Chapter 5

Linda watched Karl’s actions and saw his concentration, realizing how involved he’d become, she went below for more coffee and sandwiches. When she returned with a tray, he was still making a call every thirty seconds or so.

“No luck?” she asked with a slight frown.

“I’m not sure,” he said in a voice barely above a whisper as he took off his earphones. “Listen and tell me what you think.”

He made another call and then turned the speaker volume up high. Against a background of clicks, whistles, whirrs, and buzzes, Linda could hear a female voice. Her face frowned deeply as she listened.

“Beep, crackle, pop -ouch- beep -air, come back- whistle, pop -eeper- pop -rye at three hun- buzz, hum, pop, beep -on 43, tune- buzz SQEEEEE...”

Everything disappeared into a high-pitched squeal that had Karl instantly reaching for the volume control to turn down the sound level.

“Did you make anything of that?” Karl asked her. “I think it was ‘ouch air come back’ and then ‘eeper.’ I think that could have been part of ‘Grouchy bear, come back Keeper’, but I’m not sure of the rest of the message.”

“I’d say it was part of the numbers and letters you used and then some sort of a message that was broken up badly by noise.”

“Yes, I think so too. What I made out this time was ‘at three hun.’ and ‘on 43’ something.”

“Um, I think it was ‘try at three hun.” Linda said tentatively, “and at the end after ‘43’, it sounded like ‘tune’ to me.”

“I wonder...” Karl sat back and frowned. “I suppose ‘try at three hun.’ could mean to try to contact them again at three hundred hours, that’s three in the morning. That’s usually the quietest part of the night as far as radio traffic is concerned, but it’s also the time of the most skip and interference. Well, it is normally. As bad as the radio spectrum is right now, it couldn’t get much worse.”

“Okay, that makes sense. Then what did the last part of the message mean?” Linda asked.

“I’m not sure. Are you sure you heard ‘tune’?”

“I think so ... maybe the word was two something or maybe the whole word was cut off. I suppose it could have been part of the word tonight or something couldn’t it?”

“Of course,” Karl laughed. “That would be it, ‘try three hundred hours on 43 band tonight.’ Just a second.”

He turned up the volume again and picked up the microphone.

“Grouchy Bear. This is Keeper. Grouchy Bear. This is Keeper. Will call back at three hundred hours tonight on 43. Repeat: Grouchy Bear. This is Keeper. Will call back at three hundred hours tonight on 43.”

He turned up the volume again and Linda concentrated on the noise.

“Keep- whistle, pop -chee bear-, burp, rattle -mative, repeat, that’s affirmat- pop, squeal, whistle -hundred on fort- pop, whistle.“

Then the static again became too loud for Karl and he reduced the volume, but he was grinning as he stood and hugged Linda tightly. She laughed at his joy, but wondered that the voice sounded like a woman’s.

“Karl, would it be a woman on the radio and not George?” she asked.

“What?” he laughed. “Oh, I think that was Ely or Keri, I couldn’t tell for sure. They’re probably manning the radio in shifts all day and all night. If the reception is better at night George just might take the late night shift, or he might have been hurt. We don’t know enough to even guess yet, but I’ll be here at the radio at three in the morning.”

“I’ll be right here beside you,” she grinned up at him. “But for now, I’ve made more coffee and sandwiches and I think we should eat.”

As they ate, Karl fell into a thoughtful mood, even Linda grew quiet and the fog closing them in didn’t help their mood. Both of them were staring out into the murk when the cat decided Karl’s lap was free and he was in need of a pet. Karl was startled at first, but after a few seconds, he made the cat happy as he scratched his back softly.

“Well hello, old timer,” he murmured as his strokes were met by loud purrs.

The cat settled down happily and Linda had to smile.

“He doesn’t care about the weather,” she chuckled. “He’s so loud. He sounds like an old motor boat engine, missing on one cylinder every once in a while.”

“Yeah, an old Evinrude,” Karl laughed softly. “In fact that’s not too bad for a name. We have to call him something.”

“Oh come on, it should be ‘Pirate’ or at least something nautical.”

“Evinrude is nautical, after all it’s a boat engine.”

“Oh come on, it’s someone’s last name, someone who happens to build boat motors. We can do better than that, how about ‘Castaway.’ After all you found him floating on the water.”

“Well, then why not ‘Flotsam’ or ‘Salvage’?” Karl grinned at her.

“Yecch,” she made a face. “That sounds terrible. He’s so loud, how about ‘Boomer’?”

“He’s got stripes. There’s always ‘Tiger’.”

“He’s about as much of a tiger as I am,” she laughed. “He’s an old pussycat.”

“Well, I guess he’ll stay ‘Puss’ then, since we can’t agree.”

“Oh come on, there has to be some name that we can agree on that suits him,” she frowned. “But since he’s your cat, I guess we can call him whatever you want.”

“Then let’s just wait,” Karl laughed. “He’ll name himself.”

“What do you mean?”

“He’ll do something or other that we’ll notice that will give us a clue for a name. All my other pets have always named themselves. As a kid I had a cat named ‘Cuddles, ‘ another one was ‘Underfoot’ and even a dog called ‘Speedy’.”

“You would,” she grinned. “Say, we aren’t doing much now. How about showing me all the secrets of the ‘Skolka’ while we’re waiting around for the fog to clear?”

They spent the rest of the day going over the whole boat as Karl explained its intricacies, then working together as they cooked supper. By the time they went to bed in the evening, a light breeze had come up. They were able to cut the foghorn since the fog was rapidly dispersing and neither of them wanted to hear the irritating sound when they were trying to sleep. Karl set the alarm by the bunk for two thirty in the morning and they went to bed early.

Their lovemaking started out slow and gentle, but gradually escalated into an extremely energetic session of sexual gymnastics that left them both exhausted. Afterward, they fell asleep quickly, but as often happens when you sleep heavily, it seemed only a short time later that the alarm rudely awakened them both. Karl shut it off, rolled out of the bunk, and sighed softly as he pulled on his pants.

“You don’t have to get up,” he said as Linda yawned widely.

“Hah, I’m curious too, besides, you might need a second set of ears,” Linda answered in low tones as she slipped out of the bunk. “You go warm up the radio. I’ll make a coffee and bring it up with me.”

Karl grinned and pulled on shirt and socks, as she slipped past him toward the head.

“Don’t be long in there, woman,” he laughed. “That was going to be my first stop.”

“I know, but I can’t wait,” Linda called back as she closed the door behind her.

By the time she was finished, Karl had put the coffee on, then gone topside. She heard the sound of liquid splashing into the water outside the boat hull and grinned to herself as she pulled on her clothes. Fully dressed, she went to the galley to wait for the coffee to finish perking, before going up to the wheelhouse. Karl was leaned forward at the radio, adjusting something while a soft hum came from the speaker.

Karl smiled up at her and took the coffee mug from her hand.

“Thanks, Linda,” he said quietly. “Now, we’ll see what 43 sounds like.”

He rotated a large knob and then threw a small switch off to one side of the radio. Instantly sound filled the room, but it was a wash of quiet sounds, similar to the sound of small waves on a beach.

“Oh this is much better,” he said firmly, cutting back the volume slightly as he glanced at his watch. “Well, it’s a quarter to three, and knowing George, he’ll be standing by impatiently waiting for my call. Let’s give him a try.”

Linda leaned forward in anticipation as he lifted the microphone.

“CQ Grouchy Bear. This is Keeper, come in Grouchy Bear.”

“You’re early and drop the call signs. There are too many listeners.“ A gruff voice sounded clearly from the speaker. “Da-verse-if-eye.”

“Is this really pudding and pie?” Karl asked, winking at Linda and watching her face wrinkle into a grin as she caught his reference to the child’s rhyme about Georgie Porgie.

“Just a crooked old man, “ the voice snorted, “in a crooked house and you?“

“Aye, matey. Polishing doorknobs, with a guest,” Karl grinned.

In an aside to Linda he said “From George’s comments about listeners, he must think we’re being monitored and wants secrecy. Make notes if you want, I’ll explain later.”

“Ah, two lines of little Indians on a fence here. Have you been on the range?“

Karl paused and frowned for a second, then his face cleared.

“No,” he continued. “Just Bristol fashion, with a rescue. All aboard now though. How by you?”

“That ought to throw anyone listening a curve, it seems to be even throwing George and he’s brilliant,” he said firmly as the radio fell silent for several seconds.

Linda smiled up at him from scribbling notes on a pad she had grabbed.

“He must be. I’m lost,” she snorted.

“All aboard here too. Second, fourth, and last piggies here, in the stick house, but the wolf is huffing and puffing on the horizon.“

Karl frowned for a second, glancing at Linda, then back at the radio, looking at it as if by staring he could get some answers. Then Linda could see his face change, his eyebrows lifted and he raised the microphone again.

“Mary Poppins and the chopper?”

“Lost in the quake. Gone fission.“

“Oh, too bad. Maybe a little boy blue?” he asked.

“Hah, beware superman! There’s kryptonite in them thar hills.“ The voice on the radio drawled sardonically.

“Well, more like the Pimpernel then,” Karl grinned

“Beggars would ride.“

“Rub a dub, dub?”

“Possibly. Weather factor?“

“Oh come on. College try?”

“Of the essence. Recognition?“

“Whistling Dixie,” Karl replied as he shifted sideways to begin the warm up of the boiler on the boat. “The coffee’s perking.”

“Ease off, buddy. Speed zone, and bears in the bushes. How about a meeting in the cemetery?“

“Make it two dozen plus or minus one and the maitre de wants reservations.”

“Oh, we’re only half dirty.“

“Okay, one kind or the other?”

“That’s right. The whole brood, rooster, hens and chicks.”

The radio suddenly erupted with sounds of whistles and pops. Karl glared at it for several seconds, then when it quietened, picked up the mike again.

“White out this end after chicks,” he said

“Ditto this end, call in twenty?“

“That’s four and out,” Karl said

“Roger Dodger and... “ then the radio was wiped out by whistles and chirps

Karl glared at it in frustration.

“Damn,” he growled. “We didn’t set up a pickup spot.”

“Hell,” Linda laughed softly. “I’m not sure what you two did say, I hope you do.”

“Oh,” Karl smiled. “If you made notes, I can explain.”

“Here,” Linda handed him the notepad. “I’d appreciate it.”

“Okay, gimme,” Karl glanced at her notes. “Let’s see, ‘the crooked house‘ refers to the little crooked man who lived there, I suppose that means he’s at home, but they suffered some damage. ‘Polishing doorknobs‘ is from Gilbert and Sullivan and means I’m in ‘the queen’s navy’ or aboard the boat. The reference to ‘Indians on the fence‘ I think is for the number of people there or maybe that they’re scared of losing numbers, while ‘on the range‘ is asking if I’ve been ‘home on the range’ or back to the island. ‘All aboard‘ means you and I are on the boat and ‘Bristol fashion‘ means that the boat is in good shape.

“It took me a moment to get the next one myself. If you play this little piggie with a kid’s toes, ‘the second‘ one stayed home, ‘the fourth‘ one went hungry and ‘the fifth‘ one ran home crying. Altogether it means that the whole family is there, but they’re not too well off for food and want to get away. The ‘wolf huffing and puffing’ means that someone is trying to put them under some sort of pressure, or else danger is lurking nearby. ‘Little boy blue‘ asks if I can help and ‘kryptonite‘ is his way of asking if I think I’m superman. I replied no, that I didn’t feel strong, just sneaky, like ‘the scarlet pimpernel‘. And he replied with the quote from ‘If wishes were horses, then beggars would ride.‘ meaning he’d like to get away, but can’t think how. Then I asked if he could get a helicopter, since Keri, his daughter, can fly one. ‘Gone fission‘ meant he had one available, but it had been destroyed, probably in the earthquake.”

He paused and took a sip of coffee before continuing.

“Then, ‘Rub a dub, dub‘, refers to boats, I was asking if they could get out to sea so we can pick them up. He replied that time is a problem; ‘time is of the essence‘ is the complete quote, I think. That means we’ve got to hurry. That’s when I fired up the boiler and told him I could use the boat’s whistle, and he’d know the sound. When he used the term cemetery that’s another name for ‘graveyard, ‘ but I assumed he meant ‘the graveyard shift’ suggesting sometime after midnight. So I told him I’d be there within twenty-four hours, in other words tomorrow night. Then I asked him how many people to expect and he said they were only ‘half dirty‘, I took that to be referring to the dirty dozen. I double checked that by asking if it was six of ‘one kind’ and half a dozen of ‘the other‘ and he agreed, adding he’s got ‘the whole brood‘ so the women and children with him. I would imagine that would be his wife and her daughter, as well as his two older daughters and his grandson, my son David. The last bit was almost wiped out by noise, but at least we agreed to call back about eleven or twelve tonight, I suppose on the same band.”

He leaned over to cut the burner in the boiler back to standby, knowing that it would only take minutes to get to operating pressure if the boiler was kept warm.

“There’s no sense in trying to leave in the dark if we don’t have to. We’d be just as liable to run into a raft of rubbish as not, and I’d rather not have to put up with that in the dark,” he said firmly. “If we leave early in the morning we can easily be down near them by midnight tomorrow. Besides, I’ve want to think over that comment about speed zones and bears. I didn’t really understand that.”

“Well, my assumption would be about the restrictions on movement. Perhaps the coast guard is patrolling the water near them and on the lookout for travellers,” Linda suggested.

“I guess,” Karl said tentatively. “I wish there was somewhere I could leave you to be safe while I go to George’s rescue.”

“Hah, like hell, buster,” Linda bristled. “For one thing you’re going to need all the help you can get, and for now ‘wherefore thou goest’ and so on. You’re stuck with me.”

Karl stared at her for a second and then grinned as he stood and pulled her into a bear hug.

“I’d rather be stuck on you,” he laughed softly.

“That can be arranged,” she grinned, then pulled out of his arms and dashed part way down the steps going below before turning to grin at him. “Well, come on slow poke.”

“Okay,” he grinned. “I guess the wise course would be to go back to bed and try to get at least a couple of hours of sleep before setting out. It would make more sense to make the run in daylight anyway.”

“Hah, sleep after,” she giggled. “And I’ll be your sleeping pill.”

She ran off and he made sure everything was shut down, then he quickly followed.

Karl awakened with a start, feeling Linda’s soft flesh against his side and in his arms. He could hear her soft relaxed breathing and the sound of rain on the deck over his head, but something felt wrong. At the moment he couldn’t place what it was, but he knew something had awakened him. Listening even more carefully, he thought he heard a voice in the distance. Still, he couldn’t be sure. He carefully slipped away from Linda, doing his best not to wake her. As soon as his feet touched the deck and he could stand, he rushed to pull on pants and shirt.

Once he was dressed, he hurried above to the wheelhouse. Most of the mist appeared to have cleared away and there was a mild breeze blowing toward the boat from the shore. Rain was still falling heavily, but he could make out the shoreline. Seeing movement there, he grabbed his binoculars.

There was boxy-shaped dark-green vehicle sitting near the shore and several men moving about. They appeared to be working on an object down at the shoreline, approximately where he and Linda had seen a wrecked row boat. He counted carefully and could see at least six men. One stood next to the vehicle, whatever it was, and the rest seemed to be clustered around the ruined dinghy, perhaps trying to repair it.

“Army maybe?“ Karl thought and his mind raced. “Damn. I suppose with this declaration of an emergency they can seize boats, but I don’t want them to confiscate the ‘Skolka.’ I want out of here. I’d better wake Linda and if I can sneak away, I’m going to. There is no damn way some snotnosed young whelp is taking my boat. I wonder why they haven’t tried to hail us, I would have thought that would be the first thing they’d have done. Come to think of it, maybe they did? Maybe that’s what woke me? Still, I don’t like this.“

“Linda,” he called down softly, hoping she was easily wakened. “Linda? Wake up, Babe. We’re about to have company.”

He heard her moving around as he fired up his boiler, wanting to be ready for any possibility. Having left the pilot light burning, he knew that it would only be moments before he had steam, but even that brief period was going to seem to take an eternity. In seconds Linda was standing at his side though.

“What is it?” she asked very quietly.

Karl silently handed her the binoculars and pointed to the shore where it appeared that the men dressed in army green were working to get the small boat afloat.

“Oh,” she sighed. “People! That’s wonderful.”

“Yeah? Well, maybe?” Karl grunted. “But not just anyone, it seems to be the army. The way they’re acting worries me for some reason though. I’m not happy that they haven’t tried to hail us or anything. It looks almost as if they want to be here and in charge before they announce that they’re coming.”

“Why would they do that?”

“Well, if they’ve been called out by the government, they probably want to commandeer this boat for their own use and throw us off.”

“Oh, shit,” she lowered the glasses and spun to stare at him. “Can they do that?”

“If this area has been declared a disaster zone and is under martial law, they can and will,” he said firmly. “I’m not sure what I should do.”

“Have you tried the radio yet?” she asked.

“No. I haven’t, but that’s a good idea. We’d better be quiet though, I just want to listen. I don’t want to talk for now,” he smiled, snapping the radio’s switch on. “Thanks for the suggestion.”

At first he got no voices at all, just lousy background noise, then suddenly as he rotated the dial he found a voice coming in loud and clear. Glancing at the shore, he picked up the glasses. One figure was standing by the vehicle and appeared to be talking into a microphone.

“ ... and it appears to be abandoned, sir. Over, “ the voice was high pitched and seemed to whine.

“Would it be suitable for transporting troops, Lieutenant? Over, “ the second voice seemed to be quieter, perhaps more distant.

“I believe it would, sir. I think it must be about fifty feet long and I don’t think it’s a sailboat. Actually it appears to be a rather large power boat of some kind, and in quite good shape too. We’ll know more when we get someone out to it. We’ve found a small row boat that we might be able to use, if we can get it repaired. Over, “ whiney voice answered.

“Too bad you don’t have one of the inflatable boats with you, “ the quiet voice responded. “You say it appears to be a power boat, Lieutenant, are you sure? Over.“

“Yes sir. That’s what it appears to be, it’s certainly big enough, but the visibility is so bad, we can’t be certain. Over, “ the whiner responded.

“Well, let me know more when you find out, Lieutenant. No matter what it is, grab it just in case. Over.“

“What if there are people aboard it, sir?“

“Put them ashore with a tent and a few days’ supplies, Lieutenant, and put a man aboard to guard it for now.“

There was no answer for a few seconds.

“Sir, what use is a boat to us? Over.“

“At the moment, Lieutenant, it’s of no use to us at all, but it may have a use in the future. Remember, we’re living on an island, we may need to go somewhere else if things heat up too much. Commandeer it and guard it. That’s all. Over and out.“

“Yes Sir, over and out.“

The radio fell silent. Karl stared at Linda.

“That was one chance in a million, catching their signal at just the right time, when they were discussing us,” he frowned. “It’s just as I thought too. They have no use for our boat, but they want to control it anyway, just in case.”

“Karl,” Linda frowned as well. “Suddenly, I don’t like this at all.”

“I don’t either,” Karl shook his head slightly. “I was listening carefully and that was no regular military conversation. At least I don’t think so.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well first off; that’s not a common band for the military to use. In other words it’s not reserved for military use. It’s just a regular shortwave band, but one of the seldom used ones. Secondly, they just didn’t sound right to me. I think that those guys are trying to act like the military, but aren’t really in the armed services,” he frowned deeply. “There’s something odd about them that’s sticking in my craw, so for some reason I don’t trust them.”

“I thought it was just me,” she said thoughtfully. “There’s something about the way the bossy voice sounded and he kept repeating the word lieutenant so many times. It was as if he was trying much too hard to sound authoritative. Then there was that comment about ‘need to go somewhere else if things heat up too much, ‘ but I don’t think the real army would just run off if things got tough.”

“Yeah, I heard that too,” Karl reached his hand toward her. “Can I see those glasses again?”

“Sure,” she handed them to him.

Karl studied the men working around the boat on the shoreline.

“Why aren’t they looking for people who might be trapped and can be helped?” he said softly. “Why are they all standing around or else working on that stupid boat?”

He leaned forward then, as if he was concentrating, after a second he lowered the glasses slowly.

“Linda, look carefully at those men. Look at their clothing and tell me if you see anything strange?” he handed her the glasses.

She raised the glasses and studied the men carefully.

“Well, some of them are in blue jeans, but they all seem to have khaki coats except for the one fellow,” she hesitated. “Karl, he’s wearing a red checkered shirt under his duffle coat and ... Oh Hell! He’s the guy giving the orders. I just saw him point and another guy did whatever he wanted.”

“Yeah,” Karl growled. “Did you notice his gun?”

“No, he’s turned sideways and that coat hides it, wait...” she paused slightly. “Now he’s turning, umm ... it looks like a...”

She dropped the glasses from her eyes and stared at Karl.

“It’s a six gun, a revolver, like a Colt, and it’s strapped down in a western holster like a cowboy would wear. The army doesn’t allow anyone to carry those, does it?” she asked.

“No, not normally,” Karl growled. “That guy isn’t regular service, not in the regular Canadian services anyway because as far as I know the officers carry 9 mil. pistols, not Colt 45s.”

“Karl, what are we going to do?” she whispered then.

“Just hope the rain comes down a little harder, or the mist comes back,” he answered quietly. “Oh yeah, for now we don’t show ourselves out on deck. I don’t want them to see us moving around. They think the boat is abandoned and I want to leave them thinking that for now.”

“What are you thinking about?” she frowned at him.

He grinned and sat back on the helmsman’s seat.

“This is a steam boat and it can move damn near silently,” he gestured down the bay with his hand. “I’ve already fired up the boiler. I’m holding the pressure at eighty pounds. That’s well under the release point for the safety, but still gives me enough steam pressure to get the boat underway. If we lose sight of those guys on the shore, I’m going to count on the fact that they’ll have lost sight of us too.”

He paused for a second before continuing. “If we get a chance we’re going to sneak off silently into the murk and leave them here to try to figure out where we’ve gone.”

Linda stared at him.

He grinned again. “Well, even if they are regular-army, which I doubt, they haven’t officially told us that they want to commandeer the boat. If we leave without them speaking to us, then they can’t complain that we disobeyed their orders, can they?”

She broke into a matching grin.

“I like that,” she chuckled. “Too bad we didn’t leave last night after we talked to George, instead of going back to bed.”

“That’s okay. It’s only seven thirty in the morning. We’ve got lots of time,” Karl said glancing at his watch. “I’m just glad we shut off the fog horn. Except for a little bit of heat haze from the stack, this boat must look abandoned from the shore. I’m hoping that in this much rain they can’t even see the haze from the stack.”

“Do I dare make something to eat?” Linda asked.

“If you want to. I can’t see why not, but I’m not really hungry right now. I could use a coffee though.”

“Me too, but I was just thinking of a bit of breakfast though and before I fired up the stove, I was wondering about smoke. You mentioned the stack from the boiler, so I was thinking the stove might and wondered if that would be visible outside.”

“Oh, no, the stove doesn’t smoke, not at all, but I’m glad you thought of it,” Karl smiled. “You could make a pot of coffee, if you don’t mind. I think I’m going to check the radio, there seems to be a lot less noise on it right now. If we could hear those guys on shore, we might be able to hear other people too. Maybe we can even get a weather forecast.”

“Good idea,” Linda nodded, slipping down to the galley.

Karl turned back to the radio and slowly adjusted the tuning dial. The weather station was back on the air and he listened to it momentarily before passing on to other frequencies. The weather prediction was for heavy rain with a possibility of high winds out of the northwest later in the day. He passed on quickly to other channels. He had soon covered all the marine frequencies and had only heard one faint call in some foreign language. The radio spectrum he could monitor was almost vacant. He wished fervently that he had a standard broadcast receiver too, but he didn’t and at the moment he wasn’t about to jury rig Linda’s radio again. He turned his attention back to the channel where he had heard the conversation between the men he could see on the shore with their commander. He decided it was safest to monitor their radio calls in order to be prepared for whatever they did, no matter who they were.

The rain was pelting down harder than ever now and the breeze was slowly building up. He picked up the glasses and studied the shoreline carefully. They appeared to have the little boat floating, but for some reason, none of the men were getting into it. The rain was so heavy that he could hardly make them out and he grinned to himself in satisfaction.

“Linda,” he called softly.

“Yes Karl,” she answered, popping her head up from below.

“Can you arrange to leave everything down there for a moment?”

“Oh, sure. I haven’t started cooking yet, so I can shut off the heat and clip things down if you want me for something.”

“Great, I’d like to get the anchor up if we can. The rain is a lot heavier and if we’re careful I think we can slip away without being noticed.”

She came up into the cabin and glanced out the window.

“Oh, the rain is a lot heavier,” she said softly. “I can hardly see the shoreline.”

“Right,” Karl said. “Now, I was going straight ahead when I anchored and we’re heading about the same direction now, so that’s how the anchor will have grabbed. I’m going to try to break it loose by going straight back. It will mean that one of us has to go on deck and slip the knot that ties the anchor line, then use the winch to lift the anchor. I’d like you to either run the throttle or the anchor winch. Which one do you think you can do better?”