Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Daring Rescue at Sea


Sunday was our "Second Annual Neighborhood Pontoon Party" and we all had high hopes for a day of fun. Like the fateful trip the passengers took on the Minnow, ours was to be a three-hour tour. (A three-hour tour.)



As you may recall on their voyage, "The weather started getting rough, the tiny ship was tossed..."  In our case, it began gently sprinkling and gradually turned into a light rain.  The weather didn't dampen our spirits though - largely because our spirits were in coolers.

Then...disaster!  Overboard and into the murky waters of Lake Wylie!  Tension was high.  Someone turned off the party music.  Our Skipper (brave and sure) maneuvered the behemoth boat around with precision and speed - which is difficult in a pontoon - and, just at the perfect moment, The Mate (a mighty sailing man) leaned far, far out over the water, reaching farther than he'd ever reached before. He finally grasped ...

...Keith's hat.  Waterlogged, but otherwise okay. 

The men were jubilant!  The Captain and The First Mate high fived each other.


The Captain and The First Mate
Music blared again, spirits lifted, the women danced, the men smiled.  And then...the unthinkable.  The angry wind whipped and Mary's yellow ball cap was airborne.

If not for the courage of the fearless crew, the yellow cap would be lost.  (The yellow cap would be lost.)  The men ignored Sweet Mary's protests and, with a battle cry of "No hats left behind," they sprang into action.  Again, for the second time in mere minutes, they executed another successful rescue mission.
Jerry, the HERO!


The big reach
                 










During the debriefing, someone remembered hearing Jerry remark, "We train for this all year but we hope we never have to use it."

If any ship I'm ever on "sets ground on an unchartered desert isle," I could do worse than having these guys with me.    

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Eye Maties! Gilligan and the Skipper we were. But not to be forgotten,
were the likes of our own "Mary Ann" aboard! PLUS havin' the fine crew of the Dinghy ship behind, gave us the courage. Lets do it again!! only bring on the Sunshine next time
Yer "Cappy"

Kathie Aldum said...

Awesome bunch and Jer-ry Jer-ry Je-rry :)

Rhona G said...

Chris, your description was hilarious. Reminds me of the time my son jumped into the Thames in London when my hat blew in... he was our hero that day! :)