11. He’s thought a boatman.

The two climbed down from the boat deck and up the side of the barge once more, the lad following Bobby. Once on the barge, the lad did just as Bobby was doing looking under the containers for deck lines. The containers were secured atop large beams that held them a couple of feet off of the deck and the lines had been thrown under them for safe keeping. They were thrown very far under them and made off using a variety of techniques so that freeing each line became an exercise in belly crawling and puzzle solving. By the time they had six lines pulled out and ready for the dock, they were both brown on their bellies, chests, and thighs. The lad started to sneeze from all the dust and his nose was running profusely. Bobby walked up to him and he could see a trail of snot and dust running down his upper lip, like that of a school boy at play.

They had a few minutes to before they touched and the lad was able to observe the dock. It was a typical pier on the naval base like he had been on years ago. There were many people moving around and watching with great interest as they closed the gap between the barge and its berth. There were men in uniform and some in nice civilian clothes conversing. There were men in hard hats and work boots, obviously preparing to take the lines. There were also navy sailors in there uniforms and blue hard hats standing by with heavy equipment to handle the containers. The lad made eye contact with one of the well dressed civilians who nodded to him. The lad nodded back and looked away. “I wonder if he knows that I’m not part of the regular crew around here?” he thought. Never mind that. He looked over just in time to see Bobby working the first line.

Bobby had been holding a line at his shoulder for a minute or two and after a quick shout from one of the hard hats on the pier, he threw it with the power of a shot-putter and the eye fell cleanly around the bollard where the dock man was pointing. The lad was impressed. That line had flown for about 15 feet and hit its mark. If he was expected to do this, there would be some great entertainment. He saw Bobby make the line off to a cleat near his feet and then look up. Bobby pointed to somewhere behind the lad so he turned and saw one of the hard hated dock men standing next to a bollard nearby.

The lad immediately understood that he was to catch a line on that bollard but was he to do it like Bobby had? His stomach knotted up and his heart was beating a little faster. He collected up the eye and an arm load of the line in an attempt to look like he might know what he was doing. In the time he took to stall, the barge had already bumped into the heavy timbers of the pier. He swayed a bit and looked up to see the dock man reaching over to him. “Save your arm,” he shouted, “I’ll take that for you.” Now all the lad had to do was swing the eye over the man. What a relief.

The man on the dock laid the eye over the bollard and the lad made off to the nearest cleat, taking in as much slack as he could. There were four more lines to be put out and he followed the directions and pointing of Bobby and the dock men to get them all leading in the proper direction. They were so close to the dock that the lad was able to hand the eyes over as he had his first line, but he didn’t feel so bad about it watching Bobby doing the same. It wasn’t long before the barge was secure to the pier and the men on the dock started climbing over to the barge, looking at container markings and consulting clip boards. Some were customs officials and some were naval officers. All had an interest in the new arrival.

Bobby waved to the lad and motioned toward the boat. It was time to go. As the lad was making his way to the end of the containers, one of the dock workers called over, “Thanks for the help. You guys do some good work.” The lad didn’t really know what to say back so he just smiled and gave a thumb up to the fellow. Could it be that this guy thought he was a full time boatman? The lad shrugged and continued his way to the boat. When he got to the other side of the barge, Bobby was already aboard and motioned him to start taking line off. They started at the stern, then took in the bow line, and held the first line up, the spring line, for last. Then James eased the stern around so that the highest part of the bow was against the barge; the lad stepped easily over to the boat. The tug backed away and spun about to head home.

The tug’s engine grew gradually louder as it came up to speed. The two slouched in the galley settees and smoked, taking a break from the activity. After their cigarettes were smoked and some iced tea was downed, Bobby informed the lad that the skipper was funny about keeping the boat clean. Before they got back to the dock, the trash should be emptied and the wheelhouse needed to be cleaned. Booby took the wheelhouse and the lad gathered all the trash. While he was at it, he gave the galley a good wipe down and a sweeping. Before long, the engines came down and the little tug began to turn into the short channel that lead to the yard.

When they got to the dock, the lad knew which line to stand by. Bobby hopped up to the dock barge and caught the first line for the lad. With his new knowledge, the lad went straight to the bow next. After the head line was secure, he move to the stern and threw the last line up to Bobby who dropped it onto a cleat and then motioned the lad not to make it off yet. The engines came to life and wheel wash surged off to the starboard side of the tug. The stern slowly moved toward the dock, the head line creaking and groaning in protest. When the motion stopped, Bobby swirled a finger to let the lad know he could make off the line now. As soon as this was done, the engines relaxed and the stern eased out a little into the line. The boat was well fast to the dock barge.

Bobby came back to the boat and headed for the engine room. The main engines stopped one after the other. Then the generator stopped. The boat was dead quiet except for the sound of James gathering his gear from the wheelhouse. Then came the sound of Bobby opening the forward door to the forepeak and throwing the end of the shore power cable out onto the deck. The lad walked up and grabbed the end of the cable, continuing his walk up the bow and onto the dock. The cable got heavier as more was pulled to the dock and soon he found the big receptacle where he plugged it in. The tug’s lights came on and she was ready for the night.

James walked straight up to the lad extending his hand. “Thanks for you help today. We’ll be seeing you around.”

“You think so?” asked the lad.

“Oh, sure. You’ll be a boatman. Take care, now.” He walked off to his truck leaving the lad to stand there and think for a second or two.

“He thinks I’ll be a boatman.”

The lad walked up to the office and stuck his head in. Sharon, the young lady at the desk was there now. She saw him a smiled broadly. “Well, hey there. Heard you had a good day. Can you come in tomorrow? We’re going to need another hand.”

“Sure.” The lad added, “I can come in any day you need. If you’ll have me.”

“We can always use a good boatman around here,” she said.

He smiled back and said, “Tomorrow then. Thanks. See ya.” She lifted a hand to wave and he headed to his car with a snap in his step.

Good news for two days in a row. They think he’s going to be a boatman.