Chapter 24

Pandemonium.

Instant pause for the shock to stop and then ... chaos.

Then Unca Dave spoiled the whole thing, “Yes ... it was free ... but how much have you spent fixing it?”

I muttered, “$167,325.00.”

“What?” said David. “Speak up.”

“ONE HUNDRED SIXTY SEVEN THOUSAND, THREE HUNDRED TWENTY-FIVE DOLLARS and the cost of the lot.”

David gloated. “And WHY so much, Tyche?”

I stuck out my tongue and razzberried him, “She was sinking. At the city dock ... We got to her at the last possible second...”

“We?”

“Auntie Surprise and her Diesel Trash Pump ... but if I hadn’t noticed the whirlpool where the water was coming in and used an old Navy stunt to block the ingress ... water inflow ... we’d have lost her.”

“Stunt?”

“Trash bag ... couple of teeshirts and two willow wands ... Dropped them over the hole and tied off the the wands to the safety lines.”

“And where did you learn the ‘stunt’?”

“From a Hornblower book ... only they called it ‘fothering a sail’”

“What about...”

“I know, I know ... you did something similar with two fishing rods ... I didn’t have fishing rods and used what was handy.”

“Ok ... How come you spent so much?”

“Because Auntie Surprise put MY name on the title and I wouldn’t let YOU scrap her.”

“The money?”

“Trust fund ... for my education ... before you say it... $167,325.00 has been quite the education ... and it’s not done.”

“Alright ... let’s go aboard.”

The Olsens had followed the discussion like the stands at Wimbledon ... look right ... look left ... repeat.

David said, “I’ll go up and assist you stay and watch the ladder. Come on Junior ... you follow me.”

It’s about 32 feet from the keel to the deck and ... in the snow ... it’s an interesting climb. One can see the top of the ladder ... sort of. And sort of not ... depends on the wind. Everybody made the deck ... snow covered deck ... and since I was keeping the heat on ... under the snow was water ... over the water was snow ... slippery snow.

Just a couple of words about decks ... decks aren’t flat ... they curve so the water can run off. The water runs to the scuppers ... holes to let the water out. A person can slide off the deck to the safety lines without really trying. Better than most carnival rides. More exciting anyway. Carnival rides are generally safe. The safety lines are a little less than waist high. A thirty two foot fall is sure to leave a mark ... maybe even a bruise.

I had jacklines running fore and aft so I could clip my safety harness to one or the other when I moved about the deck ... at sea they would keep me onboard. On the hard the wind or snow could blow me right over the side ... I could hang myself.

We all made it to the shelter of the cockpit. The hatch is always unlocked. We met below.

“This is Huge!”

I nodded, “Yeah ... I’m used to a 65 foot catamaran. I agree ... this is big.”