Green Eyes

It was a beautiful late afternoon in August and the steady but light Easterly breeze that had rippled the surface under a bare swell was beginning to let go as the Sun began it’s final drop towards the clear horizon. This breeze had been keeping the crew cool on deck while they finished their trip aboard the double drum stern trawler Capt. Mano by towing along the 50 fathom edge of Corsair Canyon for Black Back Flounder and Bugs or Cock Roaches Of The Sea which most people know as Lobsters. A little further East and in much much deeper water Ron could still see the few boats that were dropping their nets almost a half mile below hoping to find the vast schools of Redfish that feed and breed in the canyons all along the shelf here.

Corsair Canyon quickly drops off the eastern edge of George’s Bank and the Continental Shelf down to 1000+ fathoms then goes out beyond the sea mounts to the abyssal plains of the Northwest Atlantic Ocean.
During the last Ice Age when sea levels were hundreds of feet lower than today these submerged sea mounts may very well have been islands and the canyon itself could have been one of the greatest waterfalls the planet has ever seen.
Many people have no idea that Cape Cod itself is little more than a bulldozed rubble pile of boulders that was left behind and then covered by it’s vast and famous Sand Dunes as The Ice Age quickly ended some 10-12 thousand years ago leaving the two mile high glacier to rapidly retreat North.

Tonight was the full moon and Ron wondered if it would once again take on the appearance of a nuclear bomb detonating as the full orb would sit on the horizon for just a moment then rise with it’s reflection reaching out to the boat in a widening arc during it’s slow ascent. The first time he had seen this happen the moon had a pinkish hue to it and he just stood there mesmerized by the stark and terrifying beauty of the spectacle.

The F/V Capt. Mano was now scrubbed down and the big steel doors that kept the mouths of the two massive rock hopper Otter Trawl nets open while being towed were stowed just inside the rails under the towing gallows one on each side at the stern of the boat.
Both nets had been mended and stowed on their drums over the net ramps and were ready for next trip. The Fish had all been well iced for the steam home and there was almost 94,000 pounds of assorted fish stored below and 3,300 pounds of lobsters were in the tanks on deck so they all knew they’d make really good money this trip.

The cook who was happy as a clam was busy fixing up a Homeward Bound feast for the boys to celebrate the large catch they were bringing back for Fridays seafood auction. They were too far East to make it back for tomorrow mornings auction so time was not an issue and the captain was taking it easy by going slower and using much less fuel than they would be if they were steaming home full-ahead.

The engineer had asked Ron if he’d check and grease the steering gear for him so when the Captain saw he’d reached the after hatch he disengaged the auto pilot and threw the boat out of gear to let the boat drift while the job got done.
It only took Ron a few minutes to check the connections of the steering gear and pump a few shots of grease into it’s bearings.
When he closed the hatch he noticed Mario was hard at work under the quarter deck on one of the sleeping hammocks he was so well known for. Mario was a Net Master from the Azores and made beautiful hammocks and other things from a thick white twine from from his home island that he got top dollar for. The Captain had told Ron that Mario who spoke little English had a backlog of seven hammocks to make and that people back home would wait years for one of his masterpieces.

Whatever the cook was making sure smelled good and he’d told Ron it would be a couple of hours before they ate so he decided to hit the rack. Opening the door to the double bunked room he shared with the engineer Ron twisted his nose at the dank sweaty smell the two fisherman and their dirty clothes had polluted it with over the last ten days so he hauled himself into his bunk and opened the porthole he was lucky enough to have then stretched himself out flat. Steaming home with a trip in the hold was one of the best feelings on the planet so Ron fell fast asleep in mere minutes with a contented smile on his face.

They steamed quietly all through the night but just before the first light of morning the engineer shook Ron awake. The boat had a big problem with the main engine because right after the engineer had changed the fuel filters a slug of water blew the tips off two injectors and he needed help changing them out. This was a pretty big job but because they were still so far offshore on flat water and that they still had so much time before Fridays auction the Captain decided to swap the injectors out at sea. The whole job took the three men a bit less than seven hours to complete and they were soon enough underway for New Bedford once again.

Ron was sitting out on the bow in front out the wheelhouse when the Captain who’s name was Tony rapped on the window holding up the mic of the VHF radio. Tony had told Ron that when he was able to reach the Marine Operator he’d let him know. The Captain had just completed a call home to his wife to let the family know he was safely on his way home and had motioned to Ron to let him know the radio was free to use.
Ron had been excited because thought he’d be home early enough to hook up with his buddy’s before they left for ladies night at the Casino rock and roll club that sat right on the water in Falmouth along Nantucket Sound but because of the breakdown he’d only be able to look at the club through binoculars later on as they steamed by about two miles offshore.
Ron went to the galley to grab a quick bite and a coffee then headed up to the wheelhouse and asked Tony if it was ok make a collect call.
The Captain just nodded yes so Ron hailed the operator and in a couple of minutes he heard his buddy’s voice saying he’d except the charges. They talked about the trip for a minute or two then Ron’s buddy Dave asked where they were and Ron explained they’d be steaming right by The Casino around 10 that night.

Little did Ron know that Tony was standing at the chart table looking at the shoreline of Falmouth as Ron was talking with his friend. When Ron ended the call by releasing the Marine Operator the Captain called him over and said, where is this Casino you speak of?
Ron well knew exactly where the rock and roll club was on the chart so he quickly pointed it out and Tony bent close in to study it. After a minute or so he said, do you want to go here tonight?
Ron could just stand there with his mouth open, he was not sure what the Captain meant by this and Tony explained, I can get you 50 yards from the beach here tonight, do you want to swim in?
Ron thought he was joking and said, yeah right but the Captain assured him it was no joke and he’d bring Ron there if he wanted because he knew Ron and his friends often made a day long outing that started with a two mile swim across Clark’s Cove from West Beach to Anthony’s Beach in Dartmouth then after stopping for fish n chips they’d hike the five and a half miles back along the top of the Dike later on in the day and that they’d been doing this for years.
Continued….



.

Tony explained how thankful they all were for Ron holding the papers as Captain of the boat during the time the real Captain was enjoying a month long vacation back home in the Azores and that Ron had also been a good man to have on the boat, a man who knew how to sew net and splice wire and rope and knew his way around a boat, Stem to Stern, Keel to Masthead.
It was already planned that Ron’s next trip would be on another Portuguese owned Dragger where he’d once again hold the papers for a vacationing Captain. You had to be a US citizen to be a Captain back in those days so Ron had a pretty good thing going for himself for a couple of Summers!

The Captain rummaged around in a locker and pulled out a watertight bag and threw it to Ron, here put your dry clothes in this but make sure I get it back. Ron was so excited he just nodded and ran down to his bunk to pack. Tony had asked him if he wanted to call his friend again but Ron said no way, let’s surprise everyone at the club.

A little later when Ron was back in the wheelhouse Tony handed him $200.00 and told him he’d hire a Lumper for him for take out (unloading) and that he’d take the advance out of Ron’s shack money or pay the next day and for him to have fun, that he’d well earned it.
They shook hands and Ron felt like he was gonna bust he was so excited.

Thursday night was ladies night at the Casino and they often had jello wrestling on the beach below the main deck of the club and Ron was hoping that would be the case tonight.
As they got closer Ron used the glass to better see the beach in front of the club and it was packed.
When Tony hit the million+ candle power night sun spot atop the wheelhouse and aimed it at the Casino then hit the air horn all activity on the beach froze for a minute then it seemed like the entire club was pouring out onto the deck and beach. As the Captain let the wind and tide drift the boat towards where he wanted to be the Captain kept giving short blasts on the horn. Tony then killed the spot and everyone ashore could see the 6 men standing on the bow of The Capt. Mano back lit by the interior lights of the wheelhouse and started yelling and waving. When Tony gave Ron the word he dove from the 30 foot bow and the cook threw him his bag of clothes. The Captain then began blowing long blasts on the horn which people far and wide across Cape Cod must have heard and Ron began his swim towards the beach.

It was Ron’s best friend Dave who figured out what was going on and he grabbed his friends Steve and Mike who were with him and they worked their way through the crowd to the waters edge. Dave was surprised to see the manager of the rock and roll club Casino/small conference center/six suite hotel. The three friends were even more surprised when three cops showed up and were real happy to see the cops were laughing and that they really seemed to be enjoying what was going on.
Ron stopped once about 250 feet out and just treaded water for a minute or two looking at he hundreds of people lining the beach and decks of the club. Where did they all come from he thought, the place doesn’t hold anywhere this number of people.

What Ron failed to realize was that for nearly an hour they had only been slowly drifting towards the shore with only short bursts of the wheel used to keep the boat on track incase they touched the sandy bottom. During that time phone calls had been made and half of Falmouth was on the move.
A 120 foot Fishing Boat has run aground at the Casino was the word that ended up being shotgunned all over town, not even close….LOL

When Ron next turned around he could just about see the green light on The Capt. Mano which meant they had made the channel again and had turned West towards Woods Hole so he began an easy stroke towards the beach and people started getting rowdy, maybe 20 people ended up in the water fully clothed and a girl who he guessed had been jello wrestling was in the water as well screaming for her bikini top.

Ron spotted his friends on the beach and made for them and as he hit dry sand the crowd roared, it was so loud he could not hear what any of what his three friends were saying. People were crowding them and Ron was getting pounded on the shoulders and back and at one point two different girls tried to kiss him.
It was so crazy, the three cops and the manager got to Ron and they steered Ron and his friends to a side door that employees of the club had been guarding. They were then led into an office were Ron dripping wet spent the next 15 minutes explaining all that happened and how he ended up there.
The cops said no laws had been broken and they shook hands all around then the cops found their way out through the club which was now packed from wall to wall and the band was again playing so it sure seemed everyone was having a blast.

The manager who’s name was Charlie took Ron and his friends upstairs to the other end of the building and brought them to a room that he said was on the house for the night and when ready to come down and find him again. Ron and his friends could not believe what was happening, Ron figured it would be exciting for sure but never did he dream of anything like this happening, his buddy’s were just standing there staring at him as the manager Charlie left the room laughing.
Ron’s buddy’s went back to the club after a little bit to leave Ron to shower and unwind in peace and it didn’t take him long to get into dry clothes and be out the door.

Maybe 30 minutes later Ron was again downstairs in Charlie’s office where he was introduced to Sherry a bartender. Ron was told that his three friends and him were to see Sherry at the bar for anything they wanted for the rest of the night, things continued to look up.

When Ron entered the club from the side door he was quickly recognized and an all-mighty cheer sounded out and a bunch of people dragged him up to the stage where the band was playing and after answering what seemed like a thousand questions things finally began to settle down and Ron joined his friends who were out on the dance floor where they just stood there and laughed as the band began to play again as people crowded around them.

Ron heard a strange noise and as he turned he heard the words, “oooooooo I’ll take you” come from the mouth of an absolutely beautiful strawberry blond young woman from Idaho who had the greenest gold flecked eyes Ron has ever seen.
It sure ended up being a night, a night Ron would NEVER forget…..


The End……

Note: This is a factual story but very much shortened and the peoples names have been changed.
The Casino is a real place and The Capt. Mano a real boat but she sank years later under another name.
Thank you for reading! 😎

That is actually a pretty good story that you wrote.

I enjoyed your presentation...

... looking forward to reading more from you here in our Short Stories arena.



Keep on bringing us well told glimmers,
Johnny

Well done my friend...there are so many good, bad, and ugly, stories that will never be told but today there is one less good one. Salute !

a reply to: 727Sky

Thank you all for the very kind replies.
An OP RussianTroll posted was what triggered me to tell this story.
What a night…..😆
I mentioned the casino being a real place.
Check this writ from back in the day.
The Casino was one WILD AND FUN place where ladies from the world over could be met by us.
They always had GREAT BANDS…..
I miss those days…..LOL

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