Exhale on the Water

Maddie barked in annoyance, as another small fishing boat went whizzing by us.  She is NOT fond of the loud little motors.  To me, it sounds like she is yelling SLOW DOWN!  

“Yet another fishing boat in the middle of the channel?” I groused.  As a courtesy, we consistently slow to an idle for small boats of all kinds, endeavoring not to wake them.  But when the boats elect to fish in the middle of the channel, it’s vexing. 

Roughly 400 feet in front of us, the sense of annoyance was replaced with sheer horror as we witnessed the small boat keel over, dumping the fishermen into the water.  Holy Shit, they capsized!  We could see one man clinging to a cooler, as two more latched on to the overturned boat. 

Capt. Rick was already on the radio, “Coast Guard, Coast Guard, man overboard!  Three men in the water.  NO LIFE JACKETS!  Immediately in front of us.  We will attempt to rescue them. Our coordinates are …” 

“There’s another one!” I shrieked.  Four men in the water.  Three of them hugging the hull, the fourth was still gripping a cooler to stay afloat.  Terrified of the odds, I ripped open a brand-new package of 4 life jackets (a mess I had to repair later) and scurried to the bow.  As Capt. Rick eased towards the capsized boat, I threw the life jackets towards the 4 men – with herculean effort. Success.

Ever steady, Capt Rick said, “Put on your headset. You go to the stern, drop the swim ladder, and throw them the life ring when we get close enough.”  Copy that.

From the swim platform I yelled – “Please hang on men, don’t panic, we are going to help.  Can you swim?” 

Only one man said yes! Roughly 100 feet away, bolstered by a life jacket, Alvin swam towards our boat.  With a mighty adrenalin rush I helped him climb aboard. 

With great haste I rigged the life ring to a floating line, secured the line on a boat cleat, and then told Alvin to throw it to his buddies.  The Lifeline is only 70 feet long.  There was no time to lose.  Alvin threw the perfect toss, then together we pulled in one of his fishing buddies (Charles). 

Another perfect toss and we pulled in the remaining two, father and son (Dana and Larry).

Larry Bell and family (son, Dana Gent, upper right)

Capt. Rick reported to the Coast Guard, ALL Four Men were now on board. No-one was injured.  Shaken up, we all knew they could have lost their lives. 

Apparently, the steering failed as the wheel popped off into the hands of Alvin. Spinning out of control, he was pitched into the water.  Moments later the boat overturned, spilling the other three into the salty water.

Larry Bell was lamenting over the mistake of wearing heavy, tightly laced boots on a boat, he was sure they could have been the cause of his death – since he could not untie them.

Gone: fishing gear, phones, wallets, keys, shoes, one sock, and a pair of shorts (thankfully Dana’s briefs stayed intact). 

Saved: four precious lives. 

Boat Tracks

Let me take a thankful pause here.  These are the boat tracks – and the coordinates of the incident.  Capt. Rick remained extremely calm during this ordeal.  For the non-boater fans, let me explain.  The white section is the channel.  You can see the channel is only about 100 feet wide.  The dotted line (cookie crumbs) indicates our path.  The sideways “v” shape is where we threw the life jackets, the small circle is where we rescued the men.  This was ONLY possible because Capt. Rick is such an exceptional navigator.  Thanks, Babe.  You are amazing.

Time to Exhale

As we pulled up to the dock in Vero Beach, the men climbed out of our boat, thankful to be alive. 

Then one of them exclaimed – “Your boat’s name is Exhale! That’s incredible.  Because of you, we are all still breathing!  We will NEVER forget you.”

Epilogue – A Mother’s Love

We were enjoying dinner with our dear friends in Stuart – Marty & Anders, John & Sue – when Ms. Andrea called. Roughly 24 hours had passed since the rescue. Now, an eternally grateful mother was reaching out.  Prior to her call we didn’t know the names of the men we had rescued. And, we did not take a single photo.

Alvin’s mother, Ms. Andrea Woulard, forever touched our hearts with her expression of thanks. She was extremely emotional as she recanted her’s son’s brush with death. She also assured me that he will never again go out on the water without proper life jackets. She’s a strong mother. One look at this beautiful soul and you know, life is good.

Thanks for the Facebook photos Ms. Andrea.

Celebrating Milestones. Birthdays: Steven “with a v” Hunt – October 27; Megan Ginsburg Newton, October 31; Gail Bernstein – November 3 (Go Max, Go!)

Next Stop: Clewiston – reuniting with Lit’l Houlegan.

Boat Safely my friends! Everyday above the water is cherished.

Waddles was the perfect wedding host. For those of you who have not met, Waddles has been the beloved international mascot of Megan Ginsburg – Capt. Rick’s niece – for the past 15 years.

Congrats to Megan & Mike Newton, who got married on August 21 in Ann Arbor, MI. As you can see, the bride is gorgeous, and that dress – absolutely exquisite. The groom, with his charming smile, was truly handsome 🙂

It was an exceptional gathering of relatives traveling from the states of California, Michigan, Ohio, Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee, Maine, and a few more. For Capt. Rick in addition to seeing the familiar members of the extended Satterfield and Ginsburg family, it was a rare treat to spend time with the fashionable Aunt Sally and Uncle Ernie Waxman, who never show their age!

For all of us, it was a sweet reminder that family will travel many miles to celebrate life events, and, that the bonds are timeless.

It is absolutely fascinating how the family dynamics never change, no matter how much time passes between visits. Some siblings misbehave. Some tend to cry with joy, several times. Some just dance, all night long, happy to enjoy life!

Grandpa Rick

Family gatherings are the most precious when Grandpa Rick gets to spoil  three grandkids at the same time!

Portland, Maine

Arriving back at the airport in Portland we had a special sighting.  A Moose! But wait a minute – something is extremely odd about that moose. 

DiMillos Marina – Portland Maine

While it rained heavily for several days, Exhale was safely docked at DiMillos, a walkable location with exceptional staff.  Sorry, there were no great photos taken at this location. 

Wentworth by the Sea

This hotel is reminiscent of the Grand Hotel on Makinac Island, MI – celebrating sweet memories with Gypsy and the Gillespies. Hello Doyles! Thanks for making the drive. It was nice to see you again.

Strawberry Banke, Portsmouth, NH.

The ladies (Gail, Carol and MS) went to Portsmouth, NH to explore Strawberry Banke, the oldest neighborhood in New Hampshire. No surprise, the community is built on a “bank” of elevated ground and strawberries were once abundant.

With 37 restored buildings from the 17th to the 19th centuries (that’s crazy old), ranging in size from very small to mini mansions, all but one rest on their original foundations. Amazing.

Magnificent furniture for Mija.

This photo proves tiny houses date back hundreds of years.

Strawberry Banke

Sunrise Photo

This is for Dave and Holly Lubs – we got up way before breakfast to take this photo for you!

Sunrise at 6:15 am, heading to Boston

Next up: Boston, MA – Donna and Steven with a “v”, you should be here.

Spoiler alert for Megan– special guests from the Boston Aquarium!

Doesn’t that sailboat look a little close to you?

August 2, 2021

On the VHS radio we heard “Slow moving trawler just off the lighthouse, could you give us a hand? Tow boat US is not answering our call.” 

The Hinkley sailboat was tangled up with a Lobster trap, rendering their prop immovable.  Before calling for help the hardy sailor plunged repeatedly into the brutal Atlantic waters, reportedly for over 30 minutes, attempting to cut the lobster trap free, to no avail. 

With a successful toss of a line from the bow of the distressed sailboat to Exhale (good catch, Mary), reinforced by Eagle Scout-worthy marine knots from Capt Rick, Exhale had the 48-foot sailboat nervously under tow, roughly 75 feet off our stern, with heavy seas jostling her to and fro. 

Stationed in the cockpit of Exhale, communicating with Capt Rick via my trusty eartec headset, my job was to monitor and report on the lines as we traveled toward the next port.

After nearly 3 hours of rocking and rolling with the waves, I jinxed the moment with something stupid like, “looking good from here” followed by a sudden “Oh, Shit!”

The line snapped free – no longer secured to the bow of the sailboat.  Capt Rick dropped the engines to idle. A rush of adrenalin fueled my desperation as I frantically pulled the heavy sinking line into Exhale’s cockpit – the worst possible outcome would be entanglement in our prop – leaving two boats dead in the water. 

With the line retrieved – courtesy of a serious cardio workout – the next major challenge was safely reconnecting.  First, Exhale had to maneuver as close as possible to the sailboat. Then, someone had to accurately toss nearly 100 feet of HEAVY water-soaked line from the stern of Exhale to the aggressively bobbing bow of Halcyon.  That someone was Capt. Rick, placing me at the helm of the boat.  We needed to get as close as possible to the sailboat, without injury or damage. The task was far worse than parallel parking on a hill – with a lot of blind spots – coupled with a critical line toss! Major kudos to Capt Rick who gave steady direction and remained calm and collected during this tricky operation.

Commercial Break – Deja Vu

Here’s a little deja vu / throwback moment from 2018, when we flawlessly executed a certain bread and cookie exchange – in motion – with Bushranger!

Back to our Story

Capt. Ned opted to add 50 feet of heavy line – by tying in two other lines – to increase the separation between the boats and reduce the strain on his bow cleats that secured the lines.

Exhale tentatively throttled forward as the crew (Maddie and me) resumed watch.

Winter Harbor, 4:06 pm

Our destination was the mooring field of Bar Harbor.  We all breathed a sigh of relief as the harbor came into view. In total, we towed Halcyon 21 miles, over the course of 4 hours. 

We were greeted by Scout, the dinghy from Tonto’s Reward.  Aptly named, the tender served as a Pilot boat, guiding Halcyon to the open mooring ball and helping them get secured.

An hour later, Ned and his wife Mary paddled over via their little rowboat. It was delightful to finally meet them. When asked if they could sponsor a nice dinner for our troubles, Capt Rick smiled warmly and said thanks, but no thanks.  Instead, he asked, “Do us a big favor, when the time is right – pay it forward. “

By the way, Ned, a VERY experienced sailor, never seemed rattled by the ordeal. It turned out he had borrowed the 60 year-old, pristine, sailboat. Excuse me, but WHO loans out their classic Hinkley? Clearly the owner was very chill, evidenced by the definition of Halcyon:

halcyon [ˈhalsēən] ADJECTIVE denoting a period of time in the past that was idyllically happy and peaceful.”the halcyon days of the mid-1980s, when profits were soaring.” synonyms:serene · calm · pleasant · balmy · tranquil · peaceful · temperate · mild · quiet 

Finally, a shout out to Heroes Jim and Susan, who paid it forward when they rescued a boat in distress during the loop; and towed it for miles and miles and miles. On the continued theme of pay it forward, we leave you with the t-shirt of the day:

Next Stop: Bar Harbor, Maine

We are enjoying life, at a much slower pace than we are accustomed to – due in part to the lack of cellular service for Verizon customers . . . So far, the Maine Event has been absolutely unforgettable. Ah yes, that brings us to flower question from the prior blog post.

Thanks to everyone who responded. Special mention goes to Grant.  We know your forgetful buddy Archibald loves to clown around. Next time consult with Betty, who would advise you that the Forget-me-not is the official state flower of Alaska, my beloved home state.  Winner, winner, winner – my dearest hometown friend Adnerb, miss you so much!

Pretty Marsh

We have been spending more time at anchor – capturing beautiful sunsets.

Maine is well known for it’s Lighthouses, like this one in Tremont

Seal Cove

Aptly named, we anchored out next to the seals. These seals departed when the fishermen arrived. (8 second video to be added at a later date …).

Southwest Harbor

Capt Rick has been on a quest for the best soft serve ice cream, which is not easy to find. So far, the winner is in Southwest Harbor where the chocolate actually tastes like chocolate!

“What’s up, butter cup?” One of Capt. Rick’s favorite sayings – although this might be the first time he has ever seen a field of the flowers!

Little Cranberry Island; Islesford, Maine

A dink ride to Little Cranberry Island took us to the popular Islesford Dock Restaurant.

The food was good, the service was even better. We took a brief stroll up the hill, in quest of the local post office.

We heard some crazy trivia about how this post office ranked #1 in the sale of postage stamps in the U.S, I am guessing per capita, which would not take much given the resident population is a mere 65 (Wikipedia: 2013 data).

Look at these antique mailboxes!  True Story:  A long time ago, I served as an unpaid high school intern at the local Post Office. In Seward, AK we had the exact same kind of boxes, with a spin combo or maybe three letters.  Yes, we read every postcard that we received, and yes, it was like Mayberry, where the post office staff gossiped all day long about the comings and goings of the whole town – resident population roughly 2,000.

Seward’s Lydia Jacoby Wins Gold!

On the topic of Seward, AK Congrats to Olympic swimmer Lydia Jacoby, she won gold in Tokyo for the 100-meter breaststroke.  The 17-year old athlete is Alaska’s first Olympic Swimmer!  You are right, swimming in AK is not a common sport.

Roque Island – Lobster Mania

Not on the original itinerary, we heard about this secluded island from Sean at KYC.  Rarely crowded, it was a quiet haven, with a white sandy beach – a rare sight in Maine.

These lobster boats were rafted together – a strange site, indeed.  As we drifted by with Maddie in our dinghy, the friendly fishermen told us there were LOTS of freshly cooked Lobsters on shore, “Please join in and eat as much as you want.”. Wait, what did you say?

Most of the folks were done eating and had moved away from the food tables as we were offered to partake in their “leftovers”. Then we saw the GIGANTIC steaming pot – with more than 20 cooked critters remaining. Next to the pot were the carcasses of more than 100 lobsters that had already been devoured. wow. Wow. WOW! Let’s just say our Maine Lobster craving was more than satiated.  Sorry I don’t have photos – trust me, it was a delicious buttery mess.

Now Capt Rick is raving about how Roque Island, Maine is “the very best gunk hole, ever” possibly de-throning Cayo Costa from its long-standing perch (Don’t’ worry, Donna, Caryl and Gail; Pelican Bay is still #1 for me).

A New York Minute

Happy birthday to my beautiful niece Carly – so excited you and Austin are in New York supporting Alisha’s latest movie project! Mija, your costumes are absolutely exquisite, of course!!

Celebrating Milestones. Birthdays: Andrea Davis and Carly Maurer, August 3; Weston Wayne Sumpter Straley, August 4;  Tanja Elliott, August 6; David Hendry, August 10; Romeo and Ruby, August 11. Anniversary: Mike and sue Gillespie, August 13.

Next Stop: Bar Harbor