Chapter 3: Another crew member

Cody---My idea was to buy some lift bags, swim down and attach them to the Sally-Ann, fill them with air and float her to the surface. After doing some research on the internet about lifting boats off the bottom, I realized there was a lot more to it than I thought. I needed help. I went to a marine supply store and talked to the old guy who owned the place. He told me I was right, there was a lot more to surfacing a boat than just connecting a few balloons to it and filling them with air. He suggested I hire his daughter to help with this endeavor. He said she had experience raising boats off the bottom. I agreed and he asked me to give him a minute and he would call her. She was down at the docks, cleaning a party boat.

While we waited he told me not to be put off by her looks, she was a very capable diver and had worked in both Haiti and Jamaica raising boats after a hurricane. When a Toyota truck pulled up in front of his store he remarked, “Remember ‘Don’t ask, Don’t tell’? Well, she could be the poster child.”

I saw what he was talking about as this ‘girl’ jumped out. At least I think ‘it’ is a girl. I mean, he did say ‘my daughter’! I decide to call ‘it’ a ‘she’. In this day and age it is important to get the pronoun right!

She gets out of the truck and walks into her father’s shop. I introduce myself and offer my hand. She takes it and I notice a strong grip, a man’s hand and grip. In a very feminine voice she tells me her name is ‘Geri’, with a ‘G’. her father tells us to use his office since he has customers he needs to attend. Geri led me towards the back of the shop.

As I follow her, I notice her shapely, shaved, legs with her feet in tennis shoes. She has cutoff jean shorts on and a short sleeve shirt tied under what looks like maybe 34-b cup breasts! She saw me looking!

“Let’s get this out of the way before we go any further. I am a non-op transwoman. I take medicine to block my testosterone, but I still get hard-ons when I want them. My breasts have enlarged, and the nipples are very sensitive. If you have a problem with me being what I am, I will understand. We can shake hands, and you can find someone else to raise your boat.”

“I live with two women that will be going with us. Will you have a problem with that?”

“Of course not! I have no interest in women. Now you on the other hand...” she stopped and winked at me!

“Let’s talk about what we need to raise the Sally-Ann,” I said, feeling a little un-comfortable.

For the next two hours we talked about everything from the dimensions and weight of the Sally-Ann to what equipment we would need to raise her. Geri’s father was right, this ‘person’ knew her business. I was lucky to have found her. I was having no problem using the correct pronoun!