Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to read the story so far. A special thanks to everyone who has posted a review. I hope you'll continue to enjoy the story.
Chapter 7
As the storm intensified the rocking of the boat finally got to Janet and she was sea sick. She woke up not too long after they had retired and ran to the bathroom. Lee quickly followed her in and sat next to her while she threw up. When she was finished, he wet a cloth and wiped her face.
"I'm sorry," she croaked out as her throat was sore and sat on the floor shivering as the temperature on the boat had dropped considerably with the generator off.
"It's okay sweetie," Lee replied as he wasn't feeling that good either another reason why he preferred submarines. "Do you think you can come back to bed?"
"I think so," she said, slowly stood up and got her bearings before returning to the day room.
Harry woke up and was waiting for them to return as he too was barely holding on.
Once settle back under the blankets, Harry remarked, "You lasted longer than I thought you would."
Janet managed a weak grin, laid down next to Lee who wrapped his arm around her. She laid there for a while and knew she wouldn't go back to sleep as the rocking of the boat got worse.
"Lee," she said softly, "are you awake?"
He turned to face her, "Yes, you okay?"
"Still feel sick…can't sleep. Tell me how you change the name of a boat so it won't be cursed…maybe it'll take my mind off the rocking."
"According to legend, all boats are recorded by name in the 'Ledger of the Deep' and is known to Poseidon, or Neptune. So, if you want to change the name of the boat, you must purge its name from the 'Ledger of the Deep' and Poseidon's memory. You have to remove every trace of the boat's current identity. This must be done thoroughly so you have to remove everything with the old boat's name on it from the boat. Most will remove all the log books, engine and maintenance records and whatever else has the name on it and start with new records. It's very important you don't bring any items with your boat's new name on board until you've purged the old name and the renaming ceremonies have been completed."
"Once you have removed all traces of her old name, you make a metal tag with the old name written in water-soluble ink. You also need a good bottle of Champagne."
"Champagne?" Janet asked quietly not wanting to wake Harry.
Harry was awake as he didn't feel very well either and was listening to Lee explain the renaming process.
"Yes, you then recite a specific passage to the ruler of the deep. When you finish the first part of the passage, you drop the metal tag in the water. You then finish reciting the rest of the passage and you pour at least half the bottle of Champagne into the sea from East to West."
"What do you do with the rest of the Champagne?"
"You drink it and share it with your guests if you've invited some."
"What do you do to get the new name on the boat?"
"Normally it's done right after the purging ceremony and you need more Champagne," Lee told her and continued. "You still have a few more gods to appease so you begin the renaming by calling Poseidon and recite another passage asking him to record the new name of the boat and ask him to keep her safe through her journeys. You take the bottle of champagne and pour the whole bottle into the sea from East to West except for one glass for the master and first mate of the boat."
"Wow there's sure a lot involved in renaming a boat," Janet said as she closed her eyes hoping the nausea would subside.
"You okay…do you want me to continue?" Lee asked gently rubbing her arm as he waited for her to open her eyes.
"Please," Janet replied as she opened her eyes and took a deep breath causing her to cough.
"We're not done yet," Lee replied. "You now have to appease the gods of the winds. This will assure you of fair winds and smooth seas. Because the four winds are brothers you can invoke them all at the same time but during the ceremony you have to address each one by name. There's another passage you recite to the winds and fling Champagne into each of the winds while facing that direction."
"The winds have names?" Janet asked seriously.
"Yes, Great Boereas is the North Wind, Great Zephyrus is the West Wind, Great Eurus is the East Wind and Great Notus is the South Wind," Lee told her. "Once you're finished with the winds any Champagne that is left over you can drink celebrating the new name of the boat. You can then bring aboard all your items bearing the new name of the boat. Usually the name is painted on the transom before the ceremony and is covered up so no one can see it prior to the renaming ceremony but once that's finished you can remove the covering revealing the new name."***
"Lee, would you rename a boat or just keep the name it has?"
"No, I don't think I'd rename a boat, I'm too superstitious." Lee chuckled, "If I found a boat and didn't like the name, I probably wouldn't buy it."
"Good," Janet replied with a yawn and snuggled closer to Lee as she fell asleep.
Harry had his back to Lee and Janet so when Lee finished he turned to face him, "Smart man," Harry said with a grin which Lee returned.
()()()()()()()
Chip woke up the next morning and realized he was still in his uniform from yesterday. He quickly showered, changed and went to the wardroom for breakfast. After he checked the weather topside, he would call the Navy and see they were able to send out any planes or boats to look for the raft. He finished his breakfast, entered the control room and made his way over to the radio shack where Sparks was just coming on duty.
"Sparks, get me the weather topside and for the East coast," Chip ordered.
"Aye sir," Sparks replied and flipped some switches so he could check on the weather.
Chip went over to the vertical planner and noted where they were. They were pretty far south of Greenland. Jenkins and Taper were charting the course as he walked over to them.
"Good morning, sir," the men said.
"Morning. Any news?" Chip asked knowing if they had spotted anything they would have called him.
"No sir," Taper replied. "We're still on a zig zag course."
"Thanks, men," Chip answered. "You're relieved of duty."
"Aye, sir," Jenkins responded and noted the change in the log book before leaving the control room.
Bobby O'Brien was just walking in as they were leaving. He noticed they didn't look very happy so he figured they hadn't found them.
"Mr. Morton," Sparks called out and walked over to him at the charting table and handed him the weather reports. "Not looking too good topside. The winds are at gale force level and the seas are at twenty foot swells."
"Damn," Chip mumbled under his breath.
Everyone in the control room heard the weather report and knew the admiral, skipper and his wife on a raft were no match for the storm.
"Thanks, Sparks," Chip replied, "keep monitoring the weather and SAT phones."
"Yes, sir," he answered and returned to the radio shack.
Chip ran his hand over his hair. He needed help to find them. He had a friend that worked for Admiral Perry Dickinson. He decided to call him and ask him to get Admiral Dickinson for help.
Chip walked over to Sparks. "Get me Gary Easton in Admiral Dickinson's office in Norfolk. I'll take it in the observation nose."
"Aye, sir," Sparks answered and placed the call.
Chip walked into the observation nose and stared out the huge windows in the Admiral's 'front porch' hoping he would see him, Lee and Janet sitting there soon.
"Sir, I have your call," Sparks said over the intercom.
Taking a deep breath Chip picked up the mic, "Hi Gary."
"Chip Morton, have you decided to return to the 'real Navy' and get off that research vessel?" Gary joked.
"No, I need your help. Admiral Nelson, Captain Crane and Mrs. Crane have been missing at sea for over two days and I requested the Navy's help in locating them but haven't gotten any word back. Could you please ask Admiral Dickinson to intervene?"
"Chip, I don't know what I can do but I'll talk to him about getting help in locating…"
Before Gary could finish his sentence, Admiral Jiggs Starke walked out of Admiral Dickinson's office and heard him talking.
"Is that Chip Morton…what help does he need?" Starke asked as he snatched the phone out of Gary's hand.
"Commander, this Admiral Starke. What and who needs help?"
Chip was surprised at who was on the phone. "Admiral, sir, Admiral Nelson, Captain Crane and Janet left for Scotland two days ago to see an unveiling of a fossil. They ran into trouble with FS-1 and are on a raft in the middle of the ocean with no means of communication. For some reason, their SAT phones aren't working. I called the Navy yesterday for help but they said because of the storm they wouldn't be able to offer assistance. Sir, that storm is now in the area where we are south of Greenland. I'm on a zig-zag course heading south and east figuring Captain Crane would head for the nearest land mass. I'm calling looking for any help the Navy can offer."
"Scotland…fossils…what the hell was Harry thinking," Starke answered. "I'll see what I can do but most of the ships were sent south to get out of the way of the Nor'easter but should be returning to port now that the storm has moved out to sea. The planes couldn't take off because of the weather near the coast."
"Sir, we're experiencing that storm right now. There's gale force winds and twenty foot swells," Chip told Starke.
"I'll divert a couple of ships to head north and meet up with you. By the time they get into your area, the storm should be over. What are your coordinates?"
Chip gave him the coordinates where they were located and the course he had plotted.
"The planes will still be grounded until the storm passes by you. As soon as I can get those planes airborne, I'll let you know. Keep in touch, Commander," Starke ordered.
"Yes sir, thank you sir," Chip replied but all he heard was the disconnect of the phone.
Chip stowed the mic and stood there looking out the windows. The crew in the control room looked at him as he returned, "They're going to send out some help," Chip said slightly encouraged. He knew as well as the crew that the raft was no match for the magnitude of the storm raging topside. He checked the course they were on, gave maneuvering a slight adjustment and noted the change on the chart. All they could do was continue to search and wait hoping the Navy would spot something.
()()()()()()()
Lee woke up at dawn and could still hear the wind howling and sleet hitting the side of the boat. He could tell by their breathing that Harry and Janet were still asleep. The boat's rocking and rolling worsened through the night as the storm continued to rage outside so they didn't get much sleep as Janet was up most of the night. He felt her shivering as she slept next to him. He opened up his parka and drew her closer hoping it would help warm her up. He checked to see that Harry was covered…he was but he was probably as cold as he was. No need to get up this early, he thought yawning and fell back to sleep.
After sleeping a couple more hours, Lee laid there listening for the storm. He didn't hear the wind or sleet pounding against the boat. Shivering he tried to get up without waking Janet or Harry. Janet sat up when Lee moved.
"You okay?" she whispered not wanting to disturb Harry.
"Yes, just fine. Stay here, I'm going to start the generator. We need to warm up the boat if we're going to survive. I think the storm may have abated but the temperature has fallen," Lee said as he grabbed his shoes from the vent where they had put them to dry. He didn't want to venture into the engine in his stocking feet, so he removed the two pair of socks Janet had given and slipped on his shoes. They were still damp and freezing cold. Lee went to the engine room hoping that the generator would start. They wouldn't be able to run it very long but just enough to take the chill out of the boat. Keeping his fingers crossed he pressed the button on the generator, it sputtered and died. Come on baby," Lee said as he tried the button again and the generator turned on. Whew, Lee thought as he returned to the day room where Harry had woken up and sat on the couch with his parka on and wrapped in a couple of blankets. Janet also sat on the couch wrapped in several blankets. She handed Lee one to wrap up in as he took the blanket, he looked at her and noticed she still looked ill and even with all the layers of clothing she had on was shivering.
"I'll make some coffee," she said as she gathered up her blankets and headed to the galley where she would get some heat from the stove. As she made the coffee she dropped the scooper on the floor and when she stood up, she bumped her head on the bar attached to the stove that kept the cook from running into the stove in rough weather. Damn, that hurt, she thought as she rubbed her head. While she waited for the coffee, she looked over at their food supply. She had been keeping track of what they were using and noticed that all but a couple of MRE's were gone.
When the coffee was finished, she brought out two mugs. "Where's your cup?" Lee asked.
"I can't drink it," she replied. "I'm still not feeling very well and my throat hurts. I think there's tea in the cupboard, I'll make a cup of that. Unless you two got up during the night to eat, most of the MRE's are gone," she said and returned to the galley, made a cup of tea and when it was ready went back to the day room and sat down.
They could finally feel the heat radiating through the boat. It would take a while for it to get warm but they would have to turn off the generator at some point during the day to conserve fuel and restart it at night.
Lee finished his coffee and looked out the small porthole in the day room. "I'm going to take a look around the boat and see how it faired from the storm. I'll be back in a few minutes."
"Be careful," Harry said as he watched Lee zip up his parka, put up the hood and pull on his gloves.
He would start in the wheelhouse where he would get his PFD, then check the weather and compass. The weather had cleared out but is was still overcast and he could see the storm was well east of them. They were still heading in a northeasterly direction.
He went out the wheelhouse door and over to the port side of the boat where he checked the holds and found that the covers had blown open and snapped off the hinges. They weren't too full of water, so Lee knew the bilge pump would take care of the water. As he made his way to the forecastle deck, the crane and hook were still tied down. He went to the bow area, checked on the heads and bunk rooms. Everything was tight and dry there, he grabbed the blankets that were on the bunks figuring they would help ward off the cold. He made his way to the starboard side of the boat and found everything was still secure. Before he went to the aft section, he dropped off the extra blankets. Janet grabbed one and put it on top of the ones she already had on. Harry was unwrapping himself as he was getting warm. Lee went out the aft door and was surprised to find the raft gone. When he examined the ropes, he saw that they hadn't come undone, someone had deliberately cut the ropes as the knots were still on some of the pieces.
"Damn," Lee said as Harry walked out the door.
"Where's the raft?" he asked noticing it was missing. "Did you move it inside?"
"No," Lee responded. "Someone cut the ropes during the storm."
Harry sighed deeply, "I guess this guy mean business."
()()()()()()()
The two men returned to the day room, where Janet was finally warm enough to remove a couple of the blankets. She brought them the last two MRE's to eat for breakfast, along with more coffee and tea. Since the boat had stopped rocking and rolling, she was feeling better but only ate a little of the MRE Lee shared with her.
After the quick breakfast, Lee said, "Harry, why don't you continue to work on the radio as there's no sense both of us working on the radio. While you're doing that, I'll see what I can do with the engines. If we get the engines running, we won't have to worry about fuel for the generator as I saw another heater unit attached to the engines. Do you want Janet to stay with you?"
"No Lee, take her with you and the tools. I'll keep what I need. She can help you by handing you the tools you need so you aren't scurrying back and forth."
"Okay," Lee responded as he and Janet headed for the door to the engine room and Harry went back up to the radio shack.
Lee proceeded down the staircase while Janet sat at the top. He turned on the light and looked over the engines.
"This engine is nothing like the Cobra's," Lee said referring to his red Cobra Mustang. "But engines need fuel and a spark so I'll check that out first."
"Please be careful," Janet implored.
He checked the fuel line and made sure it was connected to the engine. He then noticed a small generator next to the engine and it wasn't connected.
"I might have found the problem," he said excitedly. "I have to connect the generator." He took the line and found where it should be attached, pressed it in and hit the start switch on the generator.
Janet saw a large flash of light and heard Lee yell in pain. She quickly scooted down the ladder and found Lee laying on the floor with a huge burn on the palm of his hand.
"Lee, your hand," she said as she helped him up. "Is there anything else hurt?"
"No, just my hand," Lee answered looking at the angry red mark where a blister was already forming.
"Let's get some cold water on it." Janet helped him up the stairs and into the galley where she took a bottle of water and poured it over the burn.
Lee gritted his teeth when the water hit the burn. "I'll be fine," he replied as Janet gently patted it dry.
"You need a bandage put on that. I hope Jamie has some burn cream in the first aid kit," Janet said as she walked to the day room and looked for the kit. Damn, she thought, where is that kit? I know we brought it aboard. She looked under the couch and then picked up the cushions and looked under them but it wasn't there. She went into Harry's cabin and looked around to no avail. She checked their cabin and didn't find the kit.
"Sweetie, it's fine," Lee insisted when she returned to the galley. "I'll wrap a piece of paper towel around it."
"Lee, I know we brought that kit aboard, so where did it go," Janet wondered, "it just doesn't disappear…I guess it did just like everything else."
Lee took a couple of pieces of paper toweling and made a make shift bandage. I've had to use worse things for bandages," he told her. "Let's get back to those engines. Maybe they'll start now that I've connected the generator."
Janet didn't want Lee to go back down there but knew their only chance of getting back to shore and heat were the engines. "Okay," she reluctantly agreed.
They proceeded back to the engine room where Lee looked over the engines and saw that the generator and line to the engines had been totally burned and would no way start the engines. As he looked over the burnt mess, he could have sworn it looked like someone had purposely sabotaged the generator. He headed back to the bottom of the stairs where Janet was waiting.
"No luck getting those engines started. The wiring is completely burned and the generator is shorted out. Let's go tell Harry."
Janet ascended the stairs followed by Lee. The two of them made their way to the radio shack but discovered Harry wasn't there.
"Did Harry tell you he was leaving the radio shack?"
"No, I haven't seen or heard from him since we left for the engine room. Where could he be?" Janet asked frantically.
*** All information for renaming a boat was obtained from www boatsafe com/nauticalknowhow/rename htm
