Read Online Suddenly Overboard by Tom Lochhaas - Free Book Online Page A

natural environment and that whenever we are on the water we are at some risk. This mindfulness isn’t fear and needn’t detract from the pleasure in any way, and can actually enhance the joy of sailing, but it is needed if we are to stay safe in case something unexpected happens. And as these stories show, the unexpected happens often
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    Remember, too, that regardless of how warm the water or air may seem there is always some risk of hypothermia. People in cold water may have as little as 10 minutes of functional movement before losing the effective use of their fingers, arms, and legs, making drowning a risk even for a good swimmer who believes he or she can tread water until rescue arrives
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Just One Little Mistake
    â€œGreat day for sailing, eh?” Dave was grinning as he came down the dock with his brown lab, Rusty.
    Shannon looked up from the cockpit, smiled, then gestured out at Chesapeake Bay, where not a boat was in sight. “Nice day for December, anyway,” she said.
    Rusty, a good boat dog, bounded down into the cockpit and sniffed the bag that held their lunch.
    The handheld VHF clipped to Dave’s belt was tuned to NOAA weather, and the robotic voice was forecasting a southwest wind of 10 to 15 knots. The report from the nearest automated buoy included an air temperature of 54°F, a water temperature of 47°F, and a chop of 1 to 2 feet.
    â€œWon’t break any speed records today,” Dave said. “Too bad.”
    Shannon stowed the last of her gear. “That’s better for Steve, anyway. Don’t want to scare the bejeebers out of him on his first sail.”
    Dave laughed. It felt great to sneak away from work for a halfday sail, and there was maybe only one other thing he’d rather be doing with Shannon. He stepped down into the cockpit and gave her a quick kiss. “Maybe we shouldn’t wait for him after all,” he joked.
    Steve arrived a few minutes later, but they barely recognized him at first under all that clothing. Dave had told him it would be cold on the water, but he hadn’t anticipated Steve would wear a ski parka, heavy gloves, and a winter stocking cap. He saw them looking at his cap—they, so experienced, in their high-tech miracle fabrics—and said, “Gotta stay warm! But I brought some cold beer in case we get too warm.”
    Rusty trotted over to sniff Steve’s bag and then his boots.
    Steve was older than both of them, in his forties, Shannon guessed. A whole generation older, almost. He was also a very big man. She stared at his heavy black-soled boots as he gingerly stepped over the rail and down onto the cockpit bench, imagining black scuff marks all over her new boat’s gleaming white deck. Oh, well.
    Steve dropped his bag into the small cabin of the 18-foot sloop, and Shannon pointed to where he should sit. She swung the engine mount down to lower the outboard into the water and started it. She caught Steve’s eye and pointed at the life jacket on the seat. “Better put that on.”
    Steve glanced at her, then at Dave. Dave was wearing his usual old, stained life jacket.
    Dave untied the bow line and came aboard after releasing the stern line, holding on to a deck cleat to keep the boat from drifting.
    Steve wasn’t able to get even one arm into the life jacket over his bulky parka. Shannon made a face at Dave, then said to Steve, “You’ll have to put it on underneath your coat. Loosen the adjustment straps first.”
    A minute later they were motoring out of the marina into the fresh sunny air, and her spirits rose. It wasn’t far to open water and a clear breeze. There’s nothing half as fine, she used to say, as turning off a sailboat’s engine. She only half listened as Dave explained to Steve how sailing worked. Actually, she noticed, he wasn’t saying much about sailing but more about how Steve should keep out of their way and always sit where he was told. Good!