Of Love

By Scott Dodgson

I woke late to the sounds of baggage being shuffled across the deck above my head. Laura came into my cabin and announced that Val and Nancy needed a ride to shore to catch the next ferry to Athens. Beth was staying aboard for a while. I wasn’t aware of the dynamics going on between the girls. I staggered out of bed and into the galley for a cup of coffee. Beth and Laura were on deck pleading with them to stay and complete the journey to Rhodes. Before I took my first sip Laura came down and angrily insisted they wanted to go right now. As a Charter boat captain and sailor I never pretend to know much about the dynamics of the passengers except when it may effect the performance and safety of my vessel. I took Val and Nancy to the quay. They thanked me for the ride and wished me luck. Nancy gave me a perfidious glance as I pulled away from the quay that seemed to indicate I was at fault for leaving them on Ios. I’ve been rightfully accused of being at fault for a host of transgressions when it comes to women, but this particular circumstance left me puzzled. After hoisting the dinghy motor onto the deck and setting a tow line for the dinghy I was anxious to get under way. I had one more over night sail before arriving in Rhodes, then three days to prepare for the charter and make some minor repairs and Laura and I would be off for a three week charter along the beautiful Blue Coast of Turkey. Nothing seems to freak the crew out more as when the captain starts the motor and starts lifting the anchor to leave. I suppose the abruptness is akin to moving out of your house, although in this case the house was moving. I’ve learned over the years not to ask questions about mysterious events/coming and goings until the subject is brought up by the participants. My singular purpose was sailing my yacht. When night fell we were under full sail with a fifteen knot wind off the beam in choppy disorganized seas. Except for the random splash of spray off the hull it was a comfortable sail. I told the girls to give me three hours of sleep. I would take the dog watch from mid-night until we arrived in Rhodes roughly at nine in the morning. I woke at eleven thirty. Captains have a strange but accurate clock in their heads when it comes to sailing and watches. I could hear the girls talking feverishly albeit muffled. When I heard sobbing my first thought was are they paying attention? My second thought or thoughts was I had one girl, Laura who was preparing to break my heart, a second, Beth who was trying to find something in her heart for me and my boat who was entirely loyal and gave me as much love as I could give her.