Chapter 8: Overboard
The Northwestern plowed through the choppy Bering Sea. In less than twenty-four hours, the waves had begun to rise to over twenty foot swells. The sea spray smacked the deckhands in their faces and made walking on deck a balancing act.
Sarah chewed her bottom lip in frustration and uncertainty. The weather reports seemed to grow worse and worse as the hours ticked away. She felt something inside her screaming to turn back. Her Norwegian instincts were kicking in and she battled against them, knowing that turning back would mean a delayed start for the Northwestern and money and time down the drain.
She hesitated a moment before she picked up the radio and called Rick on the Maverick.
"Hey, Rick?" she said, "You there? It's Sarah."
"Hey!" said Rick, sounding happy to hear her voice, "What's going on?"
"The forecast isn't looking too good and I'm beginning to second guess staying out here. Where are you guys? Did you leave Dutch yet?"
"Yeah, we left an hour after you did. We're actually headed your way to drop our first string. We're staying out here and risking it. We can't afford to waste all of our fuel heading back to Dutch for a day then coming back out another day."
Sarah sighed in resignation but soon made up her mind.
"Alright," she said with a determined voice, "We'll stay out here so long as you guys watch our backs and we'll watch yours."
"No problem. We'll be within sight of you in a few minutes."
Sarah hung up the radio and turned to look back down at her crew. They were just beginning to launch the first pot over the side of the boat.
"Don't forget the tradition!" yelled Sarah over the intercom.
Alex and Jake grabbed a herring each and bit off the heads. They chewed on them for a minute while the rest of the crew tried to not lose their breakfast over the railing.
Sarah laughed at the spectacle and watched as the first pot slid off the boat and into the Bering Sea.
DCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDCDC
A few minutes later, the Maverick came within view of the Northwestern. They were a few yards away dropping their first string.
"Well what do you know?" said Alex, obviously displeased, "Isn't it a coincidence that the Maverick is fishing alongside us? Now I wonder why they'd do a thing like that?"
"Shut up, Alex," snapped Jake, "That's getting old."
"So is our skipper dating that traitor!" retorted Andrew, speaking up for his best-buddy Alex.
"He's not a traitor!" snapped Amy, in defense of her friend, "You can't judge him for what his dad did! That's not right. If you judged me by what my dad has done, you'd have a completely different view of me!"
The deckhands paused to give her a curious look.
"My dad was a drunk," said Amy, looking away awkwardly, "He got into drugs too and got really messed up. He cheated on my mom and walked out on us. If you judged me by his actions, then you would all hate me. So it's the same with Rick. Just because his dad was a jerk, doesn't mean his son's the same way."
The deck grew quiet and still for a moment.
"What do you all think you're doing?" snapped Sarah from the wheelhouse, "Are we gossiping or working? Because it sure doesn't look like work to me, but that's just from where I'm standing."
Jake smirked, "Sometimes I think she sounds more like Sig than Edgar."
Alex muttered something under his breath as he leaned over the rail. Just then, a massive, twenty-five foot wave rose up from behind them.
"Wave!" screamed Sarah over the intercom.
But it was too late. The deckhands did not have enough warning. They all hit the deck and dove for cover under anything they could find. Alex whirled around only to come face to face with the towering wave. It hit him like a semi-truck and he felt himself get ripped off the railing and thrown off the boat. As he hit the freezing cold Bering Sea water, he felt himself gulp with shock at the bitter cold. His breathing became rapid and he floundered helplessly as the next wave pushed him further away from the boat.
"Alex!" shouted Jon, "Alex is overboard!"
"Man overboard!" shouted Jake as Sarah whirled around in the wheelhouse to count her deckhands. Sure enough, Alex was drifting rapidly away from them in the rising seas.
"Get your survival suits on and get a life ring!" shouted Sarah, voice high with fear, "I'm turning the boat around to get him! You need to be ready to go in after him if we have to!"
Sarah switched over to the main radio and began to shout desperately into it.
"This is Sarah Hansen on the Northwestern! We have a man overboard, I repeat, we have a man overboard!"
On the Maverick, Rick picked up the transmission and whirled around to look out his wheelhouse windows. The waves were sending Alex straight for his boat.
"Guys!" screamed Rick into the intercom, "We got a man overboard on the Northwestern! He's heading right for us! Someone get on the rail with a life ring, now!"
The deckhands scrambled and managed to grab a life ring. They tossed it over the rail and it landed a foot away from Alex. Alex was growing increasingly numb from his bitterly cold swim and barely managed to latch onto the life ring. The deckhands reeled him in and pulled him onto the Maverick.
Sarah watched from her place in the wheelhouse and breathed a sigh of relief as she saw Alex go onto the Maverick.
"The Maverick got him!" she announced to her crew, "They got him!"
She paused and pulled the radio away from her for a moment.
"I hope he's going to be okay…"
PLEASE REVIEW!!
Hey guys! I can't remember if I told you or not, but I now have an account on : /mahonechic89
I'm working on two stories there if you want to check them out!
Thanks for all the reviews!
Erin and Erica, thanks again for reviewing! I know I can't reply to your reviews since you don't have accounts, but I still like to let you know how much I appreciate you sticking with the story!!
NOTE: Jane Minatti just posted a new story! It's the Ultimate Showdown one that she's revamping. It sounds like it's gonna be good!!
I'll update ASAP, but it is the last week of school for me so it's pretty crazy right now…but if I get any more free time, you all know I'll be typing away!