Adventures

All was quiet last night when I got back to the dock. I talked to friends in other states who had cell phones. They have no power but had little damage from Irene. Although things were uneventful here from the storm, there was nonetheless adventures and drama.

The rip currents were strong this weekend. Friends came over in their dinghy to visit while I was at anchor. They are engaged and wanted to get back to their boat to talk wedding plans. I advised them to stay for a while until the ebb tide slacked a bit.

They opted to take the dinghy back to their boat. Beth tried to grab their boat, slipped on the ladder, and fell out of the dinghy as it sailed away. Her fiancé, Bob, yelled for me to go help her. When I got to their boat, she had her leg caught in the ladder and was barely able to hold on. I got on the boat and pulled her on board. She was badly shaken, convinced that she would have drowned.

After making sure she was okay, I rowed my dinghy to shore where Bob was. We walked both dinghies up the shore so that we had a better chance of getting to our respective boats in the fast current. Bob had no oars and took off sailing the dinghy. He grabbed hold of his boat but the current and wind tipped the dinghy over and it capsized.

He and the dinghy were being swept around the point and out into the harbor. I went after him, caught up to him and threw him a line. I tried rowing against the current, towing him and his dinghy. I made no headway and told him to let the capsized dinghy go. I was then able to row to shore with Bob in tow.

We stayed on the shore, waiting for the ebb tide to slack. We talked and got around to talking about all the drinking that happens on boats and on the beach. He told me that he quit drinking because it almost killed him. It turns out Bob goes to AA and has been sober five years. We passed the time talking about our experiences and how we were both brought to our knees for different reasons.

After a couple of hours, we walked down the beach. There was a power boat near the beach, and three people were standing on shore. It took me a while to realize that the two men and the woman were naked. I don't know if Bob recognized that or not, but he asked if they would mind giving him a ride to his boat.

Later, he called me to tell me he was safe aboard and to thank me for saving their lives. He said the people in the boat asked him if he knew they were nude. He said he figured it out but was glad for the ride anyway.

I was in the right place at the right time and then my HP threw in a bit of humor. I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried. Truth is often stranger than fiction.

PS: And to add to the strangeness, I had dinner with my sponsor after my home group meeting tonight.  We ate at a the Little D, which is a Chinese restaurant out in the country.  I was telling my sponsor the story when we heard chuckling at the table behind us.  The fellow sitting there turned and said, "I was one of the naked fellows that gave your friend a ride back to his boat." As he walked out, he shook my hand and said, "Be safe."  Call it cosmic energy or something, but it is all too weird and surreal.