us on. If they changed sides, we would too.
I stepped into the salon and told Dewey, "Take the sails in and start the engines up in case we have to maneuver. Use the engines to continue at the speed we're at and let's see what happens."
Dewey nodded, knowing what to do in cases such as this.
Chuck was on the sundeck over the salon with a good view of everything. I went up there to use my field glasses and could now see what looked like a thirty to thirty-five foot pleasure craft closing in. Chuck was looking through his scope and said, "There are two on the bow, but I can't tell if they are armed. I can see the wheel man or pilot, but I can't see the rear of the boat."
He added, "Oh, oh, there's someone on the tower and it looks like he has a rifle with a scope. Not to worry, the way they are coming, I'll eliminate the tower real quick and we'll see what they do. There's another guy up there so it looks like they may have dual controls."
The boat was now about four hundred yards out, and Chuck was set up with the big fifty braced across the rail of the sundeck. I watched as he breathed in and out followed by the big gun going off. I quickly used my field glasses to see the tower still collapsing, with one person hanging off the damaged and bent over tower by his foot and another holding on to some of the tubing structure. The two men on the bow were now lying flat. I still couldn't tell if they were armed.
I noticed Chuck ratcheting another round into the breach and aiming again. He stood the fifty up on the rail and pulled his MP5 down to sight in on something. When he fired this time, the boat immediately stalled as if there was a dead man's switch or accelerator pedal.
Chuck stood and said, "Let's get down on deck to see what these bozos are going to try next."
"What did you just shoot at? I didn't see the hit." I asked Chuck, as we went down the ladder from the sundeck.
As we exited the salon he said, "I could see the man at the wheel and decided to put one there so the others on board can think about it before they get closer."
As we walked out on deck, Lisa came up to Chuck, "Nice shot on the tower. You got a good two for one on that one. The round into the wheelhouse was as exact as any could want. What do you think, should we get the Zodiac out and take them?"
Chuck looked at Lisa and just shook his head, "Just what I need; a bloodthirsty partner itching for a fight."
Lisa swatted at him and showed him her people placement. She had the women stationed every few yards along the side of the boat, all sitting, all with their weapons trained on the other boat. No one could, or would, think we were not prepared.
The boat that had dogged in the water was still sloshing around, so I used the outdoor helm intercom to tell Dewey, "Circle them, Dewey. I want a look at the rear of the boat."
Chuck and Lisa were both set up, bracing their rifles on the rail as we came around to the rear of the fishing boat. We could see a couple of faces peering out from the door of the main cabin. There were at least two men looking up over the rear transom. With the two up on the bow, that would be six with three already down. That's a lot of men on a thirty-five footer.
Mercy came from her station and said, "How come you shot so fast? I thought we were going to wait for them to attack first."
Chuck told her, "There was a shooter on the tower that had a rifle with a scope trained on us. I shot first as I didn't want to find out if the guy knew how to shoot. The second round into the cockpit was to do exactly what's happening. I wanted the boat to stop."
As we were continuing to circle the boat, the tower structure fell into the water taking with it the two bodies that had been hanging off it. They were obviously beyond help.
Mercy didn't look as angry and went back to her position.
I asked Chuck, "Now what? You know those guys have weapons. We just can't see them. What do you want to do?"
Chuck said, "Maybe we should get the Zodiac out like Lisa suggested. How about you drive so Lisa and I can be ready?" He turned to Lisa, "Don't shoot everyone if you don't have to, okay? We'll give them a chance. Hey, Mercy!"
Mercy came over, and Chuck said, "Okay, now you can begin saving those guys. We're going over there in the Zodiac to make sure there are no innocents on board. You use the hailer and tell them to stand down, and raise their hands to show us they don't have weapons. We'll find out real quick what's going on."
It only took a minute to open the rear locker and roll the Zodiac to the rear of the boat. We opened the railing and slid the boat into the water. Chuck pulled it around to the boarding platform and I went down to start the motor. Lisa was down into the boat in a flash, with her rifle at the ready. Chuck climbed down a little slower, probably because of his prosthesis. I'm always amazed when I remember that he has one.
As Mercy was calling out, the two men on the bow stood and raised their hands over their heads. Chuck told Lisa, "You watch those two and as we round the boat, I'll watch for problems back there."
As we came around to view the rear of the boat from the side, I could see someone standing at the edge of the main cabin and it looked like some kind of handgun sticking out. I hollered, "The guy by the cabin has a pistol."
Chuck was already sighting in on the guy and waited until he was almost in full view. The man raised the pistol to point at us and died before he had the gun all the way up. Chuck was studying each of the faces he could see at the rear of the boat.
There were three men standing at the rear with their hands up. We moved closer and closer, watching for any movement. When the Zodiac bumped into the side of the boat, Lisa leaped onto the railing of the boat with a line in one hand and her MP5 at the ready in her other.
Chuck was covering her, making sure no one moved and no additional threat came from the main cabin and cockpit. Lisa motioned for the two men on the bow to come back and watched them until they were with the other three.
As Chuck climbed into the boat, Lisa was having the men lean over the railing on their bellies with their feet out behind them and their hands and arms stretched out over the water. When they were all in position, she told Chuck, "Check out below while I shake these goons down."
Chuck disappeared and I watched Lisa, covering her with my rifle. She had put her rifle down and was using her handgun as she frisked each of the men. She was thorough, checking their belts, the ankles, under their arms, and all over their bodies. She did find a couple of pistols and a couple of knives, but not a lot. She turned to me, "Steve, come up here and get some line so we can tie them up."
I told her, "Better yet," holding up a handful of long tie-wraps that were in the emergency locker on the Zodiac.
As we were finishing tying the five men up, Chuck came back up to the deck. He was shaking his head, "There's no one down there, but there was someone there not long ago. There are two cabins with men's and women's clothes in each. There's also a lot of blood on both of the bunks. I should have sunk this scow while I had the chance.
There was banging at our feet. Looking down, I saw a hatch that looked like a big deep sea live well. Lisa covered me as I opened the hatch. An older man and woman were bound and gagged in the big live well. Chuck and I helped them out and untied them. They were both stretching and rubbing where their hands and arms had been tied. The man said, "I hope you are here to rescue us. These bastards forced us to take them out on the boat from Cozumel. They killed my son and daughter-in-law and just threw them overboard."
While the man was talking, the older lady went to the main cabin and looked in to see the man that had been at the wheel was very dead. She nodded, went inside and came out with what looked like a Glock. She walked up to the nearest prisoner and "bam" she shot him in the head. Before any of us could react, or the others still hanging over the rail could stand, she headshot all five. When she was done, she went to the man and hugged him. "Help me, Sid, I want to throw them overboard just like they did Doug and Sue."
Chuck, Lisa, and I were almost in a state of shock as the woman was still standing there, holding a man probably was her husband – and her deadly Glock.
The man, obviously still in shock, said to us, "This was supposed to be our retirement vacation. We sold our home and bought this boat to enjoy our retirement years. Now we've lost our son and daughter-in-law." Tears were streaming down both of their faces as they held each other.
Lisa said to Chuck and me, "Give me a hand and let's get these guys over the rail and see if we can clean up the main cockpit. That guy didn't bleed very badly."
The three of us were able to toss the seven over the rail into the blue water of the Caribbean without any trouble. I had waved for Dewey to bring the boat over to us so we could tie up to it.
As soon as we were alongside, Sue jumped onto the fishing boat with a line to tie the bow and Mercy did the same on the rear deck. Sue came to the two people still in shock and encouraged them to come aboard our boat while the rest of us tried to clean theirs up a little.
Mercy said to Chuck, "Aren't you glad you helped that old couple. Too bad we weren't a little earlier to save their kids."
We stripped the beds of the bloody bedclothes and put them into some plastic bags. The little galley wasn't torn up and when we went up to the main cabin/salon and cockpit, Lisa and Mercy had the blood cleaned up in there and out on deck. Except for the small hole in the windscreen in front of the wheel, the boat looked normal. The upper tower was completely torn down, but it didn't look too bad.
We all went to our boat to find out how the couple was doing. They were sitting in our salon with some kind of drink in their hands and plates of food in front of them. Chuck and I took the bedclothes below to our laundry room with the Asian sisters following us. Taiying said, "Let us take care of this. We know better how to do this."
Chuck and I went back up to the salon and heard the couple tell of their harrowing experience. Julie was hugging the woman as she hung onto her husband. Apparently the two couples had stopped in Cozumel for a couple of days at the resorts there and when they were getting ready to leave, the men had jumped aboard with guns and forced the couples to take them out to sea. The older man and the son had been tied up and had to witness their wives repeatedly raped by the men.
The son had worked his hands free and attacked a man who was attacking his wife. He was shot in the process, and when the wife went to the son's defense, she was also killed.
The older couple was brought on deck to watch their son and daughter-in-law thrown overboard. Afterward, they were both tied and gagged and put into the live well.
Sue came to me and said, "I know this is putting us behind, but we can't leave these people. We have to stay with them until they can handle the boat by themselves."
I nodded in agreement, but didn't know what to really do about the situation. While all of the adults surrounded the couple, Dan commented, "That boat is exactly like ours. If you guys want, Jack and I can handle that boat and follow you guys. Let me go check to see how the fuel level is. You all may have to stop and feed us, but we should be able to just ride along behind you."
The man looked at us pleadingly and I asked him, "Is that okay? Would it be okay if these two men brought your boat along behind us?"
The woman answered, "Please, I don't know what we'll do with that boat. The memories we have of it will haunt us for the rest of our lives. I'm not sure we ever want to get on the boat again."
Dan and Jack went to the boat to check the fuel level and came back to tell us there should be plenty of fuel to get all the way home if we wanted. Beth and Missy went to make a bunch of sandwiches and told the guys, "We'll stop for breakfast and supper. The rest of the time you'll have to eat sandwiches. Is that okay?"
Dan smiled, "Sure, but we're going to miss out on the music fun the guys are going to have."
Jack said, "I need to make sure you guys record everything you do. I can listen to it on CD over here while we follow you.
Sue took the couple below to put them into a cabin to rest while telling them she would wake them for supper.
It was coming up on four o'clock, so I was going to be at the helm. I told Dewey, who was still handling the boat from the inside helm, "Let me check the rigging and close up the outdoor station. Chuck and I need to pull up the Zodiac and wash it down. Might as well do it now rather than wait until later."
As soon as I was done and took over the wheel, and checked all of the instruments and monitors, Sue, Mercy, and Kathy came to me. Sue said, "This is too much. How come we can't sail anywhere without some stupidity coming along? We must look like too easy of a target. Maybe we need to put some big guns out on our bow to scare away any threats."
Kathy assured Sue, "At least we're all safe and no one was hurt. We all need to thank Chuck and Lisa for taking the risks. Steve was right out there with them, but those two are fearless, or they at least act like it."
Mercy said, "It's their makeup. That's the way both of them are. When they are peaceful, their minds are beautiful, but when they are involved with stuff like this, their minds are black and I barely see and feel anything from either one. I don't even think they are trying to hide from me. I think it's just their determination to succeed at what they are doing."
I told all of them, "I'm just thankful to have those two with us. Hopefully, they will be able to settle down tonight and not let the adrenaline get to them."
Chuck and Lisa were sitting at the bar sipping something. They were talking with Julie, Gina, and the sisters sitting next to them. I could see they were mellowing, and of course, the music of the kids playing on the other end of the salon helped to relax them too.
Lisa soon got up and went over to the kids to play with them. A few minutes later, Chuck was over there, but he was playing with his new cello. I could hear the deep resonant tone of the giant fiddle all the way to the helm.
Dewey came up from below, made a tall drink, and came over to shoot the breeze with me. "Some kind of day, huh?"
"It worked out, Dewey, everyone is safe and we're all okay."
"Yeah," Dewey said, "I can't believe how lucky Chuck is, but it seems that if he's around, there's some kind of trouble that tracks him down. Just think about it, all that stuff we ran into getting away from Florida, the weird stuff near Ireland, the blast at the stadium, the casino problem, and now this. I wonder what else he's been involved in that he hasn't told us about. I think something happened when he bought those two islands."
I told Dewey, "Yeah, and I think something happened the day before we went to see the big island. I can't be sure, but I'd bet I heard gunfire from that direction, and son of a gun, Chuck and Lisa were missing. You know, with all that, there isn't a black cloud that hangs over him. Just think how lucky the man is and how lucky everyone around him gets too."
Dewey took a big drink, "I really like the guy and feel safe around him, but he sure does seem to attract the action."
Everyone was called for supper and Chuck came to relieve me. We stopped so Dan and Jack could come on board to eat. They ate and took some clothes and CDs back to the other boat with them. They resumed following us at our slow pace.
I noticed Gina stayed up at the helm with Chuck. She was a little clingy, probably knowing the danger he had been in. I think she was becoming a real part of his family, whether he wanted it or not.
After eating, I took the helm back and Chuck went below with Gina to eat. In a little while, everyone migrated back up to the salon to have some drinks. The kids, Kenny, Fred, and Carlos played some music, and Chuck and Lisa soon joined them. You could tell the two were a little mellow after Lisa sang something. She went for her acoustic guitar and had a conversation with Chuck and the rest of the guys and kids. Barb and Carolyn took over the piano and organ, but remained silent as Lisa began.
Lisa said using a microphone, "One of my favorite singers that I try to emulate is Eva Cassidy. I think my voice is similar and tonight, I need to sing some of her stuff, a few of her ballads."
Lisa began to play her acoustic and sing, "Ain't No Sunshine When He's Gone." The song was being sung so beautifully that everyone in the salon was totally fascinated. Chuck began backing her up with his acoustic bass, making the piece even more enjoyable.
From that piece, Lisa sang "At Last," then a very slow throaty version of an old Beatles song, "Yesterday," followed by "Evie's Song." She continued with "Blue Eyes Cryin' in the Rain," and when she began the second time through, she motioned for Chuck to sing with her. The two did an excellent job singing together.
Lisa finished with "Stormy Monday," then just sat there for a minute before smiling at Chuck before she put her guitar in the case, and Chuck put the big bass onto its stand. All of the kids, as well as the other members of the band, had sat there listening to Lisa singing out her mood. She needed to get it out and did. That was really emotional.
Carolyn was doing something with the fancy controller and pulled a couple of CDs from it. She was showing them to Barb and the two of them were giggling.
It had gotten late before we knew it, so the moms shooed the kids off to bed. The rest of us adults enjoyed a late night drink while one and two at a time went below for the night.
Juanita was on until midnight, when Mercy would take over. Chuck and Lisa were sitting with Juanita, so I knew she would be alright.
Down in the cabin, Mercy said, "Listening to Lisa was really emotional. That was some of the most beautiful I've heard her sing. I liked the way Lisa and Chuck did "Blue Eyes Cryin' in the Rain." Her mind was soft and gentle tonight. She was really coming out of her earlier blackness when she was doing the deed on that boat."
The ladies made a place for me among them, but as usual, we missed the one not with us, Juanita. Mercy wanted a kiss so she could get some sleep before going on duty at midnight. I told her, "Wake me up when you get up so I can be up there with you."
Gio hugged my back and kissed my neck. She snuggled into me as I drifted off to sleep hugging Kathy who was hugging Mickey who was hugging Mercy.
Primary Editing by Pepere
Proofing and Continuity by Sagacious
European tours, by Rotorhead
Another set of eyes – Knight6
Last one through - Deenara2000