Twenty-seven

Miss Fit

By the following day, the world was looking brighter for Skeeter and Susan. They had spent part of the previous evening examining possibilities. It was the kind of discussion held in a thousand households throughout the Bahamas and Caribbean Islands after every hurricane. Property was destroyed and lives were upset. With decidedly fewer resources, people everywhere were exploring their options. Today Skeeter had a new and improved outlook. The bottom line was that the only property he had lost was his fishing boat. His family and his home were safe. He was a capable man, his wife was supportive of him. He would get by. No, he would thrive.

Abaco Diver was in good running condition, so the decision was made to use it to tow the barge back into place. Cameron promised to have security on the barge full time, as soon as it was back on site. The offshore conditions were improving, but still not good enough to attempt to move the barge. That was OK because it would take a day to install the winch from Conchy Lady onto Abaco Diver. That winch was an important part of the boat’s usefulness to the project.

Cameron gave Gaffer a primo job. Virgil Price would be arriving at Treasure Cay at noon. Somebody had to go pick him up and bring him to Great Guana. Oh, by the way, the tree that had fallen into the turning basin had Bimini Twist blocked in, he’d have to take the Ocean Master. Did he mind?

“Do I mind!” exclaimed Gaffer. “Get out of the way, I’m ready to go now.”

“Not yet,” said Cameron. “He won’t be here for two hours.”

“There’s plenty to do here while you wait,” said Skeeter. “Dig in to the work and the time will go faster.”

“What do you want me to do?” asked Gaffer.

“That tree that’s blocking the turning basin needs to be moved. It needs to be chopped up and taken out limb by limb. You work on it for a while with Matthew and P.J. The sooner we get it out of there, the sooner we can get Bimini Twist back out on the water.” Skeeter handed the boys an armload of tools, two saws, a hatchet and several machetes. “You need to wear gloves to do this. Those tools are sharp and the area will be full of splinters.”

The boys headed down to the turning basin ready to get busy. Gaffer climbed onto Bimini Twist and retrieved three pairs of fishing gloves. P.J. deposited the tools on the bank of the basin and told Matthew to stand back. When Matthew was at a safe distance, P.J. began hacking away at branches. For Matthew’s safety they gave him the job of dragging the limbs up the bank and out of the way. The fifty year old pine tree was nearly 100 feet long and was dense. There were a lot of branches to chop. The work was slow and tiring, but within two hours most of the limbs had been separated from the trunk and dragged away.

Gaffer dived into the turning basin and swam across to where his father and Skeeter were working with five of the Defense Force guards. The winch had been removed from the remains of Conchy Lady and was lying on the deck of Abaco Diver. The dive boat had a rigid top to keep the tourists out of the sun. Part of it would have to be cut away along with a portion of the bench along the starboard gunwale.

“Dad, can I go now?”

“Can’t you wait a little while?” teased Max.

Gaffer was impatient to get behind the wheel of the Ocean Master. “No, I can’t wait any longer. Can I please go?”

Skeeter laughed. He understood Gaffer’s impatience. “Go!” he said. “Go to Treasure Cay and pick up Mr. Price. Go now.”

Gaffer smiled broadly and climbed up onto the Miss Fit’s dive ladder. He rinsed himself down with the fresh water hose, toweled himself off and stood behind the helm. While he readied the boat to go, P.J. and Matthew joined him. Matthew handled the dock lines as Gaffer maneuvered the boat away from its mooring and out into the open. There was a two to three foot chop, perfect for seeing what this boat could do. Gaffer throttled up to 3,400 RPMs. It was not so much speed he felt as it was power. Two outboard motors totaling 600 horsepower pushed the 10,000 pound boat through the water. In an instant Gaffer understood what it was all about, how this boat had gotten its name. The Ocean Master plowed through the waves like they weren’t even there. A lesser boat would have pounded or been tossed around. Miss Fit just knocked the waves out of the way. The only sensation of motion was forward, there was no side-to-side, no rolling, just steady plowing ahead. He enjoyed the ride so much that he found himself idling into the marina at Treasure Cay long before he was ready. The ride was enjoyable but over far too soon.

Virgil Price had a plane delay and was an hour late for his rendezvous with his ride. It drove Gaffer crazy as he was anxious to get back out on the water on this fantastic machine. When Virgil met up with the boys he could not understand why they were so agitated. He thought they would be glad to see him, but they did not act that way.

“P.J., what’s wrong. Are you guys OK?”

“This boat is so cool,” said P.J. “We’ve been waiting a long time to get back on the water to try it out some more. It’s so cool.”

Virgil turned to Gaffer, “Well, Gaff, show me what it can do.”

While they idled out of the marina, Virgil contacted Cameron on the VHF radio. He received a quick rundown on the activities of the past few days and gave Cameron orders to carry out until he arrived. After several communications back and forth, Virgil had instructions for Gaffer. “We need to swing by the barge to see how it rode out the storm. Do you know where to find it?”

Gaffer picked up the radio handset and called Cameron back. “Cameron, this is Gaffer. Where is the barge?”

Cameron came right back on the radio with the coordinates. Gaffer thanked him and pushed the throttles forward. Virgil called over the roar of the engines, “Don’t you need to write down those numbers? Can you remember them in your head?”

“I don’t have to remember them,” said Gaffer. “I know all the main numbers for this area. I just need the last three latitudinal numbers. There aren’t that many longitudinal numbers in the Sea of Abaco.”

Virgil gave that some thought for a minute and understood. He nodded at Gaffer and smiled. In response Gaffer pushed the throttles to the wall and turned his hat around backwards to keep it from blowing off. Virgil turned his hat around too and sat back to enjoy the ride.

By the time Miss Fit entered the turning basin, Godfrey, with help from Jenny, had removed what was left of the tree from the water. Skeeter and Max had completed the installation of the winch and were testing its motor. Three of the more mechanically minded guards had installed the radar system from Conchy Lady onto Abaco Diver. It was working perfectly and the guards could now keep an eye on the wreck site from the wheelhouse of the dive boat. Abaco Diver was ready to move the barge and the turning basin was now clear. Bimini Twist was no longer trapped.

In the days that followed, the barge was returned to the wreck site and permanently moored as before. Virgil assigned five of his best guards to accompany the prisoners to incarceration in Nassau, which they did without incident. The remains of Conchy Lady were patched together just well enough for one more trip. It was ceremoniously towed out to an area near to the wreck site, where it was permitted to sink to the bottom in eighty feet of water, to create an underwater habitat.