SS Pacifica

by Coleinger, Ronnie

  We did not have to wait very long for the rains to start. We let the rain wash the hull around the water collection hatch for a couple of minutes, and then opened the hatch and let the water start flowing into the first jug. We had eight jugs to fill, so we would be at this for a while, unless it rained extremely hard. As long as the lightning or waves did not get to bad, we would stay on the surface until the jugs were full.

  As I watched the storm through the viewing windows in the stern hatch, I could see the storm moving towards us. The lightning did not seem too bad yet, but the rain began coming down extremely heavy. I could see Becky working below me to fill water jugs so I went down to help her. Within an hour, we filled all of our water jugs. We now had enough water to make it all the way to the Falkland Islands. Once we closed up the water collection hatch, we dove again. We were certain we had drifted a long ways from where we originally found a sandy place to set the Pacifica-Two on the bottom. It was dark, so we could not see the bottom. We did not want to set the vessel down on a rock or a ledge, so we decided to turn the bow in the direction the currents were moving us and ride out the storm. The depth gauge said we were in water over six hundred feet deep, so we did not have to worry about running aground. Grandfather’s compass said we were drifting due south. When Becky plotted our GPS position on the map, it appeared we would travel west of the Bromley Plateau.

  We discussed our options and decided to keep the stern hatch viewing windows just above the surface so we could monitor the storm and continue drifting south. I took the first watch and Becky crawled into bed. She needed some sleep and I was wide-awake, so the choice was obvious. While I watched out the windows, I thought about Charlie. He was now ten years old and would soon lose his father. That was a sad thing to consider.

  I could hear Becky slowly breathing below me. She had not slept well after getting the news about Charlie’s Father, so I let her sleep. I was one of those people who could take a couple twenty-minute naps and be just fine for a couple days. I would catch up on my sleep later when Becky had rested. As I sat and thought about the remainder of our trip, I realized we would have many days with very little to do. The trip around South America would be long and tiring. We would have to find things to keep us occupied.

  As I watched the approaching storm out the viewing windows, a huge bolt of lightning struck the surface of the water a few miles away. When the clap of thunder hit the Pacifica-Two, it sounded like someone had hit the outside of the vessel with a sledgehammer. Becky was instantly on her feet and trying to figure out what had happened. I talked to her, explaining that lightning had struck nearby and that I was taking the Pacifica-Two down a hundred feet or so below the water. I realized that lightning bolts this intense could penetrate the hull and cause severe damage.

  Once I had the Pacifica-Two settled out around one hundred feet, I kept an eye on the compass needle and tried to keep us moving south with the rudder. The current was moving us along so I really did not need to waste power running the propulsion motors. I decided to remain at this depth for an hour, then raise up closer to the surface and see what was going on outside. If the storm had passed, I would like to set the sails and get back underway. Becky soon settled down and went back to sleep. I decided to allow her to sleep through the night. I napped occasional, but tried to remain awake.

  I waited until it was almost time for the sun to rise before surfacing. I moved towards the surface slowly, but could see the bright sunlight above me as we climbed upwards. When the hull cleared the surface, I opened the hatch door and realized the ocean had calmed and there was a gentle breeze coming from the northwest. I blew a little more ballast water from the tanks so the hull rode at a good height in the water and then began taking the sails and tack up to the deck. I had the mainsail hung and set when Becky came up on deck. I watched her climb down to the swim platform with her bar of soap. Once she had finished doing her business and bathed, using a small pail of water to rinse, she carried the pail and soap to the cabin. When she returned and stood drying herself with a towel, she said, “Stanley, I will fix us some breakfast and then you can sleep for awhile if you want. It appears you have been up all night. Thank you for allowing me to catch up on my sleep. I think my nerves have gotten the best of me lately.” Once I had the foresail set and adjusted, I checked our direction with my GPS. I then brought up the solar panel to charge the batteries.

  While Becky fixed breakfast on the deck, I took my bath on the swim platform. I heard Becky giggling and looked up to the deck. She was sitting on the edge of the deck with her feet hanging down. I asked what she was laughing at. She giggled again and said, “It is amazing what cold water does to a man.” I walked over to where she sat, reached up and pulled her down off the deck and into my arms. She giggled and said, “I have little to fear from that weapon you are sporting.” As I slid her down, I pressed her back against the hull as she wrapped her legs around my hips. Her knee length tee shirt had slid up and now her bare body was against me. She took a deep breath as my manhood slid easily into her body. She rested her head on my shoulder and said, “Oh my, that really feels good standing up like this.”

  As we washed, Becky asked, “Is there any reason we need to portage while visiting the Falkland Islands. I was reading some of the journals from sailors who visited the islands and most found no real reason to spend any time on land. The islands beauty can be best seen from the sea.” I told her that we would run out of supplies around that time and would need to restock at some point. She said, “I would like to stop before we get to the Falkland Islands and then sail around them so we can take pictures and have a good time.” I told her that we would do some more research, find a marina along the way and stop there.

  Becky and I spent some time on the Internet whenever we had cell phone service to run our Internet air card. We soon discovered that making a portage on the Falkland Islands was just not something we wanted to do. After doing some research, we decided to stop at a well-known marina in Uruguay. Once there, we would carefully stock the Pacifica-Two with groceries and supplies, and then sail around the western coast of the West Falkland Island archipelago. We knew that the Falkland Islands were rich in wild life and would allow us to see penguins, seals, albatross, porpoises, dolphins and with any luck, some whales. If Charlie had been able to join us, we would have anchored in a harbor and picked him up, but now that he was not joining us, we decided to do things a little different.

  As we anchored in the Uruguay marina harbor, we discussed with the harbormaster where we could purchase groceries and supplies. The man said that we could rent a golf cart at the marina and drive it to the shopping center. The harbormaster spoke broken English, but we suspected that most everyone we would meet in this area spoke Spanish. As we tied up our dinghy to the docks, we entered the marina and paid our docking fees. We also paid for the rental of a golf cart. When we stepped outside to get the cart, one of the employees showed us how to operate the vehicle. The controls were in Spanish and it took Becky and me a couple minutes to get the hang of which control did what. We soon discovered it was just a golf cart and certainly could not be too difficult to operate. The man pointed down the road and explained where the market was located. We went back into the marina and asked where we could convert US Dollars into Pesos. The manager quickly did the conversion for us.

  When we got to the store, it was very small, but had everything we needed. We loaded everything into the four backpacks and placed them into the golf cart. As we headed back towards the marina, we saw a pickup truck sitting alongside the road that was selling fresh fruit. We stopped and decided to buy some apples, oranges, pineapples, carrots and sweet potatoes. As we loaded everything into the golf cart, we counted out the money to pay for them. The vendor was pleased with our purchases; we had bought half of his inventory. Fortunately, we had put the cloth shopping bags with handles into the backpacks before leaving the Pacifica-Two.

  When we got to the dinghy, we realized we had quite a load, bu
t the dinghy did not seem to mind. There were no waves so we should not sink on our way out to the Pacifica-Two. We moved the dinghy up to the swim platform and I jumped out. We spent the next hour getting everything up and down the ladders so we could stow it in the cabin. Once we were done with our work, we returned to the marina. We returned the golf cart and headed to the restaurant for supper.

  The waitress spoke some English and we spoke some Spanish, but we managed to order what we wanted to eat. We both ordered beefsteak and baked potatoes, with vegetables on skewers. The steaks were small, just the right size for Becky and I and they were cooked to perfection. I had not had such a great meal in quite some time. When the waitress placed a dessert menu in front of us, we both ordered hot apple pie. That too, was wonderful. By the time we arrived back at the Pacifica-Two, it was getting dark. We moved the dinghy up on the deck and stowed it in the cabin. Once we had everything settled in the cabin, we turned in for the night. We had placed the screens over the hatch doors to let in some fresh air. As we got comfortable in our beds, the sounds of crying cats began to echo around the harbor where we had anchored. I finally went up on the deck to listen to the sounds. I soon realized that the animal voices were actually the sounds of frogs.

  In the morning, we decided to eat breakfast in the restaurant before we set sail. While we were getting the dinghy back out of the cabin, we saw what looked like an alligator along the edge of the stream hunting something, but we could not see what it was trying to find. Once we were in the restaurant, we asked the male waiter and he said the animal was a Broad-Snouted Caiman and it was probably hunting the frogs that we had heard making cat sounds before we went to bed. The waiter said that neither the frogs nor the caiman normally hung around this area, but apparently the frogs had hatched out along the fresh water stream that emptied into the harbor and the Caiman had come there to feed.

  Once we moved out of the harbor into the shipping lane, we set the spinnaker. The wind was just perfect and the Pacifica-Two surged out into deep water. We got a few confused stares as we passed some large yachts and small sailing vessels. They did not know what to make of a sailing submarine.

  Chapter 38 – The Falkland Islands

  Once we were out into deep water, I decided to clean our guns while the weather was hot and sunny. I started with my rifle, which was a Ruger 77, chambered for .308 ammo. I could also use 7.62 x 51 NATO rounds in it if necessary. It had a 3-9 x 40mm Bushnell scope. Once it was clean and reloaded, I put it back into the rack. I then cleaned Becky’s rifle, which was the same as mine except her rifle did not have a scope. She wanted nothing to do with a scope, and the girl was deadly accurate with the rifle just as it was. Once I finished with Becky’s rifle, I brought up the two pistols. The pistols were Ruger model P345, with 230-grain ammunition. We purchased the pistols to stop a pirate at close range and the 230-grain ammo would certainly do the trick.

  Becky decided she would like to shoot her pistol while we were out on the ocean and no one was around. I had saved some one-gallon milk cartons for that very purpose. With the tops tightly screwed on, the jugs would float nicely on the surface. I tied a long piece of rope to the handles so we would not pollute the sea if they sank and tossed one out into the water. Becky picked up her pistol, loaded it and fired three shots into the jug, hitting it all three times. When she had cleared the gun, I pulled the milk carton up on deck and saw three holes all tightly grouped in a three-inch circle. I high fived my wife and said, “I can tell you are now comfortable with your pistol. You did well.” Once I cleaned the pistols, loaded them and stored them in the cabinet, we began preparing a light lunch. We had both put on a couple pounds and decided to eat carefully and work out harder each day. Exercising on deck was always a giggle fest.

  With the help of the spinnaker and perfect sailing weather, we reached the Falkland Islands on the afternoon of the tenth day. We had made incredible speed. The weather was perfect so we set up our camera on a tripod on deck, hoping to get some pictures as we sailed. Our GPS showed that we were just at the western end of Pebble Island. There are two smaller islands west of the main island and we dropped anchor a couple miles north of there. We found a place that was only fifty feet deep. The water was clear and warm, even for the South Atlantic. We spent some time in the water getting clean and then caught some small fish for supper and breakfast. We filleted the fish and put the carcasses into a sealed bucket until we were ready to leave the area tomorrow. Just before sunset, we decided to pull the anchor and settle the Pacifica-Two on the ocean floor. We had no idea what vessels might be lurking around the area after dark and certainly did not want pirates to board us while the anchor was down.

  As soon as we settled on the sea floor, we crawled into bed and set our alarms for five o’clock. We wanted to be up and around when the sun came up. We would eat breakfast while we sailed into Keppel Sound. We hoped to circle Keppel Island and try to get pictures of the wildlife. We would use the high power zoom camera lens to get good close up pictures without getting to close to shore and disturbing the creatures that lived there. The camera lens cost Becky almost three thousand dollars, but the investment was worth every penny. We had some incredible pictures on the computer of sea life that were simply awesome. Seldom, does one get a close up picture of a whale’s eye while it’s looking at you trying to decide if you are a predator or prey. However, with the telescopic camera lens Becky purchased, we had done just that. Becky had emailed a copy of that picture to Charlie and Susanne.

  When we were under way, Becky walked up to me and said, “Hold still while I put more suntan lotion on you. The Internet says this area is part of the Antarctic ozone hole and we must wear plenty of suntan lotion.” When I was white with the stuff, Becky handed me the tube. I rubbed lotion into every bit of exposed skin on her body. When I was certain I had not missed any spots, I said, “You are done.” She giggled and turned her back to me again. She pulled her bikini bottoms down a couple inches and said, “More on my butt please. Whenever I bend over the top of my bikini slides down and exposes white skin and I burn.” I chuckled as I rubbed lotion onto her butt cheeks. She really did not have any white skin. Her body was very evenly tanned, since she often went without clothing while she was onboard the Pacifica-Two. However, I did not want any of her skin left unprotected if the ozone layer was in fact thin in this southern region of the planet.

  As Becky prepared breakfast, I got the camera and tripod set up again. As we slowly made our turn around the western tip of Pebble Island, we spotted whales and seals in the water. We suspected that the whales were feeding on the seals, but we never saw any evidence of that fact. As I watched the shore through the camera lens, I spotted some Rockhopper Penguins walking along the shoreline and got a few great close-up pictures of them.

  As we ate breakfast on the deck, we sailed into the Keppel Sound. The water was rich with sea creatures and full of seagoing vessels. As we ventured closer to Keppel Island we could see sea lions, seals and albatross on the beaches. As we sailed, dolphins began swimming beside us. There were possibly thirty in the pod. We went down onto the swim platform and discovered we could slap the water with our hands and the dolphins would swim right up onto the platform with us, and then slid back into the water. I heard Becky scream once as a dolphin slid right up to her feet and stuck its nose between her ankles. She slowly leaned down, put her hand on the top of its head and gently scratched. The dolphin made a sound and slid back into the water. Becky was beside herself after the experience; she loved dolphins, but she had never touched one in the wild. Unfortunately, I did not get a picture of Becky and the dolphin. It happened too quickly for me to realize what was happening. I was certain she would giggle in her sleep tonight as she dreamed of dolphins playing with her.

  As we watched and played with the beautiful animals, another vessel came up alongside of us to see the dolphins play. They had two young girls onboard so we showed them how to call the dolphins by slapping the water. After a couple minutes, the
sound of the children’s hands slapping the water and their childish screams had the dolphins in another playful mood. The parents had secured the girls’ lifejackets to the boat with safety lines so they could not fall into the water. I had not heard young girls giggle and laugh like that in many months. When the dolphins tired of playing with humans, they moved off towards the east, probably looking for small fish or squid for their lunch.

  I had managed to record a video of Becky and the two young girls playing with the dolphins. As I played it back in the viewfinder, I realized how wonderful it was to be married to this incredible woman; and the two young girls rubbing the snouts of the dolphins with their hands, how precious was that? Before the vessel beside us moved off, I yelled at them and explained that I had a video of their girls playing with the dolphins that I would email them if they wished. The captain had seen me with the camera as I recorded the events, so he carefully maneuvered up beside us and passed Becky a business card with his email address on it. I told him I’d send the video as soon as I had good cell phone service.