CH 45

By the time the bus came for the students, it had clouded up and a light rain had began. There was a restaurant next door from the Dairy Queen. The family decided to go grab some lunch, then go see the aquarium. Kaede talked to the DQ manager. For a small fee, they could leave the Sea Witch at the dock where it was for the night. Going back to the boat, they got their rain gear on and had lunch, then called a taxi-bus to take them to the Mystic aquarium.

Seeing all the exhibits at the aquarium was a blast. The dolphin and beluga whale shows were especially exciting. Walking around to see everything, they were there until dinner time. Knowing they needed to restock food, the girls and Jeff went to a grocery store, Ron, Kouta and Duncan went to find a place to refill their fuel tank and found diesel fuel here wasn't that bad in pricing, compared to Europe. A fuel truck even came down to the DQ dock to fill them up.

While the fuel truck was filling their tank, Duncan noted another couple braving the rain to come look at their boat.

"The Sea Witch?" the man asked Duncan. "Is this your boat?"

"My daughter's. We're on a family trip," Duncan told him. "I'm Duncan McLeod."

"Randy Taylor, this is my wife, Grace."

"Pleased to meet you," Duncan said pleasantly. "You're interested sailing?"

"We have our own sailboat, the Mischief Maker," Grace replied. "It have to say, yours looks like an older design."

"It is old," Duncan admitted. "It just came out of a complete drydock refit. They did a good job on it."

Randy eyed the Sea Witch and said, "Wow, that must have been expensive!"

"More than chump change," Duncan said with a smirk.

"It looks wooden," Grace noted.

"It is. Mainly oak and mahogany. Would you like to see inside?" Duncan asked.

Randy nodded. "We'd love to! Our boat is all modern materials. Composites, fiberglass , and I noted you don't have solar panels."

"Nope, that's why we needed the fuel truck," Duncan said and motioned for them to follow. "Come on inside and get out of the rain."

Going on, they met Ron coming out. Ron waved. "Hey guys. Duncan, we're full, Kouta's going to get the bill."

"Wow," Randy said softly as he looked at the helm. Touching the wheel with the grip handles, he asked, "This is real brass?"

"It is. All the metal fittings are brass or stainless steel," Duncan explained.

"This boat has to be worth a fortune!" Grace said reverently.

Duncan laughed. "It's not cheap." He opened the rear hatch and ushered them down the mahogany stairs.

Going below, Randy and Grace petted the polished woodwork, which was everywhere. Duncan explained, "The boatyard took care to restore everything to as original condition as possible, except for modern navigation and a new self righting keel system. The 100 HP diesel engine and generator was an upgrade too."

Absently, Randy said, "This isn't just a sailboat, it's a yacht."

Duncan grinned. "I thought my daughter was nuts getting this, but so far, we've had good time sailing."

Grace looked at the bunks and said, "It's set up more like a crew compartment than a bedroom. How many people do you have here?"

"Me, my wife, our daughter and her husband, their three kids, Nana's boyfriend and of course Captain Ron." Duncan then pointed up at the teddy bear in a hammock. "Our youngest granddaughter likes her hammock. When we went through that storm, she was just about the only one who didn't get sick."

"You do have a full crew," Randy said. "I saw you don't have any solar panels, how do you recharge your batteries?"

"We have a generator on the diesel," Duncan explained. "That or if we're in port, we can hook up to shore power."

"It's really a yacht all right," Randy said. "I gotta say, you have a beautiful boat here."

Ron came down the stairs. "The girls are back, it's stores load time. Kouta's helping them unload."

"I should go help too," Duncan said. He turned to up the stairs and saw Ron open the hatch and step aside.

"Open the doors, frige and freezer, me hands'r full!" Inari called down.

Duncan ducked to the side into the kitchen area and opened both doors. "Ready hon!" he called up.

Randy and Grace moved back as full grocery bags floated down the stairs, followed by a red head. The bags turned the corner into the kitchen. Inari, carrying two more bags, saw them and said, "Greetin's Ya wanna move back some, we got a line comin down."

Behind Inari, four more bags floated, following her. All the bags set down on the deck as Inari was arraigning and putting things away.

"Dig you see that?" Randy asked, eyeing the floating groceries.

"Mom, I got the dry goods, kin I git ta the stores room?" another woman called as more bags floated down the stairs.

"Fill the one on the port side first," Inari called.

"Aye." The woman that followed, and was being followed by more bags was pink haired under her rain hood. Grace also noticed her red eyes when she greeted them briefly before opening a few sliding doors covered rack on the walls.

Grace gripped Randy's arm. "Do you know who that is?" she asked in a whisper.

A young Japanese woman came down next, holding an armload of clothing store bags. "Excuse me," she said politely and slipped past Randy and Grace to go to the last bunk on the left.

Two boxes came down the stairs, with a purple headed girl following them. She called, "Gramma, where do you want the boxed stuff?"

"Pass it over me to yer grampa," Inari called back. The purple haired girl looked at Duncan. The boxes floated over Inari. He caught them and began filling shelves back there.

"Jeff! I'm getting wet!" a young voice cried.

"I'm going as fast as I can, Kaene, have some patience!" a young man said as he came down, carrying a couple bags. Right behind him was a toddler.

Kouta came in from the forward hatch, shutting it behind him. "Hello," he said, making Randy and Grace turn to him.

In a bow, Kouta said, "I'm Kouta Kikumura."

"Yes, Kaede's husband," Grace said eagerly. "This is my husband Randy. We just came to see your beautiful boat."

"Kaede?" Randy asked, looking at his wife.

"My wife, Kaede. Have you met everyone yet?" Kouta asked.

The toddler appeared by the ceiling over Randy. She sat on her hammock and looked at Kouta. "Dad, can we go get some more ice cream later?"

"After dinner, hon. We're going out to that restaurant next door, so make sure you're cleaned up."

Randy was getting confused. Things and now a girl was floating in the air. Grace had stars in her eyes. The previously empty cabin was filling up to the point of being crowded.

"Grace, Randy, please have a seat," Kouta coaxed, motioning to the table. They sat down, he got by them and went to help Kaede put things away.

The little girl who had been up in her hammock that was above a bunk, floated down to sit on the other side of the table.

"Hi, I'm Kaene! Who are you?" she asked.

"I'm Randy, this is my wife, Grace. How do you do that?"

"Do what?" Kaene asked.

"Float through the air," Randy said.

Kaene pulled her rain hood back and said, "We all can! We can row the boat really fast too!" she beamed.

It was then Randy saw the horns on her head that were painted with flowers on them. He stared.

Kaene frowned at him. "Are you OK, Mister?"

"Kaene, I got your stuffed dolphin," Mayu called and held the stuffed toy out.

Kaede looked at Mayu and held her hand out. The dolphin flew over into her hand. "Thank you, Mayu." She then showed them her dolphin. "This is Jumper, he's my new stuffed animal. Up in my hammock is Sammy, he's my new stuffed sailor bear. I got him in Charleston at the Market street."

Kaede and Kouta came over to sit on either side of Kaene. Kouta asked Randy, "Have you two eaten yet?"

"We just wanted to see your boat, you had it rebuilt?" Grace asked.

"We did," Kaede replied. "When I first got it, it was a wreck! No masts, all the paint was peeled, the inside was waterlogged and leavin the harbor in Belgium, we no more that got in the channel and the motor blew! Had ta paddle me ass across the Channel."

Grace gaped at her. "You paddled this boat? Like, by hand?"

"Wasn't gonna move any other way."

"So, you basically had the whole thing rebuilt," Grace concluded.

Kaede grinned. "When I made landfall, I asked the boatyard man if he could just take it out and sink it. He assured me it was worth salvagin. Glad I did."

Randy and Grace laughed. "No one helped you?" Grace asked.

"Fitzcarin, the guy I got the boat from, showed me where to go," Kaede said dryly.

"Wow, big help, huh?" Grace asked in a giggle.

Kaede rolled her eyes. "Yeah, HUGE help. He did gimme the boat, so I can't complain too much."

"Guys!" Inrai called. "Everyone got things stored?"

A chorus of, "We do!" sounded.

"Then let's go eat!"

Duncan was on the phone. He hung up and said, "We're set, they're gonna join a few tables tagether fer us."

"Randy, Grace, ya comin?" Kaede asked as they all got up.

"Ahhh we really can't. We just came by to see your boat," Randy said.

"Storm's here," Ron called down. "Better button up!"

"And stay taether!" Inari added.

They trooped out. Kaene floated Jumper up onto her hamock so he wouldn't get wet. Kaede was the last one out.

Up on deck, the wind was howling. Ron and Duncan paused to double up the lines on the boat. When they were all over on the dock, Randy noted another curious thing. Around the grouped up family, the wind and rain was passing over and by them. Inari stood in the middle of the group.

Going over into the group was like walking inside a tent. They all walked down the dock, shielded from the weather. At the end of the dock, they went their separate ways. The family waved as did Randy and Grace. The family went left to the restaurant. Randy and Grace went straight back towards the parking lot, and got hit in the back by the wind and rain, making them stumble forward.

"Holy shit!" Randy gasped as the weather hit them. He looked back at Kaede's family. Now, he could see the invisible umbrella covering the group. "WHO are they?"

Grace pointed, they ducked into Dairy Queen. In the entry, Grace said, "That was Kaede Kikumura and her family. You don't know who that is?"

"I work computers, not social media," Randy reminded her.

"Some call her the Witch. Other have different names for her. She's the one who gave those aliens a hard time and kicked them off the planet when they first arrived. She destroyed their bases and wouldn't let them come back until they promised to behave and stop killing humans," Grace explained. "Randy, she's like the most famous person on the planet! WE got to meet her."

He watched the family walking safely in the storm and said, "OK, yeah, she named her yacht The Sea Witch. Very fitting."

Grace tapped him in the chest and said, "I'm going to call the new room. Maybe I can head this story and get some exposure. The Witch visiting us here has to be newsworthy."

.

Due to the weather, the restaurant wasn't very busy. Their tables were put together and Kaene got a booster seat. The had a nice dinner with steak and lobster, with a couple seafood platters for snacking. Kaede did note the meal cost more than the fuel for the boat.

The wind and rain were still going full strength during desert. The waitress let them know of a small craft advisory that was put out, warning all ships of the storm. The advisory was active until noon tomorrow.

"So, we're stuck here," Kaede concluded.

"Naw," Ron said, "It's an advisory. We can still leave if you want."

"We're staying until the storm's over. We ain't goin back out inta it," Duncan said firmly.

"I doan wanna get tossed around again either," Mayu added.

"Duncan's right, we stay til it's over," Inari agreed firmly as she eyed Ron.

"We leave after the storm does," Kaede stated.

Ron held up his hands in surrender. "I'm just saying."

.

This dock had no services, so the batteries were getting low even with just the small LED lights on. Duncan started the engine in an idle to charge the batteries and put the full interior lights on.

It was a lazy evening. Since they were in port, they doubled up in the shower. Since there was little privacy on board, Duncan and Inari took their shower together, and took a little longer. Kaede and Kouta did also. Nana and Jeff were next. Mayu was a little upset she had her shower with Kaene, and not a turn with Jeff. Captain Ron stayed t the restaurant longed to have a few drink with a blond. Duncan only hoped he wouldn't have to go retrieve him from a police station again.

The Chinese checkers were broken out, Jeff, Nana, Mayu, Kaene, Kouta and Kaede sat around the table and played a game. Duncan and Inari laid in their bunk. Duncan read a while, then joined Inari in slumber land.

Just past the dock, a news van pulled up. From between the front seats, Grace pointed and said, "Right there! It's the Sea Witch, Kaede Kikumura's yacht. They gave me and Randy a tour. That boat is an older classic, and all wooden. It's gorgeous on the inside!"

"You know it's her for sure?" the reporter in the passenger seat asked.

"Yes! Who else can make groceries float along in the air. Even her little girl can lift herself up into a hammock five feet off the floor! When we came down the dock, they had this … invisible shield over us, keeping the wind and rain off. I'm telling you, it's really her!"

"This weather should break tomorrow, and I doubt she'd be in a mood for an interview tonight. We'll come back in the morning," the reporter told her.

.

With everyone getting a full night's sleep, the adults were up in the morning. Getting some coffee, they agreed that since they had to run the engine anyway and they needed to start making fresh water, they may as well head out. The rain had tapered odd to a drizzle, and the wind was only a few knots. Kaede and Inari took on the line handling before they went below to make breakfast. Kouta and Duncan stored the lines as Kaede and Inari pushed them away from the dock. Ron drove them out and down the river.

.

Grace was eager to get a crew together and get back to the docks in Mystic. The manager didn't come in until 8AM so they could get approval for the interview. By the time they got everything in the van and went to the dock, The Sea Witch was gone.

.

Making Long Island sound and out to sea, the wind blew them along at an easy 8 knots. The swells gently rocked the boat, but not enough to bother anyone. After breakfast, Inari made sure the new large crock pot was secured in place and made the New England clam chowder receipt she'd gotten.

In the engine room, Kouta checked the engine and generator. The batteries were charged, but they were still making water so he let the engine keep idling. They only had 75 gallons of water in the 250 gallon tank. They were going to need to run 'the still', as Ron called it the next couple days to catch up. The still was not the official name for the machine the took sea water and de-salted it by boiling water, then condensing the vapor into fresh water, but Ron explained that with some work and some ingredients, they could make moonshine as well. That was why he called it a still.

Before noon, the rain stopped and the sky cleared up. Eager to look for more whales, the family came topside and took up lookout positions to find any sea life around them. Having lunch topside, it was Inari who pointed and asked, "What's that?"

In the distance dolphins were plating around a tall thin mast in the water. The mast raised farther to show what looked like an upside down boat. It raised farther up and kept growing as it headed west, then a long low hull appeared.

"It's a submarine," Ron told them.

Kouta got a couple pictures of it as it went by. Tiny orange clad figures appeared on the front of the sail, but were too far away to actually see the people on it.

"Are they going to see the Horseshoe crabs too?" Kaene asked.

"Munchkin, there's a Submarine base in Groton, not far from where we were," Ron told her. "They are probably headed home."

"Why didn't we stop there?" Kaene asked.

"We can't use their docks, military only," Ron explained.

"At least we got to see one," Kouta said.

Although they didn't see any whales, dolphins did come to play around the boat, and they saw a couple other fishing boats as they went along. The wind stayed steady and clouds drifted by overhead, but light clouds, not the dark storm clouds.

Three days out, the wind picked up, giving them 11 knots. The shy also became cloudier. Off to the south there was a rain squall, but nothing major They watched it, but the storm didn't come close.

Kaede was learning her navigation skills at the helm with Duncan when Ron popped his head up. "Kaede! I need you down here," he said firmly and went back in.

Duncan took over the helm. Kaede followed him down to find him in the chartroom on the radio.

He looked at a chart and said, "This is the Sea Witch, we are 87 miles from that position. Is anyone closer?"

"Negative Sea Witch. The Rook is reporting flooding. Currently, they have lost their engine, but still have a drain pump running. The engine room is filling, and leaking into other parts of the craft. They are attempting to contain the flooding. They expect to loose battery power in the next five hours. That will kill their pump. How fast can you get there?"

"Wait one," Ron replied, then turned to Kaede. "We got a boat going down. To get there in time to save them, we'll need everything we got, engine running max and everyone who can, rowing. That will still take us just short of four hours to get there."

"Then we should get moving," Kaede told him. She then yelled down into the cabin. "Mom, Nana, Kaene, we need you topside, now!" To Ron she asked, "Heading?"

Ron rechecked his map. "Tell Duncan to steer 135, stow the sails, engage the engine full throttle. Then row like these people's lives depend on it!"

Kaede nodded and disappeared.

Ron keyed his mike. "This is the Sea Witch, we are heading for the stricken vessel, top speed. ETA is approximately four hours."

Kaede told Duncan the course then got the fore'sle down and stored. Inari came up and helped her stow the main sail and get the boom centered. Nana and Kaene came up, Inari put them near the bow then took the mid ship position by the main mast. Ron came up with the radio headset on.

"Guys!" he yelled, "To get there in time, we need everything you got! Duncan, watch the radar, we need to know when we're getting close."

Kaede got in the back and fixed herself in place. "All right girls, A ship is sinking and we need to help them! Row as hard as you can! We got 87 miles to cover and less than four hours to do it!" She then dug in and stated paddling with her arms as wide and long as they would go.

Ron Keyed his mike as he went back down. "This is Sea Witch. Do you have a drift factor for the stricken vessel?"

Duncan stayed on the course and watched their speed rise quickly. Ron popped his head up and asked, "Course and speed?"

"135, 26 knots and climbing."

Ron ducked back in. He popped up again to say, "Change course to 134, stick as close to it as possible." Then duck back in again.

Nana called, "Jeff, we need rowin music!"

Music sounded : Ain't no stopping us now

Speeding up they crashed into the waves. Seeing Kaene was getting soaked with every wave the bow plowed into, Dancan yelled, "Kaene! Go down, get some dry clothes and raincoat on!"

"Grampa, I gotta row!" she cried back.

Kaede yelled, "Kaene! Row after you go do as Dad says!"

Kaene got up with a whine and went down the forward hatch just behind Nana. A couple minutes later, she came back up, and took her place to keep rowing.

Duncan noted their speed, 31 knots. For a sailboat, they were hauling ass. He wondered how long they could keep it up.

An hour went by and they stayed hovering between 31 and 32 knots. The second hour, they were still holding 31. Coming upon the third hour, they were slipping down to 30. Duncan noted Kaene was looking stressed. "Kaene, take a break." he called.

Inari echoed, "Kaene, stop, we're going to need you later. Go below an rest a bit."

Kaene did. When she got up, she looked exhausted. Duncan noted they were still making just under 30 knots. By quick calculating, he figured they had another 30 miles to go. "We'll be there on an hour!" he announced.

"Row harder!" Inari called.

In the back, Kaede picked up as much as she could and still hold onto the boat. "Dad, how fast!"

"Just over 30 knots."

The sun was getting low on the horizon. The running lights and cabin lights all came on. Finding a sinking boat at night was going to be tough. Kaede pushed water behind them as hard as she could.

At the two and a half hour mark, Duncan saw a tiny dot in the radar screen. "I got a contact, ahead and just to the left."

Ron came up and nodded. "That's them, steer straight for them." He then noted the sun was dipping below the horizon and went hack down to come up with a search light. He keyed his radio. "This is Sea Witch, we have the ROOK on radar, seven and a half miles out. ROOK do you copy? … ROOK do you copy?" He then spat and said, "ROOK isn't answering, they must have lost power."

Closing on the dot, Ron had them stop rowing a mile out. He had Inari begin searching the now dark water for them.

"We should be there," Duncan noted.

"Everyone on deck with flashlights!" Ron called. "Find that boat, a life boat, something!"

Midship at the rail, Kouta pointed his light and called, "THERE!"

Soon, Inari was searching in the spot Kouta called flashlights alwo lit the area. Barely visible, the top of a boat was bobbing in the waves. A flashlight waved at them.

Ron motioned to take the Helm. He turned the boat around to head into the waves and towards the stricken boat. He keyed his radio. "This Is Sea Witch, we have the Rook in sight, they are deploying their life raft. The Rook is going down. We can see two adults and a child."

Ron throttled back and moved behind the sinking boat, then slowly approached it. The three people were in the life raft. Their boat slipped beneath the waves. Coming close, Ron cut the engine and reversed to stop beside the lifeboat. The woman was crying with joy. Inari and Nana picked the boy and his mother up out of the raft, then Inari got the father out and on deck. They hugged Inari and Nana.

Ron keyed his mike. "This is the Sea Witch, we recovered three people from their raft. That was all on board, correct?… You're welcome. Where do we take them?" Ron powered the engine up to put some speed on.

Getting the family down below, Inari sat them at the table. Kaede got blankets for them, they were wet and cold.

"Thank GOD you came!" the man said. "I'm Peter Covington, this is my wife Mary, and our son Daniel. We were in a rather tight spot. I wasn't sure you'd get here before our boat went down."

"We tried like hell ta," Inari said. "Weren't sure we were goin ta make it."

Kouta ducked his head in from the aft hatch. "We're going back under sail. Sir? Captain Ron wants to talk to you in the chart room."

"Peter Covington," he replied and got up to go talk to the Captain.

Mary was just now noticing that Inari had horns on her head, as did the purple haired girl.

Daniel was move vocal. "Are you related to the Witch?" he asked.

Inari chuckled. "She's me daughter." She then introduced everyone to the new arrivals then asked, "What happened?"

Mary sadly said, "The drive shaft seal failed, Peter tried to fix it, but it broke apart letting more water in. Peter and I tried to contain it in the engine room, but the deeper it got, the more places it kept finding to get out. The pump couldn't keep up, and shortly before you arrived, we'd sunk low enough that waves were splashing into the back and the power died. We had no choice but to abandon it before it sank." Casting Inari a stricken look, she said, "We saved so long to get that boat … and now it's gone."

"At least you still have your lives," Inari assured her. "Hungry?"

"I am!" Daniel said.

"We were about to have dinner anyway. I'll just set a few more places. Beef stew sound good?" Inari asked.

Daniel nodded heartily.

.

Peter Covington talked to Ocean Rescue and explained what happened, and noted where their boat sank. The chart room was only big enough for two people. Kaede sat on the steps outside the room, Ron was inside with him.

"Pet'r where were ya goin?" Kaede asked.

"Brighton Marina, it's just east of Brighton, England. Wouldn't be headed that way, would you?"

"We're goin right past it. We kin stop an drop ya off," Kaede told him.

"That would be fantastic, Ma'am," Peter said with a smile.

"Name's Kaede. I'm just glad we got there ta pick ya up."

"Radio Brighton and let them know Peter and his family will be coming?" Ron asked.

"Aye, lad. We may as well stay the night there too," Kaede told him. She went down and checked on Mary and Daniel. She got Daniel a cup of hot chocolate. For Mary, she made a hot toddy. Handing them out, Daniel thanked her. Mary thanked her then sniffed the cup and asked, "What's this?"

"A Hot Toddy," Kaede said. "Shot'o single malt, hot water an a teaspoon of honey. It'll warm ya right up, lass." Kaede then made a hot Toddy for Peter. She gave to him as he came down from the chat room.

"This is good," Mary said. She took another sip and added, "Really good."

.

Colonel Richard Covington of the Royal Air Force got good news. Only hours ago, a mayday had come in of a boat in trouble mid Atlantic, south west of Iceland. It was the ROOK, his son Peter's boat. Working with the navy, assistance was scrambled, but it would take time to get anyone to that location. The closest form of assistance was another private boat. Registry had this boat as the Sea Witch, out of Brightsea. Even being close, the Sea Witch was a sailing vessel, not a power boat. At nearly 90 miles distant from the Rook, it was doubtful a sailing vessel could get there in time before the Rook went down.

Amazingly, The Sea Witch made the 87 mile journey in just under 3 hours. The Colonel kept close tabs on the rescue. After covering an incredible distance in short order, Peter's family were picked up by the Sea Witch under Captain Ron, just before their boat went under. His son's family was safe, and on their way to Brighton. Wanting to know more about the ones who rescued his son, he had the information about the Sea Witch looked up.

The Sea Witch, 46 foot sailing yacht. Recently bought and restored by Dame Kaede Kikumura. Captain Ron acting Captain. On a return leg of a trip around the mid atlantic. Last stop, Mystic Connecticut, USA. Next stop changed from Brightsea, England to Brighton Marina, England. Passenger list : Duncan McLeod, Inari McLeod, Kouta Kikumura, Kaede Kikumura, Nana Kikumura, Mayu Kikumura, Kaene Kikimura, Jeff Cowell. Recently added passengers, Peter Covington, Mary Covington, Daniel Covington.

Richard sat back and smiled. Yes, no wonder the Sea Witch covered so much distance so fast. Dame Kaede had used her magic to rush there and save his son. He planned to have a grand reception for them when they got to Brighton Marina. The media had to know of this amazing rescue.

.

Due to Maritime law and proper documenting, The events on the Rook and the Sea Witch during the rescue were noted down carefully, as were their locations and distances covered. This information was also given to the media when asked. The data was compiled and investigators and investigative reporters came to a stunning conclusion. For the Sea Witch to get to the Rook in the time allowed, they had to be travelling at a minimum of 30 knots against a crosswind. That kind of speed came from speedboats and warships, not sailing vessels. The Sea Witch was found to be fitted with a 100 HP diesel engine. Not near enough the power required to push a 46 foot, 42 ton yacht at such high speeds.

Before the Sea Witch got near the coast of Ireland, a helicopter overflew it. Everyone waved and the pilot and cameraman in the back waved back before flying off. They got video of the boat sailing along with full sails at a reasonable 8 knots with people lounging on deck like any other boat that size. There were no large exhaust ports for a hidden monster engine, nor more than the normal square footage of sail for that size craft. Nothing to indicate that boat was capable of travelling as such a blistering speed. Curiosity mounted in media and in the Royal Navy. It seemed impossible for the Sea Witch and her crew to do what they did, but every fact confirmed it happened. Besides Colonel Covington, news agencies and the Royal Navy were also eagerly awaiting the Sea Witch to hit port so their burning questions could be answered.