Six Bells and All's Well

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Day 3: Kit Ship's Log--Weather, Partly Cloudy High in Upper 60's, 3 foot seas forecast--Sick Bay Report: Capt. Steve Suffering With Back Strain, Dan's Cold Improving, Bob's Shoulder Still F'ed Up.

(Procrastination being one of my faults, I'm writing this after spending a week snowmobiling in Land O' Lakes, WI)



When Capt. Steve climbed out from the galley this morning, he was bent in half and he was moving very slow. Evidently working in the cramped area of the head the day before gave him a serious lower back spasm. Fortunately, I was carrying some muscle relaxer pills prescribed after the deer accident and I gave him one every 8 hours for the next two days. They offered a small amount of relief at the very least. His job was going to be pretty tough to do, but he hung in there as best he could. As usual, Kathy pitched in with her first mate skills to get all the chores accomplished.



It's very hard to remember which meals were prepared on what day, but I believe we had omelets this morning. As usual, they were great. After breakfast, Capt. Steve suggested we sail east on the south side of the islands which would give us calmer seas with the continued north wind. Our destination is Newfound Harbor near Big Pine Key. On our way to Newfound Harbor, Steve brought us to a small island where we moored for a bit. One of us finally had the courage to go snorkeling...Marilyn. At the time, the temperature was around 72 and the water temp was about the same. Marilyn got the gear on and went right in. She saw a barracuda and a couple other fish. She spent about a half hour in the water swimming around the back of the boat. The rest of us were not gutsy enough to join her in the water, happy to just observe her. After she got out she said it really wasn't all that cold. We still didn't do it.



We then continued on to Newfound Harbor to anchor there for the night. Once anchored, Capt. Steve lowered the dinghy to bring us to a tiny little island called Picnic Island. It was probably close to a mile for the dinghy ride and the seas and winds had picked up a bit so Steve decided to make two trips with two of us on each trip with him. He started off on the first trip with Jan and Marilyn. It seemed like it took him about 30 minutes to get there. We saw him on his way back and after not paying attention for a couple minutes, the dinghy was no longer there. We watched with the binoculars and watched and watched. It seemed like an eternity that we couldn't see him. Finally, we saw the dinghy leaving the island again. This time Jan and Marilyn were in the dinghy, too. We saw as they were getting closer that the waves were crashing up over the bow of the dinghy. When they got close to the boat, we saw that all three occupants were soaked from the spray. While trying his first return run to the boat, Capt. Steve realized it was kind of rough and decided he would just go back to the island and bring them back. While there, Marilyn and Jan explored the island, finding the gravesites of two dogs there, along with a picnic table and fire pit. I guess that's why they call it Picnic Island. Dan and I would have to miss out on this adventure.



This evening, Kathy filled us up with another delicious dinner of huge shrimp with red beans and rice, a couple of my favorites. While dinner was cooking I asked Capt. Steve about another nautical term of which I didn't quite know the meaning. I'd heard it in many of the old movies about old time, large sailing ships. It was basically "six (0r another number) bells and all's well." All I knew was that it wasn't a reference to the time in hours. Six bells didn't mean 6 O'clock. Capt. Steve knew that it had something to do with the hours of a crew's shift. When we got back to Stock Island and internet service, Marilyn Googled it and found that the bells were half hours of the crews' shifts, Therefore, 6 bells was the third hour of a shift. I may not be a real sailor, but I am learning some of it.



Once again, boaters' midnight approached and we retired to our cabins for a great night's sleep rocking in the waves of Newfound Harbor.

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Photos

After The Safe Return
Getting a chance to use the smoking lounge.

Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Sunsets and snorkeling
Better living through chemistry. So glad to see you are having a great adventure but you should have joined her in the water. Enjoy