Chapter 11~ Race Against the Ice
Rollo listened to his captain as he enforced discipline on his crew. First Rollo had learned that his crew had miscounted the crab, costing them a hefty fine for going over. Then the coast guard informed them that they had to empty their tanks completely and they were forced to sell the crab at under the market prices. Rollo was pissed, his captain was pissed and pretty much everyone else was pissed. Rollo would enjoy teaching his crew a lesson later out at sea but for now he was content to let his captain dress them down.
Back in Dutch, it was discovered that Cornelia's crewman had suffered an ankle sprain and it was a bad idea to go back out to sea. But Millman was a tough man and instead of remaining on shore, he decided to do the only thing he could do aboard a boat, play cook. Cornelia wasn't sure if this was a good idea, it would be better if he stayed on land but Millman would hear none of it from either his ship or his captain and so Cornelia sailed out with her full crew.
Maverick had spent the past two weeks fishing on a sandbar when he was forced to move south off phenomenal fishing due to the approaching icepack. The fishing here was good as well but now he'd have to leave it. The crab from the northern grounds had been in his tank for nearly 2 weeks. If they weren't offloaded soon, they'd die and the processors didn't pay for dead crabs. Maverick sighed. "So much for good fishing." He grumbled as he set a course for St. Paul. On the way he passed Rollo who looked thoroughly pissed off. "What's got your prop in a twist?" Maverick asked. "My crew miscounted the crab and I was forced to pay a heavy fine and sell the rest of my catch for an under the market price!" Rollo spat. "Bad luck." Maverick murmured sympathetically. "Teaching your crew a lesson?" He asked. "I've been thinking about it but I don't know what to do." Rollo replied. Maverick leaned forward and whispered quietly "Sometimes the old ways work the best." Rollo smiled. "Thanks for the tip." He said. "No problem." Maverick replied and the two went on their way.
Northwestern was just about fed up with everything. The long hours were taking their toll and while Sig promised them a rest, none seemed to be forthcoming. At one time she wouldn't have been that bothered by it but now she just wanted to go home and be with her shiplings. "I know old girl." Sig sighed. "I know how you feel. We all have families we want to get back to but there isn't much we can do about it right now." Northwestern sighed, blinking hard. It must've been the wind that was making her eyes sting, yes that was it. "I hope we can get done soon." She murmured. "We all do." Sig replied.