by Liz Alden
“Want to see the chart?” He pointed to the screen.
“Sure.” I sat up to look at it.
The display showed a map in orange and blue, and Jonas explained where we were: a small boat icon in the middle of the screen. He touched some buttons and the view zoomed out. There were a whole bunch of shapes—rectangles with a point on one end—out beyond the coast.
“What are those?”
“This is our AIS—automatic identification system. All big ships have it, and most bigger sailboats do too. It broadcasts information about your boat—location and course—to other boats. These icons are all the big ships out at anchor.”
He zoomed out further. There weren’t dozens of ships . . . there were at least a hundred!
“What are they all doing?”
“They are waiting for their turn in the canal. Just like we will be.”
“Wow. That’s amazing.”
“It costs time and money to go around South America, so unless the ship is too big, it will be going through here.”
“How big is too big?”
Jonas shook his head. “They build ships specifically to fit in the Panama Canal. I do not remember how big. Hundreds of meters, maybe.” Jonas pulled back on the throttle and shouted at the rest of the crew on deck. “Time to anchor!”
We approached the rear of a small cluster of sailboats. Eivind gave Jonas the okay and walked to the bow of the boat. Elayna came to the gate at the lifelines and watched Jonas.
Jonas carefully steered the boat to approach the back of the catamaran Starry Horizons, which had been at the marina too. I’d met the owners, David and Amy, a young American couple, while walking the docks with Edith.
Eivind and Jonas worked together to drop our anchor. When we were set, the brothers gave each other another okay, and Jonas shut off the engine.
“Wow, you make it look easy.”
Jonas smiled. “Lots of practice.”
The crew all came back to the cockpit, and we settled in to wait. It was 2:20, and Jonas said he expected the advisor to be late.
“Lila,” Elayna said, “I understand you have been playing dominoes at the marina. Would you teach us?”
Fourteen
I taught them how to play Mexican Train dominoes. Jonas played but stayed near the radio. He talked to the other boats waiting, who confirmed they had not heard from the canal yet.
Finally a call came for one of the other boats. We listened in as they were told the pilot boat was en route to their location with the advisor on board. We watched as the pilot boat came up to the sailboat and an advisor hopped onto the deck.
The pilot boat came our way, so Jonas opened the gate. The advisor stepped on board. Jonas shook hands with him, and they retreated to the cockpit where the rest of us sat.
The advisor introduced himself and shook our hands. “I am Manny,” he said. “We’re going to have a great passage today, yes?”
“Yeah!” Eivind threw out a fist, and we all chuckled.
“It’s easy, so easy today. I know the guys on the tugboat—they are a great crew. We will make sure that everyone is safe, yes? We will take good care of the boat.” He clapped Jonas on the shoulder, and Jonas smiled nervously.
“Let’s go talk about your setup.” Manny and Jonas walked out onto the deck of the boat. The rest of us trailed behind. “This side you will tie up to the tugboat. You need three lines: bow, stern, and spring.” Elayna walked over to where the dock lines had been stored when we left the marina and picked out three lines.
“Who will be on this side?” Manny asked Jonas.
“Eivind and Elayna,” Jonas said, pointing.
“You two will pass the looped end over to the tugboat, and when the crew of the tug has secured the lines, then you cleat off on your side. Okay?”
Eivind and Elayna nodded.
“When you are done, come over here.” Manny led us to the other side of the boat. “You will fend off the next sailboat on this side. You two”—he pointed to me and Marcella—“you will catch the lines from the other sailboat and put them on your cleats. Yes?”
I nodded, but glanced at Eivind. He smiled encouragingly.
Manny clapped Jonas on the shoulder again. “The sailboat next to you will take care of themselves. Any questions?” We shook our heads.
With a radio clipped onto his shoulder, he called the canal and told them we were ready. “It will be a little while,” he said apologetically. “Let’s wait in the shade.”
We were going to be doing a lot of waiting.
Jonas and Manny talked strategy a bit, and Eivind listened in. Manny’s radio went off occasionally, and he’d listen to the Spanish chatter and then return to our conversation, picking right back up where he’d left off. I fidgeted with the hem of my shorts. Opened my book. Put it down. Walked the length of the boat to the bow, looking at the anchor chain angling down into the sludge of the harbor.
Eivind came up to join me. “You okay?” he asked quietly.
“Manny said we put the lines around the cleat. Can we practice that again?”
Eivind chuckled. “Actually, the boat will pass you a loop, just like we will pass to the tugboat. So you just have to feed the line under the lifelines and put the loop around the cleat. It is really easy.”
“Oh.” My shoulders slumped in relief. “That is easy. Okay.”
“Plus, once my line is done, I will come over and help you.”
Manny called out from the cockpit. “That’s the big ship going in with you.”
A cargo ship came in from the ocean. One tugboat was in front of it and another behind.
Nervousness forgotten, I gasped. “Oh my God. It’s finally happening!” I grabbed Eivind’s arm and shook it. He laughed. We watched the ship pass by, listening to the engines of the tugboats and watching the army of crew on the decks going about their jobs.
Jonas called out to us. “Time to go!”
Fifteen
Eivind took off for the bow again, and I went with him to watch him work. When Jonas gave the signal, Eivind grabbed a remote from the locker underneath us. He pressed a button, and the chain started to retract into the boat. The clacking was the links of the chain hitting the crank.
Jonas and Eivind raised the anchor, and we motored toward the canal.
I stayed out of the way while the big fenders were moved to the port side of the boat. Soon we approached the huge concrete gates and entered the first lock that would lift us up. We got to our stations, with me in the starboard stern, close to Jonas. Eivind waited across from me, on the port side.
My heart pounded as Eivind and then Elayna threw the lines to the tugboat. Then Eivind pulled on his line, wrestling Eik closer. He strained, biceps bulging and causing my heart to stutter.
“Eivind!” Jonas called. “Cleat off!”
Eivind wrapped the line around the cleat and secured it. He walked forward to where Elayna was still pulling her line in.
“Gently,” Manny said to Jonas.
Together, Elayna and Eivind pulled Eik into place and tied her off. Jonas and Manny walked the side, checking fenders and lines before Manny radioed in for the next boat.
Eivind joined me, and we watched Starry Horizons enter the canal. The boat approached us from behind, pulling up close.
It wasn’t so much a throw as a pass. Amy swung the line toward me while the boats were less than a meter apart. I pulled the loop outside the lifelines and hooked it onto the cleat. Amy took up the slack and pulled it tight. The boat slid toward us sideways, gently nudging Eik.
David and Jonas shook hands and grinned. They walked the length of the boats together, both checking the lines and fenders, making adjustments as needed. When they gave the okay, the advisors for each boat radioed in.
I had met David and Amy, but not the rest of their crew, who, like me, had flown in to participate in the canal. We made introductions all around, shaking hands over the rails of our two boats.
The advisors of the two b
oats talked together, the radio crackling between them. “Okay, guys, the gate is closing.”
Both crews slipped to the back of their boats to watch the gate close. It moved quietly; if Manny hadn’t said anything, I might not have noticed.
We all waited, fidgeting on the decks. I glanced down to where the water swirled beneath us, and pointed. “Look!”
“We are up two feet already,” Manny said.
“What, really? It’s so quiet.”
The water continued to swirl and formed a little whirlpool behind us. I kept my eyes on the measurement marks on the side of the wall, and sure enough, the water level rose.
“This is so cool,” I said. I may have been geeking out a little, but everyone else around me grinned too, even Jonas.
A squawk on the radio signaled the lifting was done. We waited for more movement. Finally the engine of the big ship in front of us throttled up, and a storm of backwash kicked out from under its stern.
Eik and Starry Horizons swayed backward as far as their lines would let them. Both crews scrambled to their positions, checking lines and fenders. With Starry Horizons being pushed back, my line was slack.
The advisor on the catamaran gave David instructions while Manny did the same for us.
“The catamaran is going to detach from us and fall back. When they are clear, we will detach from the tugboat, and fall back as well. The tug unties and goes forward out of the lock. We will follow him into the next lock and do the same thing we just did. Okay?”
We nodded and reported to our stations. Amy untied her line, giving me some slack to take it off the cleat.
“See you soon!” she called, laughing as they motored backward.
When we were loose from the tugboat, we backed up too. I watched David pivot his boat away from us, giving Jonas more room.
“Fucking catamarans.” Eivind smirked.
“What does that mean?”
“They have two engines. They can turn on a dime. He’s just showing off now.” Eivind winked at me.
When the tug was clear, we motored through to the next lock and tied up. This time Amy was at the bow, so one of the guys tossed the line to me instead. He missed, and the loop splashed into the water.
“Hurry!” David called out from the helm. His friend pulled the line up and heaved it at me again. This time the toss was good, but I got slapped with wet rope. Eivind chuckled next to me and, once I got the loop on, I wiped my face off on his sleeve.
He grunted and laughed, pushing me away.
We sat together at the stern this time, dangling our legs over the back of the boat and watching the gates close. The water swirled again. We raised, detached, and did the whole thing one last time before motoring through into Gatun Lake.
We cheered and high-fived, but Jonas looked grim.
“Marcella, get started on dinner. Elayna, help with the lines.”
I stood with Eivind. “What’s going on?” I asked him.
He grimaced. “We have to tie up to the mooring ball.” He pointed to a large disk floating in the water with a metal loop on top. “It’s not a regular mooring ball, and we have to share it.” He shook his head. “This is going to be complicated.”
I stayed out of the way as best I could. Eivind ended up jumping onto the mooring ball, which was big enough for him to lie down on. He ran lines from the bow and stern to the loop at the top, and when Starry Horizons came up to the other side of the mooring ball, we passed lines from bow to bow and stern to stern. A web of lines secured us all together.
Marcella had been busy cooking a Thai green curry dish, which Elayna bowled up and brought into the cockpit. We all—Manny included—ate quickly and quietly.
It was nearly seven o’clock. Jonas’s eyes were lined with exhaustion and there was a slump to his shoulders. Eivind watched him carefully.
Elayna brought up a bottle of sparkling wine. “A toast!” she called out, popping the cork.
Eivind narrowed his eyes at her but accepted a glass. Raising it up, he said, “To Jonas. Great job getting us through today.”
They hugged and slapped backs, and we downed our wine—all except Manny, who couldn’t accept a drink on duty. Shortly after, his pilot boat came and Jonas walked him out to the gate and shook his hand. We all shouted and waved goodbye from the cockpit.
Eivind started rounding up empty glasses and dishes. “Okay, time to clean up and go to bed. It is an early morning tomorrow.”
I grabbed a stack and followed Eivind behind, while Elayna whined, “It is barely eight. We have plenty of time.”
Eivind ignored her and set Marcella to washing dishes while he cleaned the table in the cockpit. I dried the dishes and chatted with Marcella and we all tried to ignore Elayna’s sulking.
Jonas had disappeared into his cabin, and he returned with a pillow and sheet. He passed Eivind and squeezed his shoulder before heading up to the cockpit. Eivind’s eyes followed Jonas, worry creasing them.
Sixteen
The next morning I woke up early, before everyone else. I crept out of my bunk quietly so as not to disturb Marcella, and poked my head out of the companionway. I spotted Jonas sleeping on the bench seat of the cockpit. A softly lit sky greeted me, and the sun peeked over the edge of the horizon.
A weight on the stairs settled behind me and a hand came into view on either side of me. Eivind gripped the handrail, and the warmth of his front pressed into my back through my clothes.
He whispered into my ear, “God morgen.”
I turned my head a little and smiled at him. Eivind’s warm breath brushed my face, minty fresh. He let his nose tickle my cheek just in front of my ear.
“Is Jonas okay?” I whispered.
Eivind looked at his brother and sighed. He rested his chin on my shoulder. “My brother is a good captain, but anyone would have been stressed yesterday. And he worried about this mooring. It is not comfortable. Hopefully, he slept enough out here, but I doubt it.”
“Should we start making breakfast, or will that wake him up?”
“Mmm . . . I think not yet.” Eivind brought an arm around my waist, pressing our bodies closer together. We stood for a few moments, cuddling in the doorway of Eik.
Eivind was an award-winning snuggler, even standing up. On the stairs, I stood a little bit taller than him, and he could perfectly nuzzle the curve of my neck. I leaned back and tilted my head. Eivind took the invitation and pressed a soft kiss into my neck that sent butterflies fluttering in my belly.
And then he nipped my neck. I moaned. He inhaled sharply and we pressed into each other more, and his hardness pushed against me—
“Eivind, what are you—” Marcella called from below. “Oh shit! Sorry!”
Out of the corner of my eye, Jonas stirred and blinked awake.
Eivind huffed a breath of laughter and squeezed me close one more time before letting go.
“Time to make some breakfast.”
We motored through a river of chocolate milk. Our new advisor, Diego, had come on board Eik after breakfast, and we had untied from the mooring and departed. We had several hours of motoring through Gatun Lake ahead of us before we would arrive at the second set of locks. Marcella and I played card games while Eivind drove the boat. He’d shooed Jonas down for a short nap while there was still time.
Diego was a quiet man, a contrast from the sociable Manny. He spent most of his time doing paperwork in the cockpit. After an hour or so Jonas came back up and took over again. Eivind sat down next to me, holding a book, his other arm behind me and his fingers absentmindedly stroking my shoulder.
Marcella and I had finished our game—I won—and I leaned back and tucked myself into Eivind’s side.
“Whatcha reading?” I tapped the open page of his book.
“I am trying to improve my English.” He showed me the cover—a young adult novel.
I looked up at him. “Your English is excellent.”
“Thank you.” He hugged my neck a little harder. “I feel co
mfortable talking, but I would like to read and write better. Have you read this one?”
I shook my head. “I enjoy young adult, but I prefer to read romance.”
“Mmm.” Eivind winked at me.
I smiled and let him go back to reading. I closed my eyes and drifted for a few minutes, listening to the hum of the engine and the sound of Eik’s wake.
I did have something I needed to do—book a hostel for the night. I grabbed my phone and pulled up some booking sites.
“Jonas, where exactly will you be dropping me off tonight?”
“Tonight?”
“Yeah, so I can book a bed.”
Jonas looked at Eivind, who listened closely. “Lila, stay here tonight. Stay as long as you want. You can save yourself some money.”
I looked at Eivind. “Are you okay with that?”
He squeezed me a bit closer. “Of course. We like you.”
“Thank you.” I kissed his cheek. “I appreciate it.”
“Besides,” he said. “You made me a promise . . .”
I snuggled back into Eivind, the flutters of anticipation tickling my belly.
Finally we approached the second set of locks. Starry Horizons waited, but the other boats coming through had not caught up to us. Jonas kept the boat drifting near the entrance, occasionally moving us upstream again and letting us float back down.
The small cruise ship we were waiting for arrived. It was five stories tall and a few hundred feet long, a miniature version of the cruise ships I had seen before. The ship entered the lock and tied up. When our advisor gave us the go-ahead, we motored up and tied on. Starry Horizons followed us and we were all secure.
However, our big ship hadn’t arrived yet. It was going to come in behind us, so we waited. We resumed playing games, reading, chatting with our neighbors, whatever we could do to occupy our time. Some of the cruise ship passengers leaned over the rail and struck up a conversation with us.
I glanced over my shoulder; our bigger lock companion had arrived, a massive cruise ship approaching from behind. There wasn’t much room on this side of the canal, and I suspected the other side also had a narrow gap. The Panama Canal mules lined up: small locomotives that ran on a track and hauled the big ships forward. They were named mules because, before the rail existed, actual mules pulled the ships around. The bow came closer and closer until it finally towered over us and I had to crane my neck to take it all in.