Captain McCain and I

Today the Captain and I have settled down in the study to have a talk about his adventures that he had on his ship. I am so excited to be getting this first hand. I can't imagine anyone could be so lucky as I feel now. He seems deep in thought and I don't want to interrupt him, so I am puttering around with things on my desk and getting my computer all ready to type in his stories. I have decided to just type them all in under separate folders and then compile them into a book at a later date. Finally, the Captain looks at me and he gets up and walks to the window and puts his hands behind his back and clasps them together. He is looking out at the cove when he begins to tell me his first adventure.

He said that his father and grandfather had taken their boat out and they had decided that he was old enough to come on the trip, after all he was 10 years old and should be starting to learn how to handle a boat and crew if he was ever going to be a Captain of his own boat one day. So he boarded his first ship with them both and was given chores to do every day just like the other sailors on the boat. He did his work every day digently and had no problems with doing them. Some of the sailors slacked off and they were reprimanded and warned by his father and grandfather about not doing there work. He said that back in those days, if you didn't listen to the captain and disobeyed his orders you could be punished severely and it was not unusal to have some one get a lash or two for his lack of respect for the captain. When he said this, he looked at me I think to see what my reaction would be like, but I just kept typing. I didn't want to say anything that would make him stop talking or get angry.

They had an uneventful journey all the way to India, but on the trip back to their home port, they encountered a vicious storm. the water lashed the boat from starboard to port and they had all they could do to get the sails down so that they would not be destroyed. He admitted that he was scared but he did as he was told by his father and helped tie the sails down with the other sailors. They didn't have life jackets back then so it was a dangerous thing to be on deck during this horrable storm. It seemed like it would never end and it thundered and lightening all night long and the rain pelted the boat and the water was coming over the rails and washing over the boat . The men lashed themselves down on to the rails and the masts of the sails. His father told him to go below and to stay there until he was told to come back up. As he was doing his best to get below he could see his father and grandfather lashing down the sails and tying them so that they were secure and all the others were lashing themselves down so they wouldn't go overboard.

The next day , the sea had calmed down and he awoke to a peaceful sunny day. All the sailors had all fallen asleep eventually and now were all waking up . soaked and worn out from fighting that storm last night. But the water was calm and the wind was perfect for them to open the sails again and continue on home. It was a long way to Ireland and they had a few more days of sailing yet, so they all started to get the boat back in shape for the rest of the trip.  They continued on and had no more problems and reached their home safe . No one was lost on that trip and that was a blessing indeed.  After he had told me this story he asked me if this is what I had in mind for that book I wanted to write and I smiled and said yes   it is exactly what I needed to write a book.

As I was putting some things away and still talking as I was doing it, I turned to see that the Captain had vanished again. He was gone. I settled in and started to edit the story he told me. I was smiling and happy to have finally be able to write something again. It had been awhile since I had the chance to just write without being interrupted. I must have been there for hours because when I looked up again it was dark and the lighthouse was blinking on and off in the cove. I got up and went to the patio and just looked out into the cove and enjoyed the scene there before my eyes.  Tomorrow would be another wonderful day in my new home.