Chapter 7: Rescue

Atlantic Ocean

June 1985

The strangest things could get you behind schedule, Tony mused, but feminine hygiene products? In any event that was what had Kalliste cruising up the Virginia coast just after dark this evening.

"Cap'n Tony!" It was a shriek, not Tina's normal good natured banter while on Kalliste. "Signal flare at two o-clock!"

Tony immediately looked up from where he had been paying too much attention, Rebecca sitting in his lap, and caught the dying seconds of a yellow signal flare. "Coming right" he acknowledged and spun the wheel hard to the right. Kalliste, in no hurry as usual, slowly came around to what was Tony's best guess of the bearing the flare had originated from. He pushed the throttles to maximum. It was a long way off, several miles at least. He reached for the VHF radio handset.

"Coast Guard, this is the Kalliste, mariners in distress, come in, over."

The reply came back almost immediately. "Kalliste, Coast Guard. State your emergency, over."

"Coast guard, Kalliste is at 36, 34, 49 North, 74, 49, 07 West, traveling 076 degrees at 28 knots in response to an emergency signal flare. Flare was about 15 degrees off the horizon; request assistance."

"Kalliste define your vessel and positioning."

"Kalliste is a 55 foot motor yacht, six souls on board. We are sound and in low seas. Moving to render assistance if possible, positioning is LORAN."

"Kalliste cutter 'Davies' is responding, ETA 50 minutes. We could have a helo to you in 35 if you need."

"Coast Guard, Kalliste has no knowledge of the nature of the emergency. Request you launch the helo just in case."

After a brief pause the professional voice came back on the radio. "Helo is launching now Kalliste, call sign Air 1-4 will contact you this frequency when airborne."

"Roger, Coast Guard and thanks."

"Kalliste please identify further."

"Coast Guard, Kalliste is golf, alpha, one, four, seven, five, niner, six charlie, whiskey. I'm Tony Smith, master of the vessel. We are out of Savannah, Georgia heading for New Jersey."

As he finished a second flare could be seen. It was a bit closer, and a bit farther to starboard. Tony again adjusted course, a little more slowly this time. Kalliste wasn't built for quick maneuvering at this speed. Indeed, without her refit she wouldn't have been capable of 28 knots at all.

"Coast Guard, Kalliste, second flare spotted. I've adjusted course to 082 degrees."

"Adjusted course 082 noted."

"Go, Rebecca," Tony said in an urgent voice. "Get Dewayne and Gwen and Jerry up here. Everyone in a life jacket and bring one for me too." Rebecca scurried below but it was obvious that the three were already on their way out. The increased speed and maneuvering having tipped them off that something unusual was going on.

When they were up in the cockpit Tony said, "Gwen, go up front with Tina and help her spot for us. Take her a life jacket. Dewayne, Jerry, get one of the inflatables out and get it ready."

"What about me?" Rebecca asked.

"Turn on every light we have. I want us to be a big 'ole beacon out here on the water. Then back here. I might need you on the radio or the wheel." Tony made himself busy in the cockpit first switching the radar from weather to surface mode then turning on the forward facing lights and spotlight originally intended to help them maneuver home at night. He stared intently at the radar screen and saw a small blip. Once again he grabbed the microphone for the VHF as he again adjusted course.

"Coast Guard, Kalliste"

"Go ahead Kalliste."

"Kalliste is equipped with surface radar. We're seeing a small contact at 088 degrees approximately nine miles adjusting course."

"Acknowledged, Kalliste is on new course 088 target nine miles."

Minutes went by with Kalliste straining against the wind, the whine of the turbo-diesels at a fever pitch when the radio came to life once more.

"Kalliste this is Air one four."

"Air one four this is Kalliste."

"Kalliste, Air one four is airborne and en-route to your location. Any update, over?"

"Negative Air one four," Tony replied. "Radar contact is 4 miles, Kalliste is at best speed, approximately 28 knots. What is your ETA?"

"Air one four is approximately 60 miles out, ETA 30 minutes."

"OK, we'll advise when we find something," Tony replied, "looks like we'll get there first."

After only 5 minutes Tina shouted out again. "Tony! Flare dead ahead, we're going right at them."

Tony had seen the flare and adjusted the spot light and caught a glint of something.

"Right there!" he called back. "Do you see it?"

"Boat! It's upside down Tony!"

Tony made a small adjustment to port and again grabbed the microphone. "Air one four, Kalliste."

"This is Air one four."

"Kalliste has spotted a capsized small craft, 200 yards off our bow; moving to provide assistance."

"Air one four ETA 22 minutes."

Kalliste approached the small boat of maybe 25 feet at full speed until Tony pulled the throttles back and disengaged the transmissions. The sudden near-silence allowed Tina to hear a cry from the water. "To the right Tony, I hear someone!" she called.

Tony adjust the spotlight and saw first one, then three people in the water all wearing life jackets and within a few feet of one another. He spun the wheel to the right to put the gangway facing them. Tony handed the microphone to Rebecca and ran out of the cockpit towards the stern.

"Port side, three in the water guys!" Tony shouted. Dewayne had been paying attention and was even then throwing a self-inflating boat, still in its emergency package, over the left side. He held the activation handle long enough to activate the square package and with Dewayne's adrenaline-fueled strength it landed a good thirty feet off the port side of Kalliste, the CO2 bottle well on its way to inflating the 8' craft before it even hit the water. It was less than fifteen feet from the closest person in the water. Dear God, Tony thought, that thing weighs thirty pounds!

Things went smoothly from there until the third figure in the water reached the inflatable and she cried out, "Anita!"

Three waterlogged adults, two men in their mid thirties and an equally aged dark-haired and hysterical woman were brought aboard Kalliste. It took Rebecca a minute to calm the woman down enough to understand that there was a fourth person in the water Her daughter, Anita, had been thrown from the boat before it capsized. Tony immediately went to the radio.

"Air 1-4 Kalliste, ETA?"

"ETA 2 minutes but we can't see you."

"Um Air 1-4 Kalliste will fire a red flare. Three survivors picked up but we are looking for a fourth, a girl, I need you to find her." Tony reached over and found his flare gun, broke it down and inserted a flare then raced out of the cockpit and fired it into the air.

"Spotted! Kalliste! We have your lights now, one minute."

Tony ran back and grabbed the VHF microphone and spoke "Air 1-4 find that girl for me!" Something deep inside Tony's psyche had begun to take over.

A powerful airborne search light lit up just to the south of Kalliste and rapidly moved in her direction. It passed over the capsized sport fishing boat and began scanning the open sea in the area.

It was Tina who figured it out. Everyone had assumed that the girl had been tossed out of the boat as the others had, but no one had actually seen it. The boat had a small cabin. "Tony inside, inside the boat!"

Tony didn't hesitate. He grabbed a waterproof flashlight from the same locker that stored the flare gun, took three steps, and dove over Kalliste's rail.

"Kalliste this is Air 1-4, did someone just go into the water from your vessel?"

Rebecca answered "Yes Tony did, um, he thinks the girl may still be in the boat, he went after her."

"Air 1-4 is going to drop a swimmer to assist. We can't see anything in the immediate area. She's not out here."

"OK, Tony is trained as a lifeguard, open water, so he should be OK. Well I guess he's not the Coast Guard but..."

"Understood Kalliste, our swimmer will assist if needed."

As soon as Tony reached the capsized hull he felt down for its gunwale. He pulled himself down into confusion; Inverted, underwater, in the dark. The only real reference was the gunwale.

Tony felt her; the flashlight's beam must have missed her. He felt a skinny leg on the inside of the cabin and followed it up. It made sense when looking back that the air trapped in the cabin was the only thing keeping the small vessel from sinking entirely. He surfaced right in the face of two wide, brown, terrified eyes.

"Well," he said softly when he surfaced, "You must be Anita".

The girl nodded slightly.

"OK Anita the air in here is pretty bad and this flashlight is all we have. My name is Tony and we really need to get out of here. Are you OK?"

"My leg Mr. Tony, it hurts bad."

"OK Anita I need you to be brave for me. I'm sorry your leg hurts. We seem to be inside this upside down boat that might be sinking. Now I have a much bigger ship outside. Now it's not upside down and it's certainly not sinking. Your mom and dad and uncle are already there. We just have to go under the water to get there OK?"

"NO! I can't!

"Anita I need you to be brave for me sweetheart, it's the only way."

"NO!"

Tony thought for a moment. There was a moment of spatial disorientation. Down, back through the hatch, down some more, left ten or so feet, then up. He reached out and clamped his thumb and forefinger across the young girl's nose, jammed his palm against her mouth and moved.

To swim this way the flashlight was dropped and Tony was lost. Back, down, left, what? Where?

And then he himself was grabbed by the collar of his T-shirt, yanked sharply down and then to the side, and then up.

Air. Girl. Tony released her immediately, then regained control of her around her waist, while she was gasping for breath and crying.

"You OK?" asked an unfamiliar voice. It was the rescue swimmer that had been dropped by the Coast Guard helicopter.

"Yeah," said Tony, "I got turned around, didn't know where to go when I dropped the flashlight. We need to get to my boat, the girl is hurt."