They certainly weren’t wimps. “On to Gun Cay.”
Joan came to her feet. “I’m miserable no matter where I am, so I’m going to my soft bed.”
When Joan disappeared, Javi said, “I hope they don’t puke all over the cabin.”
AT THE WHEEL of Spree, Cat scanned the horizon, searching for the marker that signaled the entrance to the channel into Alice Town. According to Javi, they should be approaching North Bimini, the best place for them to clear customs.
Hidden by the sail, Javi was on the foredeck, probably relieving himself over the side of Spree, which was easier than having to go below. For sure men had it easier in the plumbing department. The wind remained steady, but the sea had grown calmer since they’d left the Gulf Stream, allowing Spree to easily slice through the water. With only the shortened mainsail up, the boat sailed almost level.
She ought to be exhausted from the punishing trip, and yeah, physically, her body was drained. Muscles she hadn’t known existed were sore, yet her brain remained alert and active. She couldn’t remember ever feeling quite this alive, this...free. And victorious, like she’d bested an ancient foe.
Perhaps that’s what the sea was. Isn’t that why men had gone to sea since time began, for the challenge the oceans presented?
Maybe she was more tired than she realized.
She didn’t want to think about what she looked like. She knew her clothes were wrinkled and filthy. She hadn’t combed her hair or bathed since yesterday morning, much less brushed her teeth. But for some reason her appearance didn’t matter. Maybe because the captain looked equally in disarray. On him, though, it was sexy.
She was hungry, though. Around 1:00 a.m. Javi had left her at the helm to heat up a can of tomato soup, which had tasted better than any meal she’d eaten in years. Although her real pleasure came from the fact that the captain had trusted her while he went below to fire up the stove. He’d also made coffee and poured it into a thermos, and they’d sipped all night to stay awake.
She’d gotten used to the shroud of darkness around them. Other than their mandatory running lights—one red and one green on either side of the bow—the only illumination had come from millions of stars and a half-moon, which cast a magical never-ending beam onto the water.
They hadn’t talked much. Mainly the occasional comment about the action of the boat, the mystery of the ocean or the occasional passing ship. They were far too busy keeping their boat on course, each taking their turn steering while the other took a quick power nap on deck.
She’d never experienced anything quite like the sunrise, watching a fiery orb ascend from the abyss to brighten the sky, revealing a gray sea that slowly morphed into an aqua miracle surrounding them. The crossing had been an almost mystical experience for her, alone in the dark with the captain, battling the elements—and it had definitely been a battle. She felt oddly close to him, although she didn’t know him at all.
Why did she feel she’d come to know him on some basic human level?
Yeah, she was definitely tired.
Javi returned from the deck and grabbed the binoculars out of a cubbyhole in the cockpit. Focusing on the sea ahead, he nodded.
“We’re there.”
“You see the marker?” she asked.
“Right where it should be.”
He started the engine. Its grating rumble told her the journey was at an end. Would the noise rouse Joan and Debbie? Doubtful. As Javi predicted, her friends hadn’t reappeared since going below. Cat hoped they’d feel better when they got to dry land.
“Head into the wind,” he instructed. “I’m going to drop the main.”
While she motored up a clearly marked channel, mangroves passing on either side, the captain lashed the sail to the boom and stowed it inside a cover. Next he raised a yellow flag with a Q on it.
“What’s that?” she asked when he’d returned to the cockpit.
“Quarantine flag. We have to fly that until we’re cleared.”
The captain took the wheel and steered them into a crowded harbor full of moored boats of all sizes. Marinas full of megayachts from all over the world lined the shores. Rigging clanged against masts. A strange-sounding siren wailed in the distance. When a giant motor yacht passed them in the channel, its wake rocked the boat so hard Cat was forced to sit down.
North Bimini reminded her of the chaos of the busy World Orchid Conference on opening day.
“So much for a quiet anchorage,” Cat said.
“Yeah, this place has really changed since they built the resort,” Javi said. “It’s expensive to dock these days, but I have a buddy who’ll let us tie up for the time it’ll take to get clearance.”
“How long will that be?”
“You never know.”
He steered Spree into a dock with four or five fuel pumps. After they’d secured the boat, the captain hurried away with a stack of papers they’d worked on last night to present to Bahamas Customs, including their passports and a Maritime Declaration of Health.
She hoped seasickness wouldn’t count against the occupants of Spree.
When Javi disappeared inside the fuel dock’s office, Cat went below to check on Joan and Debbie. They couldn’t leave the boat until the captain returned with official permission. She creaked open the door to her friends’ cabin, and an unpleasant odor washed over her. She hoped they hadn’t been sick in the room, which understandably wasn’t nearly as neat as when they’d departed.
Neither of her friends reacted to her appearance. Lying on her side, Debbie snored loudly, probably thanks to a bottle of sleeping pills on the table next to the bed. On her back, Joan didn’t stir. Likely she’d been able to keep a sedative down, as well. Probably for the best.
Cat considered waking them, but decided to wait until the captain returned with permission to go ashore.
After tidying up the galley—a task impossible in the dark while sailing—she took a quick shower, which wasn’t as cold as she’d feared, and changed into clean clothes. Refreshed but hungry, she prepared a bowl of cereal and went on deck to eat and watch the world sail by. Another siren howled in the distance.
She was comfortable alone—the way she spent most of her time—but hadn’t expected this vacation with two old friends to be so solitary.
* * *
TWO AND A half hours later, with Bahamian clearance in hand, Javi returned to Spree. His time with customs took longer than it should have, but Sunday morning was the worst possible time for quick service. Plus, his bad luck, there’d been a robbery of high-grade pharmaceuticals last night in Nassau, which had put the Royal Bahamas Defence Force on high alert.
Intrigued, he’d tried to learn details, but the authorities weren’t
