A Life Afloat (Maybe)

Chapter 11

That cycle ride from his 'van to the boatyard now seemed to be just a normal short bike ride, he didn't know if it was because he was now a little fitter than before or just that he was so used to the journey that he seemed to complete it in no time at all, it now seemed to him that as soon as he jumped on his bike, it was time to jump off again and park it by the boatyard fence as he always did, it had become a routine for him and that felt good, it meant, he thought, that he was now part of the sailing community. As there was no sign of Alec so far, Pete decided to have another wander around the boatyard, he did this more and more often especially when he had time on his hands as he did today, he found that in wandering around the yard he was beginning to get the feel for the place, to feel the rhythm of life that percolated through the area, whilst doing this, hoping that he did not get in anyone's way but unusually, there was, at the moment, very little activity in the yard from what he could see, as far as he could tell there was no one around at all and wondered where they could be, maybe they are just late back from lunch, he thought, although he remembered that they always left someone close by just in case of an emergency.

As if on cue, rumbling down the shingle track from the direction of the village came the crane that he had seen used when they relaunched Alec's yacht, it stopped just where Pete was standing and the yard worker climbed down, Barney was his name, he said, 'the others have gone upstream to collect a cabin cruiser that for some reason had caught fire', he said with a grin, 'these week enders' get up to some funny tricks, making fools of themselves all the time' he said with an even bigger laugh, 'still keeps us busy' and he chuckled even more, 'and I won't complain about that' he finished off, 'I wondered where all of you were hiding' said Pete, 'if you don't mind telling me, what do you need the crane for', another chuckle, 'got to lift her out on to dry land and put her on trestle's, can't have the insurance assessor getting his feet wet now can we?'

'We can't keep the crane here, it's too big to keep in the yard itself, so every time we need to lift a boat out of the water or re-float one, I have to go over to our boat builders yard a little further downstream to bring this big beast back here, it's a bit of a pain but far better, as I said it's just too big for this marine service area', just then and very faintly he could hear the low thud of a diesel engine, 'here they come now' Barney told him, 'this is going to be really fun, just hope I don't drop it', he said laughing his head off, he took his leave of Pete with a wave and another big grin and wandered off over towards the edge of the quayside to wait for the damaged boat to arrive. Pete took all this in with a somewhat bemused grin on his face and leant against the fence near his bike to watch the events unfold but his wait was cut short as a gentle tap on his shoulder announced the arrival of the friend that he had been waiting for.

'Come on then Pete, time to get your feet wet', Alec said, 'not literally, I hope', Pete quipped in reply, 'how's things', he asked, 'we'll talk about that later when we are on the yacht', was Alec's somewhat short reply, 'OK fine, let's go then' was Pete's even quicker response, 'got your lifebelt' Alec asked, 'for sure, in my day sack along with a flask of coffee and a couple of Cornish Pasties for us', 'great I'm starving' said his friend, 'I've had nothing since my early breakfast, I can't wait, I bought a couple of chicken and ham sandwiches from the girls in the bistro', 'help me get the tender into the water and we can row over to the yacht, I must remember to get the outboard motor checked by Sam, it's sat in the garage doing nothing and it's a lot quicker than rowing, remind me will you, before you head off home later', 'I'll drag it out and clean the muck and dust this evening and then we can drop it off at Sam's place sometime tomorrow if you are free, that is if we are going out and about, you may not be all that happy after you have had a dose of salt water with your coffee', all of this conversation took place as they struggled to get Alec's tender back into the water from where they had left the other day, climbing in very gingerly Pete took his place midships and Alec slid easily into the stern seat, grinning as Pete pulled the oars free and put them into the row-locks as if he had been doing it all his life, with his usual grin Alec called out, 'you know your place then', as he pushed the tender away from the landing, with that Pete started pulling his way towards Alec's yacht and as the came alongside Alec quickly climbed up the short rope ladder that he had left hanging down the last time he was aboard the yacht, another mistake he thought to himself, after asking Pete to throw the rope that sat in the bows behind him, he held the tender steady as Pete scrambled and struggled his way up the ladder and fell inboard with great aplomb, gales of hilarity erupted, not only from Alec but also the yard workers who had stopped to watch, 'I'll score that one out of ten for elegance' cried Barney from his crane, waving back with a smile was all Pete could do in his embarrassment and having a quiet laugh at his own expense with a grinning Alec, 'better next time' was all he said, Alec rapidly disconnecting the yacht from both forward and stern buoys, starting the engine it seemed in all one fluid movement, Alec stood by the wheel, opened the throttle and slowly eased the yacht way from her mooring, 'that wasn't to shoddy even if I say it myself', 'right, life belt on Pete then settle yourself up for 'ad and we'll go for a little run down to the sea, were going out on the flood tide so it should be nice and quick, you just sit there and watch, no teaching today for me, just quiet and gentle pottering on the river, free my mind, lets me think, we'll drop an anchor out in the bay and have our lunch'. 'Make sure that it is the anchor that goes over the side and not you, I didn't bring any dry clothes with me so be careful' shouted Alec, ready now, Pete eased the anchor over the side and let it go, 'watch your fingers on that chain it will show you no mercy', 'that's great', he called, 'we'll just drift around that anchor point now, we are far enough from the beach not to be affected by any shallow water, so come back here and join me in the cockpit, we can get stuck into that food and the coffee of course'.