We woke in our snuggled position, my face buried between her beauties. I could hear movement in the direction of the galley, so I got up, dressed, and walked out to the galley area.
A lady in her late forties or early fifties was preparing something. I introduced myself, but she wasn't very talkative. She finally said, "Mr. Dewey doesn't have people out here. He's a hermit. What made him bring you and that girl?"
"Dewey and I met here on the island and because I helped a friend of his, I think it was his brother, we ended up spending a week together in Hawaii. He met Sheila up in Anchorage and is quite taken with her. I think she could become a part of Dewey's life."
"In all the years, Dewey never brought a lady out here. Not even a girl, not a lady, he never brought anybody out here. Me and Sarah are the only ones that ever come out. We clean for Mr. Dewey and fix him breakfast, and often supper, if he's not drinking it. That's another thing. What did you do with the glasses you were drinking with last night?"
"I'm sorry, I didn't get your name."
"Helen, my name is Helen MacDougal."
"Tell you what, Helen. You may not believe it but for the last few days, while Dewey has been serious about Sheila, he has not had much to drink at all. Last night was the most I've seen him drink in a week, but it was in celebration of us coming back."
"You say he hasn't been drinking because he's with that woman?"
"I think that's what the deal is."
"Hmm, maybe he is getting serious. It's either that or he's sick. Do you think he's going to want his usual Bloody Mary?"
"Maybe this morning, but he may not every morning in the future. He may have something more important than booze in his life now."
Helen stopped and looked at me, "You're a good friend to Dewey to look at him that way. Most people just want to take advantage of him."
"I don't think Dewey lets too many take advantage of him. He's too generous as it is."
"See, I told you that you were a good friend to him. Where's your missus, was she drinking too?"
"She still sleeping, she's pregnant and needs some extra sleep now."
"Oh, you lucky man. You're gonna be a dad, huh? How far along is she?"
Sue came into the galley. "I'm almost two months and I'm not even showing yet. My clothes aren't getting tight at all."
"It's probably because you quit drinking beer with me. But don't worry, you'll be showing soon."
"Sue, this is Helen MacDougal. She and another lady named Sarah clean and cook for Dewey. I think they are both surrogate mothers to him."
"Oh you, we don't mother the boy, we just look after him."
"Helen, Dewey has to be somewhere in his late thirties or maybe even mid forties. He's hardly a boy."
"To me he's still young. He came here probably fifteen years ago and lived on a small boat. About ten years ago he got this one, and that's when Sarah and I began coming out here. We both still think of him as that sullen little kid that came here one spring. We know he lost his parents in some kind of fire just before he came. He must have been taken care of, as he doesn't do much but write stories for outdoor magazines. He has to leave a couple of times of month, but it's probably to talk to the magazines. He's quiet, a hermit. The only time he's social is at the bar."
Sue said, "I think Sheila is going to be good for him."
"You do, huh?" Dewey said standing in the door. "Helen, I see you've met my friends. Did you make any of your Bloody Mary mix?"
"I did, Mr. Dewey. Do you want a little or a lot of extra in it this morning."
Dewey answered, "Tell you what, make two tall ones with just a little extra in them, and make one for Steve, but make one without any extras for Sue."
Helen was smiling as she poured drinks from a big pitcher and added some ice cubes to each glass. Dewey took his two glasses toward his stateroom while Sue and I sat at bolted-down stools in the galley. Helen poured herself a cup of coffee and sat with us.
Helen looked at her coffee and stated, "That's the first time in all my years that he asked for only a little extra. I've worried that he would kill himself with the drink. He is a good man, but he drinks way too much. I hope this is a good sign."
Soon, a smiling Sheila came through the door, followed by Dewey. Sheila announced that she didn't get hangovers, but the Bloody Mary tasted good this morning. We were all ready for coffee now.
Helen told them to sit at the counter with Sue and me. She was going to serve us something special. She put plates and flatware out for us, then pulled a large tray from the oven. She scooped out a baked omelet on each of our plates.
Dewey exclaimed, "My favorite. I love you Helen. You made a salmon omelet for me. She makes it with onions and small pieces of potatoes and wraps in dough. I just love this."
Helen was smiling at the compliments.
While we were savoring the delicious breakfast, we heard feet overhead. "Hello the ship," came a gravelly lady's voice.
Helen snorted, "Sarah's here and sounds like she's been to the restaurant already this morning."
"Now Helen, don't give her a hard time," Dewey admonished.
A fairly tall thin older lady came down the stairs. "Dewey, I heard you brought folks out here last night and I had to come see for myself. I told them no way you would bring someone out, but here they are."
Dewey did the honors, "Sheila, Sue, Steve, this is my Aunt Sarah. She really isn't my aunt, but I've called her that since I've been here."
Dewey took her in his arms and hugged her, "Aunt Sarah, you know I've almost quit drinking. Well, at least I don't drink as much. I think you should do the same thing with me. We'll both last a hell of lot longer if we do."
"You know why I have a little to get me by. Since I lost Henry, it's been the only way I can face the day."
"Well, you should slow down and give old Jeff over at the boat shop a chance. The man has been crazy about you for ten years. You know how he follows you around. How many times has he taken you home and put you to bed when you couldn't even walk. That man wants to take care of you. You need to be thinking about taking care of him."
You could see a tear in her eye. She looked at Sue, "You're a missus. You know how hard it would be to lose your man. Do you think you'd ever stop loving him, even though he was gone?"
Sue took Sarah's hand and said, "You're not supposed to ever stop loving your man. It's just that life sometimes takes a break, and you have to start over. I'll bet your Henry would want you to be happy and cared for. You have to have a life without Henry and sounds like this Jeff might be that new start."
"Oh, he's a nice looking man and he has a good job. He does treat me awfully nice and he does watch out for me. He was at the dock when I came out here this morning, making sure I was all right. He's too much of a worrywart."
Sue still had not released Sarah's hand. "Why don't you go back to the dock and see if you can find Jeff and take him to breakfast to thank him and to show him you can be independent. I'll bet that would go a long way to making you both happy."
"You know what, missus. I'll do that. You're a good lady. Thank you for talking to me that way, I wish you had been here a long time ago. I've wasted a lot of time."
"No you haven't, Sarah," Sue said. "You've just taken some time to find your way into a new life."
Sarah hugged Sue, then hugged Dewey and a watery-eyed Helen. She went to Sheila and hugged her saying, "I'll be seeing a lot of you. Thank you for being there for Dewey."
She went up the stairs with Dewey following her. Shortly Dewey came back down and went directly to Sue. He hugged her and said, "Thank you for talking to her that way. None of us ever had the words, but you spoke to her so beautifully. Thank you for helping Sarah, she's been special to me."
"All she needed was a push. Helen probably hasn't been pushing her fast enough toward Jeff and no one ever just talked to her. Everyone's afraid to talk about someone they've lost. If you do talk about it, it's easier and helps them get over that loss. They can put it in a drawer or store it or something."
Sheila said, "That was sweet of you, Sue."
I wanted to brighten things up. "Helen, that was the best omelet I've ever had. I need the recipe for that one. The only problem will be the fresh salmon."
"I'll write it out for Sue so she can make it. Where do you two live?" Helen asked.
Sue answered, "Tampa, Florida. We're just passing through for the second time on our vacation."
"Didn't you two go on a kayak whale hunt with my little Mink? You're both all she could talk about. She and Connie just talk and talk about you two."
Sue and I both smiled, almost blushing, thinking of the good time we had had with the girls.
"Speaking of Connie and Mink," Dewey said. "We need to see if they can come out for lunch. I want them to meet Sheila. I bet they would love to take us on a kayak tour."
"My goodness, Mr. Dewey," Helen exclaimed. "When you decide to get friendly, you really let it out. These here are the first people you've ever had out here, beside me and Sarah, and now you're gonna get some of the locals out here too?"
"I think I'm through being a hermit. I want others to enjoy Sheila with me. She is so much fun and I'm so proud to be with her that I want everyone to meet her."
Sheila was blushing, "Take it easy, Dewey, give me a break. I'm sure I'll meet everyone that I need to soon enough. We'll just do it gradually instead of all at once."
We heard a plane land outside and Sue was up the stairs in an instant. I followed to see her excitement. It was a small red and white plane that taxied up to the harbor docks. A marina attendant helped tie the plane up. A couple of people got out and walked up toward the main street. The pilot got out and stretched. The attendant pointed toward a building and the pilot walked that way. The attendant pulled the plane around to where there was a fuel pump and began fueling the plane.
The weather didn't look like it was very nice to be flying in, but I guess these people were used to it. They probably flew between the islands and stayed below the low overcast. The ceiling couldn't be much over three thousand feet, so these guys must fly the shipping lanes pretty much.
She came over to hug me, saying, "I want an airplane. I promise to be careful, but flying is so much fun. I think I can fly right up to the time I have the baby. You need to get your license current too. We both need to finish our instrument ratings. I would prefer to file an IFR flight plan. These guys up here probably don't even file any plan. They just fly."
When we went back into the deck cabin, Sheila and Dewey were up there. Dewey was calling someone about having his boat motors surveyed. I guess that meant "checked out."
When he finished he said, "How about us sailing down to San Francisco? We might possibly go farther, but definitely San Francisco."
"I don't know anything about sailing, Dewey, nothing," I said, thinking it would be important.
"Don't worry about it. Everything on this boat is automatic and electric. We have to uncover the sail, and wrap it when we're not using it, but everything else is powered. This thing even has an autopilot. If sailing gets to be too much trouble, we'll just use the motors to get us where we want. This thing has twin Cat diesels."
"If you think we would be safe, I'm for it. How about you, Sue?"
"Sounds like a great adventure to me. I'm going to need some heavier clothes though. We sent all our heavy stuff back. We still have our light windbreakers, but that's it."
"The boat shop is coming out to check out the engines, so I'll get Helen to food shop for us and leave us directions as to what to fix. You three take the dinghy into the harbor and go to the outfitter right there on Main Street. He has everything you need. Tell him what we're doing and he'll fix you up. Sheila, tell Herb to put your stuff on my bill. I'll take care of it later. I need to set up the chart table in here so we can navigate. Let's get going, this is going to be fun."
I helped Sue and Sheila down to the dinghy, then steered the boat to the dock. We tied up where we had the day before and walked into town. It didn't take long to get what we needed. The man had Sue and Sheila try on a couple of things, but he mostly just put stuff out for us. He included wet weather gear for all of us.
Sheila said she needed to pick up some feminine supplies and Sue said she wanted to get some more sunscreen, so we walked the half block to the drug store. We were back on the sailboat, with our new gear stowed, in record time. The mechanics declared the boat seaworthy and ready to sail.
Dewey and I stowed the cabin tarp in a locker on deck, then took off the sail covers. We untied the sail lashings so they could be easily hoisted. Dewey then cycled each sail to make sure the hoist motors were working. After he finished, both of us went down to the boarding platform, covered the dinghy, and replaced the tie with a heavier duty towline. Helen returned with a boat full of groceries and we all got them up onto the deck. She had purchased a couple of cases of beer and said she expected some to be left when we got back. It took us a while to put everything away. She took some time and explained how cooking at sea was different. She checked to make sure that we had plenty of propane, gave everyone a hug, and told us to enjoy.
Dewey looked at each of us and sighed. "Let's do it. First we'll pull the aft anchor and then we can release the line to the buoy. While you release the line, I'll start the engines."
Dewey went to the helm and flipped some switches. You could hear fans blowing for a couple of minutes, then he fired the engines. They were very quiet. After engaging the gear, he slowly maneuvered us around to head out of the harbor and we were on our way.
It took us an hour to get out to where it looked like the horizon was all water. Dewey began hoisting sails until he had a full set. Since the wind was from the northwest, we were able to get up to a pretty good speed. The indicator at the outdoor helm registered nearly twelve knots. With the engines off, it was eerie; you could hear the bow slicing through the small swells, feel the damp wind on your face, and feel the motion of the boat.
Dewey had a serene look on his face as he steered the boat with the big wheel with Sheila hanging onto his arm. Sue and I stood behind them, enjoying their new closeness.
Sue and I went below, made coffee, and brought big mugs up for Dewey and Sheila. Sue said she would make sandwiches for us all and would be back up soon. Sheila went down with Sue while I stayed with Dewey.
"This is what I love about a sailboat. Do you feel the smoothness of how this boat sails though these seas? If we were in a motor launch we would be pounding over these swells."
"How big is this boat, Dewey?" I asked curious.
"A hundred five feet. It's classified as a sailing sloop, not a sailboat. There is plenty of room for more cabins, but all I wanted were two big cabins with two heads, the spare cabin, and a big eat-in galley. There was so much room I ended up with the dining area, plus the lounge. When I ordered this, they thought I was crazy, but so far it's been perfect. If you consider the huge lounge and bad-weather helm on the deck, I have a living room, complete with TV and stereo, to go with a kitchen and bedroom. When I'm anchored, I have all of Friday Harbor for my family room."
We sailed for a couple of more minutes, then he said, "In the lounge up here, on the right side of the door, if you lift up the cushions there are several rifles and some pistols. There hasn't been any trouble lately, but every once in a while we do have some pirates out here. They want a boat like this to run drugs with. If someone approaches us, get a rifle and pistol, if they try to board, we're in the open sea, so shoot to kill and don't worry about it. The people who would try to board us will try to kill you, so be careful and be accurate. From what John said you know how to take care of yourself. You need to take care of all of us."
The girls came up with big mugs of soup and sandwiches that we could eat while handling the wheel. Dewey flipped some switches and turned a dial then let the wheel go. He smiled and said, "Autopilot."
The food tasted great out there on the open water. The sun was trying to peek between the clouds. The farther south we went, the drier it became.
Dewey began heading in toward land in late afternoon. He said we would find a quiet spot and anchor. As we approached the land he lowered the sails and had me lash them as he started the diesels. He kept watch on his depth finder as we motored close to some uninhabited islands. We found a nice little cove that was out of the current, and I went forward to release the bow anchor. Dewey put the transmission into neutral and allowed the boat to drift backward to set the anchor. When we had stopped moving, I released the aft anchor. Dewey shut down the engines and checked the oil levels. He then showed me how to start the generator. We had used the engines for power generation before, and he said the girls had probably used battery power for light for lunch, but we needed the generator to charge the batteries.
Dewey declared the "ship is at rest." We made supper then stayed up in the lounge for a while. Dewey needed to check his e-mail so he went down to his cabin and came back up fairly quickly.
"I checked with the Coast Guard and this is a safe area. There haven't been any problems lately, except south of San Francisco."
I asked, "How long will it take to sail down there?"
"Three days or so, we only made about a hundred twenty miles today. It's about six hundred miles so figure about two hundred miles in a ten-hour day. I'll do a fix in the morning and look at the charts. I'll need to figure out where we want to stop at night."
We were all tired from the fresh air and activity, so we went to bed. Before I went downstairs, Dewey lifted the cushion then took out a couple of Browning 9 millimeter pistols. He dropped the clip and checked the chamber then handed one to me, then did the same to the other. "It's better to be safe when you're out like this."
I looked at his arsenal and said, "Give me another for Sue, she knows what to do with one of these."
"That's right, John did say she could shoot. Good idea. I'll have to get Sue to teach Sheila how to shoot."
We went to bed. I gave Sue a pistol for her side of the bed and we played awhile, then slept soundly with the portholes cracked for fresh air.
I was first up, so I took a quick shower and then went to the galley to start coffee. All I needed was a morning paper and I would be set. Instead, I took a cup of coffee to the lounge and turned on the TV to see if the satellite dish picked up anything. I did get the CNN headline news, so I watched that for a while until Dewey came up to the lounge carrying a cup of coffee.
Dewey looked out toward the little island and motioned for me to come see. There were probably a dozen seals up on the rocks watching the boat to see what it was going to do. Sue would enjoy this, so I went down to get more coffee and see if she was ready to begin the day. She wanted me to come back to bed, but I convinced her that she needed to get up to see some critters that were near the boat.
That got her going. She put on her clothes and padded barefoot up to the lounge. Sheila was up in the lounge, also barefoot, wanting Dewey to snuggle. The sea air sure does make ladies snuggly.
Sue was excited to see so many seals. She went downstairs to put some shoes and socks on and get her camera. We went outside and were greeted by lots of barking from the seals. They obviously knew humans were an easy touch for a handout. Dewey and I had to talk fast to keep the girls from throwing food at the seals. They finally agreed that anything we would throw would not be good for them.
The girls began making breakfast as Dewey and I started the engines and pulled up the anchors. We motored out a few miles from shore, then using the autopilot, we went into the lounge to enjoy a breakfast of oatmeal and toast, a hearty breakfast for some sailors. Once we were finished with breakfast, we hoisted the sails, all of them including the forward jib. We were now going nearly twenty knots as there was a heavy, cold breeze from the north. You couldn't stay out on the deck unless you had on long johns and a heavy coat. The girls mostly relaxed in the lounge, talking and planning Dewey's and my demise.
At lunchtime, we again had soup and sandwiches. We put the controls on autopilot then went into the lounge to eat. We could see forward, so we would know if there was any traffic long before we came to it. The only other boats we saw were some smaller fishing boats. Because we were going through shipping channels for Portland, Dewey decided to turn on the radar. He had a display at the weather helm, as well as at the outside wheel.
Dewey spent a lot of time explaining various sailing terms and practices to me. We went over all of the different types of sails and their best uses, how to sail when the wind was against you, and how to tack a large schooner like this one. I was fascinated that the boat could travel as fast as it was just on wind. Dewey said we were probably at the highest speed it could or should go. If the wind were heavier he would reduce sail so we would not put too much strain on the two tall masts.
As we traveled south it did seem to warm a little, even with the cold north wind driving us. We were nearing the area that Dewey had figured on staying overnight. There was a yacht basin where we could anchor, then we could clean up and go into the club for some dinner and entertainment. We took down the sails and lashed and covered them. As we were drifting, Dewey started the fans for the engines and fired them up. He was telling me that most schooners only had a single engine and, if two, only two small ones. He said he opted for two large engines in the event he wanted to travel only by motor. He commented that most schooners only carried a thousand gallons of fuel, but he had fifteen hundred gallons in a tank located below the galley area. He explained that he also carried over a thousand gallons of fresh water.
While we were under power, Dewey edged up to the fueling dock to top off his tank. He also attached the giant water hose and filled the fresh water tank. Next he had the attendant attach the sewage vacuum hose and offloaded our waste water. He had the attendant flush the holding tank too.
We pushed off the fueling dock and went to the buoy the attendant had indicated. There we tied up the bow, then, with the help of the dinghy, we tied the stern to another buoy. Dewey said that since it was early, the girls should clean up while he and I mounted the supports and winch for the dinghy. He said dragging the boat was fine but we were probably losing some speed because of it. It took only fifteen minutes to complete the job. We flipped down the boarding platform, tied the dinghy there, and we went below to clean up.
Twenty minutes later we were shaved, showered, and dressed in decent clothes to go into the yacht club. We motored to the dinghy dock marked with the same number as our mooring buoy. The place was lavish, far out of Sue's and my league, but we seemed to be welcome. It may have to do with the fact that we arrived on a multi-million dollar sloop. We were told it would be about twenty minutes before we could be seated, so we headed to the bar.
All of us had a beer, with Sue trying a non-alcoholic beer, as she said she had been thirsting for one. Afterwards, Dewey and I enjoyed a martini with our salad and had wine with our dinner. The food was outstanding. We topped the dinner off with ice cream and chocolate syrup; perfect.
We walked through the big club to see some of the sights they had. They had another bar, but it was not as elegant as the lounge by the restaurant. This place had some pool tables and dart boards. The clientele looked to be the same type of folks, but were wearing mostly jeans instead of slacks.
Dewey and I played some eight ball, just banging the balls around for fun. The girls played a couple of games, then we played partners, couple against couple. After Sue and I won the first best of five, we swapped partners and played another match. This time Dewey and Sue won, showing that Sue had made the difference.
It was getting late, so we took the dinghy back to the boat, tied it up, and went below to enjoy a good night's sleep. When Sue and I opened the port holes we found that the marina and club were pretty noisy, so we only opened the one seaside to let in a cool breeze.
I woke at what I felt like was about six. I found my watch and sure enough, it as right at six in the morning. I kissed a nipple and visited the head to brush my teeth before dressing. Since I was first up, I made a pot of coffee, then walked up on deck. There was a guy in an inflatable runabout with an electric motor gliding along between the yachts and sailboats. Being curious I watched him. He was tossing newspapers up on the decks of the boats.
As he was ready to pass our boat, I whistled softly to get his attention. He came over to the boat and I asked him if I could buy a newspaper. He said we couldn't, as it was a benefit of the yacht club. As he threw me up a paper I reached down with a dollar, saying thanks.
I went back into the upper lounge, salon, whatever you want to call it, and read the Portland Oregonian. At least it was current news. While I was reading the paper, Dewey came up with a cup of coffee and said, "Glad you caught the paperboy. I hope you tipped him. That's pretty slick the way he goes around to the moored boats with an electric motor so he doesn't wake people."
After we had a few cups of coffee, Dewey said let's wake the babes and go have a store bought breakfast before casting off. Sue reluctantly got up and dressed, but was interested in the magic word, food. We repeated the trip to the dock and to the restaurant for pancakes, sausage, and eggs. Sue had juice and milk to complement her meal. I noticed she took a pill and asked what it was. "This is a pre-natal vitamin. It's to make little Stevie strong and healthy."
Dewey and Sheila teased Sue about her motherly ability to tell she was going to have a boy. She said it was definitely a boy, as it was the only thing she could have for our first born. I sure hope it wasn't a split tail. Sue would really be disappointed.
When we got back to the boat, everyone boarded, then I went to the stern mooring and released the line. I then used that line to tie the dinghy temporarily. I climbed the ladder and folded up the boarding platform before climbing on deck. Dewey and I hooked the lines to the dinghy, then he used the electric winch to hoist it up to deck level. We tied lines to stabilize the dingy fore and aft, which left it solid and stable.
Dewey had started the fans as soon as he went on deck, so he was able to start the engines and check the gauges. Once the engines were warmed up, I snapped the line, releasing us from the forward mooring buoy. We slowly motored out of the basin toward the open seas. When we were about a mile offshore, we removed the covers and lashings from the sails and hoisted them. We picked up the breeze and heeled a little as we headed farther out to sea while angling south.
This day was a little different, clear and warmer. The sun was out, warming the deck, so Sheila and Sue were daring and stripped down to sunbathe topless on the foredeck. Dewey and I went through the salon to check them out through the windows a couple of times, laughing at each other for perving our ladies.
While we sailed, the girls decided to be domestic and changed sheets and did a couple of loads of laundry. This boat was just a giant RV with a huge road. Dewey got out a box that was labeled as a Garmin maritime GPS unit. He read the directions, then inserted batteries in it. We used his old location equipment to establish our position, then he turned on the GPS. It showed the same position but changed its readings as we traveled.
The unit had map images, so Dewey switched on the hundred-mile image to get an idea of where we were. The map showed each little seaside community on the coast for that range. He switched to the two hundred mile range, but the printing was too small.
Using the directions, he put in the coordinates for the San Francisco yacht harbor, then pushed the 'calculate' and 'course' buttons. After a last check of the radar, we put the boat on autopilot and went into the salon to check the charts. This GPS was slick; it gave points of our future location in miles and approximate time to get there. Dewey said we should probably find a place to anchor around seven, so he used the GPS to give him our locations from six-thirty on. Sure enough, we were able to locate some isolated islands that would be perfect to hide behind to anchor for the night. Dewey marked the location and the time with a half-hour alarm so he could correct the course to head toward shore. We checked the charts for depth and found there were deep channels throughout the islands. There was one bay that looked just right, so we intended to check it out first.
We noticed that the radar was picking up quite a few boats going and coming from the sea. They appeared to be large fishing boats, so we were not concerned. We would just have to pay attention to the increased traffic.
When the GPS alarm went off we angled toward the cove marked on the chart. Once inside the islands we motored to the area to find two other sailboats already anchored there. We checked the charts and went closer to the mainland, checking each inlet area only to find a house or large cabin in each bay. Dewey said he didn't want to moor around other boats or in people's front yards, so he said we might just take turns and motor or sail through the night.
We went back out to sea and hoisted the sails again, returning to our southerly route. The girls fixed supper for us. We ate in the salon using the autopilot but keeping an eye on the radar display. As long as a boat wasn't within three miles of us, we weren't concerned.
Dewey laid out his plan to take four-hour watches through the night. He had me take the eight to midnight watch and he would take the midnight to four, then I would take the watch till eight, when he would take over again. I sent Sue to bed early, telling her she could get up with me at four to keep me company. Dewey and Sheila went below to get some sleep.
I kept the boat on autopilot, occasionally double-checking our position with the GPS unit. It was clear sailing. The moon was supposed to come out full fairly early and stay till morning, so the weather would allow great visibility. The radar was set on ten miles and had no blips on it.
About midnight, Dewey and Sheila came topside. I told him that we were on course according to the GPS and we had been running between ten and eleven knots the whole time. I reported that I had the radar on ten miles so we could pick up low profile vessels early and he agreed that was a good idea. I left them, telling Sheila to wake us before four so I could wash my face and have some coffee.
I crawled in with Sue and fell asleep quickly with the portholes slightly open.
Sheila woke us about three forty-five. I did the bathroom thing, dressed and went through the galley, collecting a cup of coffee on the way up. Dewey told me all was well, but said he thought there might be a small boat ahead of us about six miles. He didn't know whether it was a false echo or not. He said it could be a whale or a pod of whales, but the echo was staying fairly stationary. Either way I would know within thirty minutes or less at our speed. He said if I needed him to push the M button on the console. That would set off the alarm in his stateroom and he would come right up.