Of Hooves and History

The Maiden Voyage

I fiddled with a zipper on my camo-print trousers, trying to pull it open. Eventually it shook free and I fished out a pair of keys. A tugboat's horn blared in the distance, while I pushed a silver key into its slot in the side of the portal and jerked it, causing a slight pop! sound to be heard. The portal's lid released, and I pulled it open. Gently, I eased my travel bag down the ladder, trying to keep it from slipping and hitting the floor.

Next came the rest of my luggage – a hard-sided suitcase, a backpack, a duffel bag, and a large, slim rectangular bag containing my bike. Hanging from the ceiling was a mesh net with fruits and vegetables, and the suitcase was full of spare clothes, accessories, and dry food packages. As I checked over the instrument panel, a familiar tune of the Pirates of the Caribbean theme played in a tapping sequence on the hull outside. I ascended the ladder and peeked through one of the portal's portholes.

"Hey son, just want to say thanks for the hose repair."

"It's my pleasure. Always a delight to be of help to those who've helped me."

We exchanged a fist-bump and he handed me a new pair of rugged waterproof binoculars.

"It's a world filled mysterious phenomena, the ocean," my dad confided. "So many ships and their poor crew lost over time with no way of knowing what happened or how."

"And today is the day I begin my quest to change that," I declared proudly. "For the history books."

"For the history books," my father repeated proudly, before stepping back onto the boathouse deck. "Best of luck in your endeavors, son."

"Love you!" I replied, pulling down the hatch and activating the airlock seal. I started the engine and flipped a few switches, causing the tanks to fill with water. I slipped beneath the surface and departed from the Florida Keys. My trip plan was to sail southeast, between Cuba and the Bahamas at a substantial depth, so as to avoid being obtrusive to shipping traffic zipping in and out of Nassau, Santa Clara, and Miami. I hoped to weave through the smaller Bahamas islands, and then straight towards Bermuda, in the heart of the triangle.

I wished and dreamt of being able to pinpoint the location of shipwrecks and war planes as well, possibly even extract a few valuable items from them, depth permitting. First, however, I needed to concentrate. The radar beeped twice occasionally, then four times every half hour.

After a good three hours of straight-line speed southeast-ward through the ocean I slowed my pace and tuned into a radio station that broadcasted ship arrivals and departures. Boy, were there a lot! For a moment I considered surfacing to take a quick look. While my submarine was registered in another country as a marine research craft, most people in Cuba wouldn't take too lightly to seeing a submarine in their waters. So, I opened the tank valves and slowly descended as deep as I could, then waited.

Over the next half hour, I ate some peach slices and observed the radar. Most of the vessels were just sailboats and cruise ships chugging along on their first vacation voyages of the season, so it was safe to say I was in good standing. Resuming my course, I shifted into electrical mode and powered through the bright crispy blue waters of the southern Bahamas. It really was beautiful and serene... and also rather quiet. Too quiet. But as I reached for the radio, a noisy, squeaky chatter filled the water. A glance at the radar indicated a medium-sized boat was nearby, and cruising at a fairly fast speed – likely twenty-five knots. Little smaller blips soon appeared, all around and behind the boat.

"Dolphins!" I exclaimed, my hands frantically skimming through a menu on the main control screen for a marine map of the area. This wasn't necessarily a happy occurrence; it meant potential trouble. The last thing I wanted was to interrupt these fellow ocean inhabitants. Or worse, jeopardize the spectacular show the boat-goers were likely having. It was bad enough that the dolphins had to avoid the boat's propeller. Now they needed to watch out for mine.