Issue 18: May/June 2001
It was a day of savage and ethereal beauty. We had just gone through a fast-moving storm with racing black clouds, pelting rain, and lightning. We were left powering in little wind and large seas across the 14-mile stretch between the Canadian shore of Lake Superior and Isle Royale, a U.S. national park.
I was at the helm, enjoying our surging ride over the steep waves. Jerry was below making sense of the chaos that had resulted when all of our bookshelves had thrown their holdings to the cabin floor in the raucous storm and simultaneously the GPS had refused to update our position. Some tricky shoals lay ahead, we knew, and he had worked his way through the sea of books at his feet to the chart table, where he was unscrewing the GPS problem and bringing the Loran back to life for a fix.
A mist rolled in ahead of us. In this mist a beautiful circular rainbow formed. It looked as though we would motor right through it. It was a Kodak moment . . . if not a Kodak moment (since the camera was not at hand) it seemed as though I should share it with my best friend.
Through the closed hatch and engine noise, I shouted to get his attention, but to no avail. I stomped on the cockpit floor. There was no sign of being heard. I kicked the sides of the cockpit seats (lazarettes in our boat). Nothing. Then I remembered the whistles we wear on our life jackets in case of an overboard situation. When Jerry bought them, he told me they’re supposed to be the loudest whistles available. We’d never really tested them. But since we always wear our life jackets, mine was handy. I blew it.
Jerry came out of the cabin so fast that he never really opened the hatch. I’m not sure my best friend ever truly appreciated that beautiful work of nature quite like I’d hoped (not even in the retelling). But I’m sure we’ll never see this phenomenon again, and I’m glad he got a chance to see it.
The GPS? The books? The rest of the story? The GPS was fixed, the books were put away and a new locking mechanism installed to prevent future spills. We arrived at Isle Royale safely in a lovely sunset. And Jerry’s head has healed.
Thank you to Sailrite Enterprises, Inc., for providing free access to back issues of Good Old Boat through intellectual property rights. Sailrite.com
