Salacias Island Ch 02

The weather turned nasty on day four. And it was due to stay that way for another four days according to the coast guard at Bermuda. Apparently there was a storm moving into the Atlantic from the States and this storm was the tail end of a storm going up to Greenland.

Maggie suddenly panicked about the size of the Atlantic. It wasn't the Mediterranean where they sailed frequently. Suddenly they were a very small boat in a very big ocean. They took shorter shifts because the work was harder in the storm. Johnny judged the swells to be about 15ft. They crashed onto the yacht with no effort required it seemed. All precautions were taken, there was nothing to do but sail through it.

Johnny came down into the galley and Maggie started putting her waterproofs back on. Ten minutes into her shift she shouted at the storm "This is not what I signed up for." The storm just raged on. A swell from the side came over and knocked Maggie's feet from under her. She skidded into the side of the yacht. She struggled back up and tried to crawl to the wheel. A second even bigger wave came from the starboard side and slammed into the galley door pushing it open.

Maggie got to the wheel and hung on for dear life thinking this is no tail end of a storm. She didn't hear the engine die. But she saw the light go on. She crawled to the galley entrance. "Johnny!" She screamed the galley was busy flooding and if there was no engine there was no way they could pump this all out. She gripped onto anything that wasn't moving as she made her way further through the galley. "Johnny!" She shouted again.

A faint answer reached her ears "Back here."

"Where?" Screamed Maggie almost giving in to panic. Another big wave hit them and she crashed into a bunk head and cut her head open.

"Engine" Johnny shouted.

"Maggie? Engine." He shouted again.

"Maggie?"

Johnny came up from the engine as fast as he could. He realised if the engine didn't start now, they'd have to think about taking the life raft. Which pissed him off immensely. He and his boys had spent many weekends fixing small things after they had bought the boat. The water in the galley was four feet high and climbing. But the first thing he saw was Maggie being tossed about in the water face down. In one leap he didn't know how he made, he was next to her, turning her around, listening for breathing. As he pulled her head up to feel her pulse, she started spluttering and coughing. He hit her on the back a couple of times to get all the water out. There was a wound on her forehead, a deep one.

"Maggie? Margaret?" He implored.

At the sound of her full name, Maggie managed to look up at him and tried to give him a withering look. When Johnny saw that, he smiled and knew his wife would be all right. They just had to survive this.

"You're going to be fine, it's time to leave Mags." He caught a piece of cord drifting in the water and made the bad decision of tying them together. Then he hit the button on the control panel that would automatically send an SOS. Finally, Johnny pulled Maggie behind him up the galley stairs.

Back on deck they crawled to where the life raft was stored and pulled it out. Johnny pulled the cord and tossed it overboard. Maggie grabbed his hand and he put his arms around her and together they jumped. They swam to the life raft for what seemed like for ever. As they got close enough to touch it, the sea swept it away again. If it wasn't for the rope between them Maggie would have stopped trying. She was exhausted. She knew Johnny must be too. He gave a strong push and grabbed a rope on the side of the life raft. Then Maggie was close enough to grab a rope. But she wasn't strong enough to haul herself over the edge.

She felt arms around her calves and knew what Johnny was trying to do. She used her last bit of energy to stiffen her legs and pull herself over the side. She pulled on the rope between them, pulling Johnny to the side. Where she found the strength she didn't know but she had his neck and was pulling it into the raft. Johnny pushed with his arms and got his leg over and then fell on top of Maggie. Neither of them cared, they were exhausted. They managed to zip down the flaps of the life raft which would keep the water out. After that they lay inside the bit of nylon that separated them from the sea, feeling themselves being tossed about like a feather.

A long while later, Johnny got the emergency first aid kit out. Maggie was compulsive about the first aid kits. When they sailed with their children on weekends Johnny would laughingly remark that they had so much in their first aid kits they could perform brain surgery quite easily. Maggie had always just rolled her eyes at this. Johnny's idea of first aid was if one of their children lost a limb, he'd kiss the stump and it would be better. Or spit on it for good luck.

He was thankful that his wife thought of the little things most of the time. Right now he'd take all the eye rolls she could give him. He put surgical plaster on the would to close it and then bandaged it.

"The boat's gone." Maggie said.

"She is," Johnny sighed.

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault Mags."

"I know how much she meant to you."

"Sailing is wonderful. Sailing solo has never crossed my mind. I love sailing best with my little family."

He kissed her and accidentally touched her head.

"Ow."

"Sorry."

She kissed him back as her reply.

The little life raft got tossed to and fro in the storm until it's occupants fell asleep from exhaustion. When they awoke, the ocean was as still as glass.