(And Outside)
"It's a storm. A huge storm. And it's bearing right down on us."
Donna paled as she took in the size of the radar return. She scrambled back out of the cabin to the tiller. "Everyone up," she yelled. "All hands on deck."
Quickly she gave instructions as everyone poured sleepy-eyed out of the cabin. "Penny and Bernadette, get the main sail down all the way and the cover over it. Then help Leonard set the storm jib up front. Howard stand by the engine, we may need it. Amy and Leslie over there," Donna pointed at a compartment built into the side of the cockpit, "there's a heavy canvas cover for here." She indicated the space around her and pointed to brass stanchions all around the cockpit. "Get it out and start lacing it in place. Sheldon," she hollered at the only adult member of the crew besides Raj who had not put in an appearance. "Close the forward hatch from inside the front cabin and dog it down."
"Do WHAT to it?"
"Turn the locking lugs to the closed position. Then check the portholes in the main cabin and make sure they are all closed. And everyone get on your lifejackets."
Amazingly there was no outburst from the cabin by Sheldon. A few moments later Donna saw the front hatch close and even over the steadily building wind she heard the locks click. Even more amazingly immediately after that Sheldon was heard correcting the childrens' donning of their life vests and actually reassuring them. Maybe she wouldn't have to drop him overboard after all.
The rest of the friends scrambled down into the cockpit and then into the cabin. Donna had donned a safety harness that should hold her to the boat unless and until it shattered. Penny handed her a thick rain proof jacket and hat. As Donna started to pull the cover up around her to her surprise she saw her cousin don a similar outfit after fastening herself into a second harness.
"What are you doing?"
"You might be the greatest seafarer ever, a combination of Captain Cook, Christopher Columbus and Horatio Hornblower, but you are NOT going to be able to handle the boat single-handedly. So here I am." Suiting her actions to her words the blonde took her place beside Donna, snugly fastening the cover that should help keep water out of the boat around them.
Just in time. For the darkness in front of them blackened to completely blot out the stars and the crescent moon.
"It's as black as the Earl of Hell's waistcoat," yelled Donna. "But that won't last."
Penny thought that would be a good thing. At first. When the first blot of lightning split the heaves and plunged somewhere into the ocean ahead of them she would have gladly had the darkness back. That would have concealed the towering swells, the angry dark clouds and the coming band of rain. She couldn't comment though because the first blast of wind hit them and snatched the words from her mouth.
She was right though. It took both women to hang on to the tiller and keep the bow pointed into the teeth of the storm. Originally Penny had half wondered even during the few minutes of frantic preparation why her cousin hadn't spun the boat and made a run for it. It was clear that they never could have escaped and the blunt stern of the boat would have made a much better target for the terrific gusts of wind and the pounding waves.
"I never thought all that time at the gym would be used like this," she thought to herself. Beside her she could feel Donna's muscles bunching as she threw her strength and Penny's into the desperate struggle to keep them from being ridden down by the storm. Breakers smashed against the bow and water cascaded back along the deck to be diverted back into the ocean by the stout cover around them. The wind slapped at their faces, making it almost impossible to see the sea that was now continually illuminated by constant flashes of lightning.
Donna and Howard had come up with little belt radios with headsets so whomever was at the helm could communicate with the operator of the radar, depth finder and hopefully satellite uplinked computer. In the last minute realization that any exposed electronics would be hopelessly drowned Raj had snatched up a piece of flexible tubing originally designed to do who-knew-what. Routed through a small porthole at the back of the cabin one end was jammed between the two girls where both could bend their heads, and ears, to it. At the other end of the improvised voice tube Raj shouted instructions and gave description of the storm's activities as best he could.
Hours went by. It seemed like days. Twice during slight lulls Leonard crawled under the cover to them to pass them coffee, hot soup and protein bars. It was shortly after the second trip that the storm reached its peak.
Penny leaned over, pressing her lips close to Donna's ear and the speaking tube.
"Donna. The mast!"
The Coast Guardswoman could only nod. She too had been watching it whip back and forth, bending alarming. Even scarier was the mount where the aluminum shaft bolted the base to the deck was showing signs of tearing loose. It had been a calculated gamble, leaving the mast and the storm jib up but they had needed the leverage of the small sail to help them hold the bow into the face of the storm.
"Raj?"
"Yes Donna?"
"Have Howard stand by the engine. I think we might need it."
"Okay." There was a pause. "He says just give the word."
For a few more minutes the girls continued to watch the mast and hang on grimly to the tiller. Then Penny lifted her head. Like her cousin she had been crouched down as much as possible under the canvas cover. Only their heads had been exposed and as much as possible those were bent forward to keep as much spray out of their faces as they could.
"Donna? Is it just me or is it getting lighter?"
Even as she yelled she realized that the wind was beginning to drop as well. She could clearly hear Donna now without shouting.
"I think it's breaking up and I think dawn is near."
"We made it?"
"Looks like it."
Donna would have to admit later that of all the words she had said in her life that tempted fate none where more ill-timed that those three. For even as Penny looked around and suddenly froze, her face ashen in the morning light Raj all but screamed from the cabin.
"Donna! Something bearing about thirty degrees off the bow to port. Something huge!"
The Coast Guard's face turned as white as Penny's. She wrenched the tiller and yelled back.
"Howard. Start the engine. NOW. Full power."
The diesel engine roared, blowing smoke from the fantail. "Thank God." She still didn't take her eyes from the sight. Death, in the form of a towering wall of water, was coming for them.
Later on research and discussion would conclude that this was actually the backwash from the titanic wave that had smashed into the coast of China and many other places along the far side of the Pacific Rim. What the original mega-tsunami must have looked like they couldn't even imagine. But right now they had all they could handle with the remnants.
While she was busy thanking God, and Howard, about the engine starting immediately Donna had a couple of other things to be thankful for. The first was that the wave was coming from just slightly to one side. Already the boat was responding to the tiller and she felt sure they would be ready to meet the wave bow first when it reached them. Had it come from right off the boat's beam they would have been in serious trouble.
The other good thing was that although the wave towered in the sky it was not showing any signs of developing a crest yet that could catch them and flip them as they neared the top. The slope was scary but Donna thought they had a chance.
The engine roaring they charged the wave. Donna yelled for everyone to hold on, knowing at the same time that if they failed that the life jackets she had ordered donned would be no use at all.
Up they climbed, as though the water was a rock wall they were scaling. Cries of alarm erupted from the cabin as the people slide along the increasingly steeped deck. Donna prayed that Howard was holding on. Thank God again; diesel engines are fuel injected, a carburetor engine would have choked out by now. Along with Penny they held the tiller in a death grip. The bow rose further. The sight of the wave was being replaced by the sky.
Just as they almost reached the top there as a "Ping" as a guy wire for the mast snapped. It was followed by another and yet another. Then the mast was falling; straight towards them.
"Duck Penny!" Donna shouted. Measuring the falling aluminum tube she decided it would just miss her but her cousin was in jeopardy. And what would happen after the first impact?
The pair had loosened the canvas cover as the storm had died down. This gave Penny the room she needed to drop below the sides of the cockpit and roll out of the way. Barely. The impact made the stern bounce wildly and called forth even more shouts from the rest of the group. Then the boat shuddered, the bow dropped and they were sliding down the back side of the wave into astonishly calm waters as though the wave was pushing the storm ahead of them.
"Penny. Penny! Are you alright?" Donna struggled to push back the cover that had deflected the water throughout the night. Since the mast lay on top of it the job wasn't easy.
"I'm okay," came the muffled reply and then a tousled blonde head poked up through the open cover. She surveyed the tangle of wires and ropes. "What a mess."
Laughter bubbled up inside Donna so strongly for an instant she worried she might be hysterical. Calming herself she leaned down and yelled for Howard to cut the engine. The two girls looked at each other and then dove into the cabin where Penny embraced her husband and squeezed their new daughter between them while Donna clutched her two children.
Sighs of relief and grins were exchanged all around. Even Sheldon seemed to be subdued. By complete mutual consent everyone took a few minutes to fix coffee, already dwindling but definitely needed after the night they all had, and then breakfast. Sheldon was astonished to find that on Oatmeal Day it was actually available.
After eating everyone turned to checking the boat and starting repairs. The mast seemed hopeless but the booms were saved and Leonard and Leslie carefully gathered up the loose wire and ropes and all the gear that could be salvaged. Howard checked and rechecked the engine and its mounts. Everyone else besides Donna and Penny cleaned up the cabin and stowed the invaluable canvas cover.
The two girls went swimming. That is they spent over an hour in and out of the water inspecting the hull. Amazingly there was little damage and none that could not be repaired, Donna having laid in a supply of items for just that purpose.
Once order had been restored Raj fixed their position and the group gathered around the deck to debate how they might rig a make-shift mast and get under way, once they knew where they wanted to go.
It was while they were discussing the availability of land that Leslie climbed up on top of the cabin and braced her, shading her eyes with her hand.
"What is it Leslie" asked Donna.
"I'm sure it's nothing," grumbled Sheldon who, end of the world or not, was NEVER going to forgive the female physicist for winning his Nobel Prize with Leonard any more than he had ever forgiven her for correcting his equation on his white board once. The fact that she was right was completely irrelevant.
"I think it's a boat," Leslie replied, paying no mind to Sheldon.
Donna dived into the cabin to emerge with a pair of binoculars. She sprang up beside the shorter women and looked through the lenses.
"It IS a boat." she lowered the glasses and looked grim. "A capsized one."
Penny held up a wetted finger. "Well if we can rig that mast we can sail right over to it."
"Let's get started."
(To be continued)