Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
“Somewhere about here we should start scanning the horizon. Of course, she must have
drifted quite a lot in that wind, but she couldn't have gone too far.”
A pair of binoculars was produced, and we all had turns searching the vast, blue expanse.
We saw several albatross wheeling about. Frigates were most likely plummeting for
sardines, and the usual seagulls were flocking and bobbing about, but all the black spots
turned out to be sea birds. We did spot a few fishing boats on their way to work or busy
fishing, oblivious to our purpose. After a lengthy search and several false alarms, the skip-
per announced that it was time to head back to the station, and sadly I nodded my head. I
caught the sympathetic glances from all aboard, and I tried to smile, but I fooled no one.
The course was altered away from the coast in order to clear the point, and we all fell silent
again. I had a dark, heavy pain in my stomach, and I felt that my heart was breaking. I just
couldn't believe that my beloved Déjà vu was gone, smashed up, and sunken somewhere
in these calm, blue waters.
Contemplating what this all meant, I suddenly noticed a very thin, pencil-like line on the
horizon. Excitedly, I pointed it out to Gavin, “Look, over there near the shore! See that thin
vertical line? That could be a mast!”
He shook his head, “No I don't think so; it's a tree or something. It's too thin to be a mast,
although you never know.”
I had a moment of doubt. I did not want to cry wolf, as there had been quite a few false
alarms. Then I thought sternly: any speck on the horizon is worth checking out; this is Déjà
vu we are talking about here. “Excuse me skipper, I think there is something over there on
the horizon near the shore,” I pleaded.
He looked a little irritated at first, then seeing my face, he softened and said in a low voice,
“Then we will have to go and investigate, won't we?” I could tell he was a true seaman, and
he knew what I was going through. The growling Pearl van Riet sped over in the direction
of the line I had seen. I noticed one of the crew peering through the binoculars and pointing
out in that direction.
All aboard were silent as the moments ticked by. We could not be sure of the mirage-like
line, although I could swear it was getting bigger. Suddenly, from the south we heard the
drone of a small single-engine plane and managed to spot the silver glint on a pair of wings.
Whoever they were, they had either seen us headed in that direction, or they may have
heard the earlier radio report from the Sea Rescue Institute putting a salvage ban on the
abandoned yacht at sea and had been searching regardless. Now my hopes were soaring.
People out there had seen something too. As we drew closer, I began to see a dark smudge
below the thin line, and I just knew that it was my Déjà vu.
Search WWH ::




Custom Search