Heat Wave

I know it's going to be a hot day when I can wear a tank top at 5:30 am, as I step out the door to my car. It's nice that it is actually light at that hour now, as opposed to this winter when the sun didn't rise until we were steaming south (hours later).

Cap and I convened at the Landing, as usual, leaning against his truck bed to catch up briefly on the holiday before the day commenced. Cap had gone fishing on his day off, go figure. That man just can't get enough fishing! He went looking for groundfish and ended up spending all day on the water.

Today when we walked down the ramp to the skiff, a captain was waiting in his boat at the dock. He said he was waiting on his sternman. This isn't surprising on the morning after Independence Day. Many a fisherman was partying yesterday, the least responsible of whom no doubt paid for it this morning.

However, I shouldn't judge because there was one day this winter when my Cap was the one waiting for me at the dock. It was during shrimping season, when we had a deadline to be at the dock and it was important to start on time. I had a small battery-operated alarm clock that was set for 4:30 am. You can probably guess what happened. The battery died. I woke up at 6 am. My cell phone was in silence mode, so the phone didn't ring when Cap called asking where I was. I was mortified. I called his house frantically. Mrs. Cap informed me that he had left without me. There was only one thing left to do: show up a the Harbor. So I drove (a bit too fast) to Round Pond to find Cap all donned in his full oil gear (which he didn't usually do until 10 miles offshore) aboard a super-organized boat. He'd been delaying for an hour and half waiting for me! I told him I'd never do it again and I didn't. I now rely on my cell phone alarm instead of battery power.

First thing this morning we loaded 10 traps on the boat. I was dripping in sweat before we even left the Harbor. As we hauled some traps along the southern shore, I cringed to hear the piercing buzz of the cicada. I dread that noise in the summer. It means we are bound for a long hot day. However, that whining little insect was deceiving. A cool sea breeze came up in an hour or two and I was quite grateful to be on the water instead of in the stagnant, humid air on land.

A strong, steady breeze had built by the afternoon. It was a good day for sailing. As we hauled up the Sound, a few sailboats were heeled over, rubrail in water, racing by. One even headed straight for us. Cap had to move after we had the trap aboard to avoid one. I thought it a bit rude of them not to change their course, but they did have the right-of-way after all.

At the end of the day, we hauled traps just outside of Round Pond. Looking back at the Harbor, all manner of boaters were indulging in the cool ocean breeze. Little white right triangles darted here and there as part of a sailing class, kids splashing neighboring boats as they sailed by. A father rowed his young son around the harbor in a rowboat. A few paddlers speeded by in kayaks, their paddles rotating like blades of a windmill. A young family took a canoe for a spin around the Harbor, mom and dad sandwiching two little ones protectively.

When we returned to the harbor, there was a hoard of children jumping off of the dock and having a grand ol' time. I longed to join them. I had to wait until we unloaded the lobsters and put the boat "to bed" on the mooring to go swimming. Diving into the cool water was such a relief back in the heat of the harbor. The seawater soothed my sore, swollen feet and my sunburned back. Maybe I'll wear my bathing suit under my work clothes tomorrow in anticipation of this moment at the end of the day!