A Dark Adventure

A Dark Adventure

I never dreamed of the possibility of driving the dinghy at night. Granted, I knew that I could and might have to if Dad couldn't, and we planned for that contingency, but I didn't think it would actually happen. It did last night. Our correspondents on Time Warp arrived in this anchorage yesterday, and we decided to join them on their boat for a movie night. We got to watch Master and Commander again, and it was a lot of fun. Then we realized that it had gotten dark, and Dad hadn't come with us. We said good night and carefully got aboard the dinghy. Then we set out. I drove carefully towards Juno with Rigel in the bow. Luckily there was a full moon, and our anchor light had come on, but we were coming in on the non-moonlit side of the boat. We came up to the side carefully, and then I saw it: the swim ladder was down! Our swim ladder is mounted on the side, and it can swing up on deck for storage. Someone had left it down after we finished swimming. I swung the tiller to the side in time to miss the ladder, then came up hard against the side. Rigel pulled us forward and hooked us on, then I killed the engine. Dad came up and helped us aboard, then we went below for the night. I once had a dinghy solo before, but it was in broad daylight in Sibari, which has a totally enclosed marina. This was at ten-o-clock in the evening, with only the moon to see by. Still, it was a fun trip, and I'm glad to meet Will, who I'd only talked to before by e-mail.
-- Orion Date
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T