The Hero

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tacorajim
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The Hero

Post by tacorajim »

Frank lashed his 40-foot Roamer to the face of Arena Cove’s wharf that summer of ‘65. Other trollers rafted 3and 4 deep alongside the dock, endo to the wind, 35 knots of it herding an 8-foot westerly swell.

Frank tied up and took his wife Stephanie home to San Francisco. All their lives they worked at Fisherman’s Wharf, saving like Sicilians did, so they could some day buy their freedom. This was the first season trolling their own salmon boat. But this dream of trolling off in their sunset years with silver bounty flopping aboard, and sea spray wafting over the rail turned sour from Frank’s ocean sickness. Stephanie had to do it all. Run the gear. Clean the fish. Steer the boat. Frank could only moan and puke and groan. Stephanie had had it up to here. Maybe his in-laws at Alioto’s would give him back his apron and favorite splitting knives.

Some guys and I stood on the end of the wharf at the peak of the blow. Gusts to 50. We watched and cringed each time the Roamer popped another line or crashed against the pilings. We seemed paralyzed by anxiety. The starboard guard sprung totally loose from the hull – resembling a lance or a rickshaw handle. When the last line snapped violently in two, I lurched into the wind off the wharf, and shinnied down the starboard pole, onto the rolling deck. My guys were yelling like crazy from up there, but the whistling wind and thrashing waves garbled their words away. When I looked up, each was reaching skyward with one hand and twisting a fist with the other. Oh! The key’s above the door.

She started just in time to whip her stern to the rocks. I rammed the throttle all the way seaward, toward the buoy a mile away. I couldn’t bear turning back on this feeling of invincibility. Not right away. She rode like a dream, bucking so slow, her hostile screaming jimmy pushing us over the waves. This sudden love of mine for this boat, awash in adrenaline and ecstasy convinced me she’d roam the ocean again. But I was jealous of Captain Frank. I was only a young boat puller for that cranky old ‘Brownie’, who just turned 70. I wanted my own boat. One just like this. Some day.

The Roamer veered hard to port. She managed the trough with grace, then turned again downhill. She let her stern be lifted, but she never slid into a broach. Soon we were alongside the other boats in the cove, lining up with the 50-foot Sherry. The Roamer let me land her. It was deliberate and smooth. A team of guys scrambled aboard, hurling coils of line fore and aft.

Frank returned from the City the following day. When I saw him and Roy the dock boss gazing down across all the boats, I sauntered out the wharf to join them. I would try hard to be humble accepting their praise. But as I approached . . . they lowered their voices, including me out. Then Roy walked away leaving Frank and me standing there. Frank regarded the rows of boats, the grove of trolling poles. His silence was unnerving, but I figured he could struggle awhile for the right words to express his thanks.

“You the guy? You saved the old Roamer?”
“I guess. Just dumb fisherman instinct I reckon.” I felt myself blush.
“That mudder was . . . FULLY INSURED!”

He turned his back on me and slowly strode away, head down wagging side to side. I think I heard him sob. And it was hard to swallow.
yak2you2
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Re: The Hero

Post by yak2you2 »

You can't hold it against a guy for trying, you had to have racked up some for karma points for that one. good story. I'm sure that somewhere out there there's an insurance agent that thinks your a hero. :)
tacorajim
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Re: The Hero

Post by tacorajim »

Yak?
I've held this against Frank all my life. Conspiring with Roy to plan the destruction of an old wood boat 'cause he couldn't hack what the boat was all about. The Roamer was listed For Sale this summer in the Fishermen's News, a month before this story was published therein. I saved her. Wrote about it in sad. Roy the Dock Boss lost years of credibility over designing her demise. It was never the same between Roy and me.

But thanks for the praise. I'm a fan of your regular contributions here, Captain.
yak2you2
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Re: The Hero

Post by yak2you2 »

lol, I meant they couldn't blame you for trying, to save her. It's a shame when any boat dies, especially on the rocks.
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