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"Poor bastard" Owen was saddened to find that the weevil they had been chasing had inadvertently slammed into a large walk-in freezer, then turned to exit with extreme panic while the huge door was still swinging shut and it's neck had been neatly snapped.
"It was quick" Ianto sympathized, not liking to wee his friend upset over something not his fault, "Hey. Wanna hear about one time something similar happened to me?"
Owen perked up instantly, helping bag the weevil and then Ianto took him for fish and chips by the water, looking out over the bay with the ships coming and going in the distance. Owen waited as he knew prompting sometimes got a shorter story as Ianto needed time to collate his thoughts. Jack had joined them and was currently pouring sauce over his portion of chips, careful to keep them separated from Ianto's.
"See these ships, the big international buggers?" Ianto asked and Owen nodded wiping his mouth with the back of his hand eagerly, the story beginning. "Well, I once worked on a large commercial trawler, well. I did a lot of fishing back in the day, I love the water. Anyway, this particular one was a long hauler, a factory boat that netted the catch, processed it and packed it down. There were about twenty of us on it, big and grumbly but she was a looker. A pretty girl."
"Why are boats girls?" Owen asked.
"I don't know, never asked one" Ianto replied, enjoying Owen's snigger, "Maybe because they are a fisherman's girlfriend? The other woman the wife can never really get him to give up?"
"Hmmm" Owen considered. "Really"
"Traditionally, they were named after a significant female in the man's life like his Mama or wife." Jack answered, his knowledge coming from space ships as well "Maybe it goes back to ancient times when they carved the boats over the course of years, giving them figureheads and stuff. A female name like one of the goddesses? They say a woman on a boat is bad luck yet they are female. Maybe that's why, only one woman allowed?"
"Full of seamen?" Ianto supplied and Jack blinked. Then roared with mirth.
"Anyway, whatever the reason wee man, she was my pretty Red lady" Ianto smiled as he continued the story, Owen now excited, "A westerly blew in and there was a freak wave, hitting broadside. Equipment in the factory shifted, people were thrown about and this is a big boat that didn't register normal hits so we were unprepared as the water tore off the bulwarks. Water started to flood in and another wave hit, men were screaming as they ran for the lifeboats but it was too rough. The only hope was to close the hatches and hope she remained watertight as she got the dunking of her sweet life."
"Like a boat to a submarine?"
"Sort of. A boat is similar in that she is mostly watertight. Of course her Achilles heel is her hatches and stack." Ianto said then watched Owen frown so he corrected, "The chimney. The hatch for the engine room is most important as it is the heart, kill the heart and the beast dies. You must seal the engine room so she can keep the pumps going. I ran for that, sliding and slipping about, cursing up a blue storm as sailors do."
"You don't now."
"I'm not a sailor now Owen sweetling" Ianto scolded, "Do keep up. Do you really see me in cable knit?"
Owen snorted and waved a hand for him to go on.
"So, first I slammed shut the metal hatch door for that section to seal it from the rest of the boat. Once through the hatch I slithered through the scuttle, a smaller hatch in the floor that drops into the engine room. It was at this point another wave hit and apparently it jarred the backbone of the ship enough to shake the scuttle door loose from its hinged latch that held it open against the wall and it slammed shut with an almighty bang."
Ianto slammed his hand back on the bonnet of the SUV they were sitting on, Owen squeaking as he felt it resonate.
"I was still on the ladder and the scuttle came down on me head. Gods, the last think that went through me head…bar the scuttle handle…. Was bugger" Ianto said as has rubbed the top of his head as if remembering the pain. "I dropped like a stone, dead with a broken neck before I hit the grating and I have no idea how long I lay there flopping about like a fish in my death throes. I woke to find the boat listing, the scuttle not securely latched so water was coming in from another entrance to the main area. I clambered up the ladder and turned the handle."
"Like a big round one? Like on the telly" Owen was turning his hands in a circle and Ianto nodded to show he had it right.
"Some doors are round, some rectangular with curved corners. Yeah. Well I have no idea what I looked like after we limped into port and I was able to open the scuttle and hatch doors. A real blood mask. I loved that boat."
"She nearly…huh. She did kill you" Owen said with a frown, "But you went back?"
"Don't be silly of course I did. The boat didn't hurt me, the sea did. Look out there, see her beyond the bay? beautiful and deadly Like a huge ancient creature lying in wait. Every now and then she will choose a boat and eat it. Crunch munch, crackle and pop. Nothing to do with the boat or her crew. Can be the safest boat, the best crew. The pissiest mood of the sea and she just whomps it down. No, don't blame the boat. She is what cradles you in the night. She rocks you to sleep with her soft lullaby of groans and slapping water."
"You make is sound so romantic" Owen sighed as he looked out over the water again, "Like…another world."
"It is Owen" Ianto sighed back, "Something you can't explain in words, either you are borne to water or you are not. Not everyone is but those of us who have stood in the deck of a vessel with nothing but the blue all around them know the beauty and solace of such a place. Another planet out there. Yeah."
Jack glanced over at his lover and realized it had been something he had missed, Ianto's past stories about fishing as well.
"Let's take the "Sea Princess" out for a spin later" Jack said after a while "Open up her throttle and see how she goes with that new filters you installed."
"Sea Princess?"
"Yeah, the little sister to the 'River Queen' she moors next to in our inner docks" Ianto smiled, "Really? We have those reports and…"
"bullshit. Let's do it. Owen? Wanna take a little speed boat out and zoom about like nuttas?"
Ianto looked at his love and smiled, reaching out to snag his hand as Owen bustled about cleaning up the empty parcels and prattling on about footwear.
The sea sounded perfect for the digestion.
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Brose1001 nice prompt and I was glad to run with it. My oldest brother has been a commercial fisherman for nigh on thirty plus years and he has been on everything from large factory boats to wee three man putters. I have been on some of them with him for a look, clambering about and getting wolf whistles while he snarled and gnashed his teeth to tell them I was off limits. One of the first English things a Russian Defector on his crew learned to say was 'Veedle Seeesta' while also puffing out his chest and pointing at me. Rick has narrowly escaped death with doors closing or winch malfunctions. Also, he had been overboard near the Arctic Circle … the dweeb can at least swim unlike many fishermen. Such is the high risk paid for having such a cruel temptress for a mistress. We have lost many friends and had empty coffin burials for those she keeps at her bosom. My brother has traced out pakeha (eurpoean) side back to the Vikings so it's in our blood I suppose, add to that Maori were sea voyaagers who found this land and settled as well it was natural that he loves it so.
Youtube it … Grey River Bar Greymouth New Zealand and see some of the crossings … my brother is on some of those boats bobbing about it the waves and yes, I have been too. Exhilarating and terrifying. I am a landlubber it seems.
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Scuttle: A smaller, sealable, opening in a larger, heavier door or hatch.