9. He gets “made up”.

The noise they had just heard was the sound of the little cable coming apart. When wire rope parts, it can make a sound like that of a shot gun firing. This was the case here. After Bobby’s initial entertainment was over, he motioned the lad to follow him out the stern. As he expected, the cable was hanging over the stern, limp, slightly swaying as the tug’s quick water passed over it. He went to the controls, set up and began to pull the cable in with the winch. It wasn’t long before the frayed and broken end of the cable was on deck.

The lad was studying the cable end when James shouted and waved Bobby up the wheel house. The lad was left alone with the cable for a few minutes. Soon Bobby returned and began to speak. The lad didn’t hear him though for as he began to speak, the little tug’s engines raised their pitch and the tug started into a hard turn. As it heeled over to meet the turn, water was forced across the stern and wet the boots of the two hands. They retreated to the next deck up where it was dry.

“We’re gonna make up,” said Bobby. He saw that this meant nothing to the lad so he explained further, “We’re going to put three lines up and then push the barge along to help the bigger tug along.” He added, “That’s what we should have done in the first place,” with a confident tone, self-confirming his expertise in tugs and towing. He went on to point to the places where the lines would be placed to make up to the container barge. The lad listened and although he didn’t fully understand the jargon of Bobby, he had an idea that he’d be able to keep up when the task started.

The little tug had come about full circle and was running with the barge, maintaining a wide gap between the two. James was staring a point on the barge as he used throttles handles and the wheel to guide the little tug in. Slowly it drifted in towards the barge. The closer it got, the louder the sound of the water between them was, rushing through the gap the two vessels like a raging mountain river. Before too long the suction created by the rush of water caught the little tug and it moved, with some force, the last foot it needed to touch the barge. With the sounds of thick, wet, rubber squeaking and grinding against the flat steel hull, the tires and fenders of the little tug hit and it came to a sudden lurching stop. The lad felt the deck shifting under his feet.

Bobby was on the bow with a wooden ladder. The lad went to him to help position it from the tug’s deck to the edge of the barge’s deck. When it was firmly in place, Bobby held onto it with both hands and stared at the lad. The lad wasn’t sure what to do now and looked quizzically into the eyes of Bobby, only inches from his own. He suddenly realized what was supposed to happen. As he made his realization, Bobby confirmed it by pointing up the ladder with one hand and talking loudly, but unintelligibly. The lad could barely hear him over the din of the rushing water and the in-close cacophony of the tug’s fenders, but it was obvious that he was to climb up the ladder, across the whitewater void, and onto the barge.

Bobby leaned in and yelled into his ear, “I need to make the lines up. You just put them on the cleats where I show you.” The lad was now shocked. He shook his head. Bobby looked at him sternly. Then he looked up to the wheelhouse. He could see that James was being patient now but that patience would wear thin quickly. He looked back at the lad and the face he was told him that he couldn’t push a green hand so hard. He made his decision and started up the ladder.

Bobby was on the barge in no time and yelled down pointing to a line on deck. Waving his hand upward, he told the lad to send up the first line. The lad quickly made a messenger to the large eye and tossed up to Bobby who dropped it easily onto a large cleat some feet back. Then he pointed to the quarter bitt and twirled his finger so that the lad could see where to make off. He did this easily enough and then Bobby walked up to the bow of the tug and pointed down to the line on deck, again waving up. The lad passed this line and Bobby walked forward a few feet and dropped that eye onto another cleat. He walked back to the lad and yelled out through cupped hands, “Dip it!”

The lad looked puzzled.

“DIP! IT!” Bobby yelled again.

The lad knew nothing about dipping a line and Bobby was obviously getting angry for this is why he wanted to stay on deck.

“Drop the line,” he heard a loud voice from say from behind him, turning to see James standing above him in front of the wheel house. “Just drop it. In front of the bitt,” he yelled again. The lad did that.

“Now. Reach under and pull it under, back to you.” The lad did this. Now he was holding a loop of line.

“Good. Take that bight and push it over the top of the bitt there,” he said pointing to the left upright.” The lad saw what he was after and dropped the line over the bitt.

James smiled and gave the lad a thumb up signal. “Now make it off on the other end,” he yelled and then retreated back to his controls in the wheelhouse.

The lad looked up to Bobby who pointed toward the stern in exaggerated motions. He made his way back there quickly. He automatically reached for the line on deck when he got there. He had already figured out how the make up was supposed to work. After he passed the line up to Bobby, he waited to hear where to make it off. Bobby pointed to the capstan and made circles in the air with his finger. For a second the lad hesitated but then he jumped into action. He was going to figure how to run it right there, right then.

It looked easy enough. Pull this thing out to make sure the drum didn’t turn. There’s the button. Was the power on? He tested it. Yes. Bobby had left the right generator running. It turned. He went for his line and started to run it around the little capstan on the towing winch. Bobby was yelling. He turned around and saw him pointing to a spot on the stern. He had forgotten to lead the line to a cleat on the deck for a better pulling point. This wasn’t a big deal and he corrected it quickly. Then he put another turn on the capstan and turned it on. The line was pulled in and was coming tight. He controlled the amount of pull and turned to Bobby who held up a fist when the line was good and tight. Reaching for the stop button, he quit his heaving and then made the line off to the bitt behind him.

He looked up and Bobby was calmly walking away. Figuring the job must be finished now, he walked his way to the galley door, stopping before he went inside to see Bobby climbing down. They met in the galley and Bobby suggested that they go up to the barge and look around. The lad felt like making the climb now that the tug was secured to the barge.

He climbed up and walked around the containers carefully. He went forward to see the bigger tug at the far end of her towing cable. He looked at the containers piled four high and lashed down with heavy rods. When he got to the stern, he sat down on the deck and lit a cigarette. Bobby emerged from around the corner of the containers and sat down beside the lad, lighting a cigarette.

It was quiet back here and they smoked in silence watching the wake of the barge. The lad smiled to himself. He knew how to make up. For now, he was a little more equal to the man beside him. He knew there was more to learn, but this was still a satisfying moment. The bay water hissed by the moving barge for a while as he enjoyed the moment.