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Yacht Seabird Circumnavigation

 


   Saturday, November 22, 2003  
Once Upon a Shipwreck - Port Elizabeth, South Africa

The fist had just let go of my heart when the annoyed voice came across the ship's radio. 'Seabird, Seabird - This is Port Control, go to channel one two' and I thought "Oh Hell, they saw it."



An other port, another embarassment. That's Sea Bird on the beach. (Darwin, Australia)

Down on channel 12 the clipped voice started in on me. "Sir, you've just committed two serious navigational errors. First you sailed inside the shark net buoys. Then you ran over the buoyed shipwreck. I stood up here in the Port Control tower and watched you. Very dangerous navigation, sir. The last boat that hit the wreck sank. Do you understand?"

Understand? This was all a bit abrupt.

For the past twenty-three days I'd been on passage from Rodrigues Island, Mauritius to Richard's Bay, South Africa. I was deep into my ocean world; the world of sea and sky and spinning stars that absorbs you after weeks of leaning into steel and canvas wings. On that twenty-third day, all I wanted was to sail on to forever.

But I had to come ashore that morning; I'd reached port. Now rose the struggle between the sea I loved and the land I needed. How could I steal a few more moments from my ocean world before I shattered it with the roar of my diesel engine? I'd compromise. If I had to come off the sea, I'd do it under full sail.

So into port we roared, all dacron, foam and false bravado.

I reckon my navigation was a little muddy because suddenly I found myself on the wrong side of a red buoy. Worse yet, the water ahead of me boiled with brown muck, a sure sign of a submerged object.

Before I could throw the tiller or ease the canvas, Sea Bird erupted in metallic crunching sounds and her bow shot skyward like I was driving her up a ramp. Quick as reflex I threw off the sheets to dump the wind from the sails. Up, up, up rose the black bow until it could go no higher. Then, like she was tired of climbing, Sea Bird flopped over on her side, for the most part out of the water. Which left me clinging to the scuppers like a rat. Right in front of the Port Control tower.

Silence.

Then the ocean swell, which until now we'd out-sailed, caught us in its rhythmic grip. Before I could think "Not so good to be parked on a ship wreck." or "Gee, I'm lucky Sea Bird's steel." the waves began lifting and dropping her hull on top of the submerged hulk. At the first rending BANG! an icy iron fist squeezed my speeding heart and I saw white.

Up we rose. The frosty fingers crushed my heart to an ache. Down we crashed to the sound of steel on steel. CRASH! Up and clench. Down and CRASH! It was like a pile driver speeding up until all I heard was CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! Each time the frozen fist closed harder until I could hear the blood squeezing through my ears. "No! No!" the visions screamed. "She's going to be holed! It can't end like this!"

Then suddenly Sea Bird righted herself, gave her sails a good hard shake and veered crazily toward the main channel.

Shocked at our miraculous escape, the fist dropped my heart and it slid down my throat with an electric aftertaste. In flooded the admonishments: "Jeez! What a stupid, idiot thing that was to do!" Followed by the promises: "I swear Sea Bird, from now on I'm really going to pay attention to my navigation. Really, really, really. No more crazy-headed sailing into port; ever again. I swear it!"

That's when Port Control called and implied my navigation was suspect.

Adrenaline-fueled, I wanted to hoot into the mike "Hey, you should thank me for knocking down that hulk for the next joker that runs over it." But the man on the other side wasn't in the kidding mood. "That's correct" I sniffed and let it go.

I immediately went to the wrong dock, and next time out, almost hit the wreck again.

Bernie
RiverEarth.com
posted by Bernie at 10:54 AM


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