But first a photo taken by the shore captain today of the damage – you can see th
at there isn’t much left on the deck if you compare it to the previous photo - as even equipment which was welded or bolted down has been torn off completely. Probably good they didn’t have too much fish aboard as it had shifted completely from port to starboard in the event. Apparently it took four men to lift the life raft back in place this morning but just the boy captain to get it down yesterday afternoon during the emergency so that’s an example of what adrenalin will do for you eh? Here he is from a rear view checking things out today.The man of the house was up most of the night as he got up from the couch at 1:30 a.m. and made his way to the government wharf where the coast guard vessel and the boat arrived by 2:30 a.m. Apparently the coast guard hadn’t been able to put anyone aboard the boat as it was too rough and since the Capt. was settled on the floor of the wheelhouse they just escorted them in. The Capt. of the Earl Grey asked the boy wonder if there was anyone aboard capable of taking the vessel in to which he responded “well I’ve been steering a boat since I’ve been in diapers and could just see up over the wheel so I’m sure I can” which caused a chuckle, later adding that he had his Class IV so that was more reassuring. The injured captain was pretty shocky by the time the paramedics met them at the wharf and transported him to the hospital. The shore captain headed home for a few hours of restless couch sleep and then off early to get things ready to take the fish out.
The captain was stabilized locally and transferred a few hours later to the regional center for tests and then surgery, which has happened and he’s in the recovery room this evening as I type, heading to ICU for the night as he’s battling an infection and on to the city tomorrow to see a plastic surgeon. He’ll be a sick boy for a bit and out of commission for a few months what with temporary and then reconstructive surgery plus a sacral fracture but he is a tough cookie.
After multiple attempts to get up the incline and out of the driveway this morning, a call to the cleaning lady’s husband for a tow and then the 17th time was a charm I was free and on my way to the city for the conference day. I stopped at the government wharf to make sure the boy hero was ok as he had been pretty hyper after the fact at 3:30 a.m. according to his father. He’d finally fallen asleep by about 6 a.m. and then was up by 7:30 with my call to take the boat around to the next harbour to unload fish. When he protested at the early start I said, “do you want me to send someone to help you?” and that settled it with him quickly deciding that he was just fine thank you. By the time I made it down to the wharf all I could see was the boat in the distance steaming out of the harbour. I spoke to one of the Coast Guard officers as I was leaving, thanking them for all their help and he said “that young fellow did a great job yesterday missus, he was pretty calm, cool and collected you know” When I grinned and confided that he usually made me nuts he said “well you should be pretty proud of that lad he did a great job and he’s quite a boy.”
As I climbed into the car I thought ‘you know he really is, isn’t he?’ I’m as proud of him as I am of his oldest sister when she did so well in her Mutuals exam, his next oldest sister when she called to say she’d gotten the BEd bursary or his youngest sister when she had a reference letter from the nursing home where she worked as a PCW for her international clinical which almost makes you blush or the last mark on her stats course of 98. They just all have to find their own way don’t they? I recall a friend’s previous partner - he had major character flaws so was not a keeper, but I digress… as he said “but your children will all make something of themselves and contribute to the world” and you know, he was right. Mind you, if they did nothing at all you’d love them for who they are but what would you have to brag about to others eh?
It was a very long day at the infection control session, which concluded with a major parking lot fiasco as it took 50 minutes to get out of the underground parking when the validation machine would not work. There was a heated confrontation between an ER physician and a security guard, which resulted in the Doc roaring off in his BMW while we all secretly rooted for the guard, as we were appalled at the physician’s ego in action. The hour delay was the difference in getting caught in a major blizzard on the drive home with two vehicles off in the ditch, no visibility and 30 km conditions. I was not very impressed on many levels.
Came home to find an exhausted husband who had eaten leftovers and could hardly keep his eyes open. Called the son who was heading to a friend’s to “have a couple of cold beverages” he said after matter of factly stating “you know I’ve been involved in some pretty crazy stuff but yesterday was the most freaked out I’ve ever been”. Had a checkup call from daughter # 1 at work and it was sure great to hear a cheery voice. So we’ve gotten ourselves to the point of putting things back together again, much better than the alternative which anyone making their living from the water chooses not to think about.
