All Aboard Andi's Dream Ch. 02

Some of the mullet got loose and were hopping around on the deck and the twins were in a panic, trying to pick them up, but as soon as the fish moved, they would run away yelled "Fish! Get in the tank!"

"Look, pick it up behind the face," said Bitty, and she tried to show the twins how to pick up a fish, but they were terrified.

"Come here," said Paul and he held a small fish. The twins were terrified, but Paul said, "pet his tummy, see? They're slippery and wiggly, but they can't hurt you." Soon he had a fish in the hands of each twin. "Don't squeeze too hard, just let him wiggle."

Sandy and Madeline looked at each other and each muttered something in Twinbabble® then ran up toward the galley. "Oh no," said Paul.

"I agree," chuckled Yi as the twins flashed past her on their way to show mommy.

Paul, Bitty, and Sunny continued to scoop up the loose mullet and soon they heard Andi scream above them and two exhausted little fish sailed through the air and landed in the cockpit. "Sorry about that, old boy," Paul told the mullet as he put them in the bait tank that was built into the gunnel. He made sure that the aeration was on and dropped some chum in the tank for the hungry fish.

"Mommy didn't like our fishes," pouted Sandy as they returned.

After Paul corralled the bait fish, he started assembling the fighting chair on the center mount in the cockpit. While he did that, Bitty broke out a seawater hose and sprayed down the deck while Sandy and Madeline tried to swab it with swabs that were way too big for them. "Let's go find some fish, captain!" called out Paul as he broke out two fishing rods.

"You got it!" called Stan and Andi's Dream began the hunt. Paul then spread the outriggers outward. With the outriggers set, he baited each line and set them on the outriggers, then settled back in the fighting chair. "Beer me," he called, and sure enough, Madeline appeared a few moments later with an ice-cold bottle of root beer.

He sipped the root beer, sharing it with his daughters, and after finishing it he was halfway done with a Yuengling with a twin on each knee when it happened. They were relaxing in the fighting chair, the twins sipping their juice boxes, when the pole on the port side started spinning madly. "Fish up!" he called. The twins hopped down and scampered up to the Mezzanine to watch.

Andi's Dream slowed and Paul grabbed the madly spinning pole and set the brake higher. The tension caused the snap on the outrigger to release his line, and the fish was all his. Stan appeared on the starboard pole and stood by in case another fish decided to bite. Paul took a moment to look up to see who was manning the helm and saw it was Andi at the helm with Sung-mi giving her instructions.

The fish on his line decided to put up a fight and Paul let it have its way for a while, but eventually he pulled in a nice wahoo, a delicious fish that Yi immediately started making plans for. Wahoo is sweet with a mild flavor, a perfect fish for people who hate fishy flavor. Its meat is firm but delicate and flaky and many people claim that it is close to tasting like veal. Paul fought it alongside and Stan brought it up with a gaffing pole and Yi quickly dispatched it with a well-aimed knife blade.

As she was cleaning the wahoo at the cockpit cleaning station, the other poll started to spin, and Stan grabbed it. Paul stood ready with the gaffing pole when a nice sized mahi-mahi was pulled in by Stan. Paul pulled it aboard, and Yi's eyes opened wide. "Oh, yes!" and again her knife flashed to complete fishing for the morning.

"Good timing!" called Andi from above. "We need to head to Melbourne." Andi's Dream was due into the Melbourne marina at one to pick up Macy, John, Lucy, and Gus. While Yi fileted the mahi-mahi, Paul hauled in the outriggers and stowed them, washed the fishing tackle and stowed it, and the live bait was poked and prodded by the twins. Paul could see goldfish in his future when they got back to Springville. Yi wrapped and refrigerated the filets she harvested, then pitched the remains of the wahoo and mahi-mahi overboard and scrubbed down the cleaning stations. She showed Paul that when you lift the lid on one station, it's a barbeque grill. The other one is a huge chest freezer and a sink.

Andi was still at the helm, and she turned west and headed back toward Cape Canaveral, and as she did Andi's Dream returned to being a luxury cruiser. She opened up the throttles and got her boat racing back to the Canaveral Canal, then nervously set the autopilot, ran down the three flights of stairs to the laundry to retrieve her bikini and cutoffs. She changed there in the crew's head, then returned to the aft fly bridge and was ready to take control. Sunny poked her head out from the fore bridge and told her that she would need Andi to switch the navigation controls back to the fore bridge. "But it's so nice out here, warm and sunny. That suite is cold enough to store the fish we just caught." Andi was complaining about the air conditioning in the fly bridge suite.

Sunny made a posture of never-ending suffering and began opening up the fly bridge. The rear glass doors opened wide and so did the side windows in the luxurious cockpit. Andi took the Captain's chair which when moved fully forward was almost close enough for her tiny frame. Sunny sat to her left in what she called the "Instructor Pilot" chair and guided Andi through the navigational duties. "Don't forget, you have twenty feet of boat under you, and seven of them below the surface. You have forty feet of boat ahead of you, and forty feet of boat behind you. Always stay in the channel and watch for overhead wires."

"Good to know, but you may have to remind me when we see land." Andi's brow furrowed, and she said, "What's going on with the sonar? Is it going blank? No, it's back... now it's gone again..."

Sunny stood up and peered forward, then smiled and turned to Bitty and the twins who were coloring at the Fly Bridge dining table. "Bit-na! Take the twins forward. We have friends in the water."

Bitty's eyes opened wide. "Come on! You have to see this!" and she dashed down the staircase with Sandy and Madeline following. Confused, but in hot pursuit, the twins raced after their new friend.

"You go down too, take Doctor Paul." said Sunny as she edged Andi out of the captain's chair. They followed the girls out to the foredeck and Andi was as confused as her daughters, but Paul had an idea of what was going on. When they reached the foredeck, Paul found Andi's blouse from last night tucked between the cushions of the couch they made love on. The girls were leaning over the fore handrails cheering and laughing.

Paul and Andi looked and saw a dozen bottle-nose dolphin were swimming along either side of the bow riding the bow wake and putting on an exciting show. The girls were ecstatic over the sight and Madeline asked her mommy if she could get a piece of bread to feed them.

"No honey, they're not like the ducks in the park. They like to eat those little fish your papa caught earlier."

"Which little fish?" Paul asked, his pride on the line. The wahoo and mahi-mahi weren't record setters, but there were a few meals in each one.

"The bait dear," Andi patted the side of his face, "your other fish are just fine." Andi wanted to head back to the bridge, but every fiber in her body screamed to stay with the twins and watch them. She finally sighed. Let them have fun. This boat doesn't have a heli-pad for helicopter mothers. She took the blouse from Paul, slipped it on, and tied it off under her breasts with such nonchalance that he was convinced she had left it on the couch for that exact purpose. With the blouse on, she headed back up to the flybridge. As soon as she got up there, the radio crackled to life.

"MV Andi's Dream, MV Andi's Dream, this is USCG Venturous."

Andi looked in shock. "What do we do?"

"Answer them," said Stan, "Just say 'Andi's Dream answering.'"

"Ok," she sighed. Might as well get it over with. "Andi's Dream answering, this is Andi speaking." She cringed at what she said. It sounded so stupid to her, but it just came out.

"Please stand to for a safety inspection."

Andi looked at Stan, who was still lounging at the coffee table with a magazine and a cup of his daughter's coffee. "Just say Aye Aye."

Andi lifted the microphone to her lips and said, "Aye-Aye." She really was in terror. The twins were on the bow with no safety gear! They were all going to jail!

"Honey, when you say it, key the microphone," said Sunny, who noticed that the transmit light didn't come on.

"Aye-aye," she tried again.

Stan showed Andi and Paul how to gather the paperwork that the Coast Guard was going to ask for and Sunny showed Andi how to bring the boat to a stop. They set the autopilot to station keeping and went down to the cockpit to greet the US Coast Guard.

The USCG Venturous pulled up astern and port of Andi's Dream, and shortly a Zodiac full of 'Coasties' came bounding toward the luxury yacht. Stan and Paul stood at the stern rail and helped the crew of the zodiac tie off, and one by one, they boarded the yacht, leaving two sailors behind in the Zodiac. The sailors looked around and whistled. "Nice!" said the burly warrant officer who was leading the inspection. "I think this is the first Riviera 72 we've had on the space coast." His men went about their appointed inspection, and he grinned. "I get the hard part... galley inspection."

Stan led the way to the galley and Yi saw the Warrant officer and cried "Donny!" and threw her arms around him.

"How ya doin' Yi?" said the old coastie, "Don't tell me they have you cooking AND turning wrenches on this dream ship."

"You know me, drop a smelt on a hot rock and I'll whip up a side dish for you." The two chatted like the old friends. Yi has been to numerous clinics held by Warrant Officer Don Coats.

"Hey, remember ol' Fuzznuts?" grinned Warrant Officer Coats.

"What's that whackjob up to?" asked Yi suspiciously.

"He's supposed to be inspecting your engine spaces, but I don't think he has found his way in."

"If he TOUCHES one of my V12's I'll break his arm!" Yi cried and dashed down to the cockpit. The access to the engine room on the Riviera Motor Sport yachts is actually hidden behind the port side staircase from the cockpit to the mezzanine and on his own, "Ol' Fuzznuts" would never find it.

With Yi gone, Paul took the opportunity to introduce himself and Andi as owners of Andi's Dream.

"This is a sweet boat you have, sir," said Warrant Officer Coats.

"I was able to get it for a steal," said Paul. "It made a nice Christmas present for my bride."

The coast guard inspection didn't last very long. Being fairly new and having just spent a few months in the yard getting readied for a new buyer, Andi's Dream was in marvelous shape. As Don Coats inspected the galley, the twins watched every move that he made. He finally turned to the twins and said, "Good morning, ladies."

"Was my mom speeding again?" asked Sandy.

"No, this is just a safety inspection."

"Ok, because she drives really fast." Without another word, the twins went back upstairs to their coloring.

Soon, the inspection was over. Warrant officer Coats presented Paul with his inspection certificate and he and his team returned to the Venturous, leaving Yi to mutter oaths and threats under her breath. Paul and Andi gathered at the helm, and Sunny showed them how to navigate. They had to return to the Canaveral inlet, then join the waters of the Banana River and head south until that joined the Indian River. Once they followed the Indian River to Melbourne, they needed to turn to Crane Creek and follow those waters to the marina. "This is not a speed run," said Sunny. "No wake zones are not there for the snowbirds. They're there for the manatees. It's winter. They will be near the surface warming themselves."

Ahead of them they could see the buoys marking the entrance to the Canaveral canal. "The maximum speed in the canal is ten knots," said Sunny. She opened a chart and showed Paul and Andi how to determine the speed limit. Soon they were in the canal, and they met an outbound cruise ship.

"Here comes Mickey's boat again, girls," called Andi. The twins and Bitty ran up to the front of the fly bridge to watch the huge ship approach them, then as it passed, they ran out to the aft deck and waved to the ship and a few passengers saw them and waved back.

"They waved at us," a breathless Madeline told her mother.

"I think one was Ella," said Sandy, and Madeline nodded her agreement.

<><><><><> ֎ <><><><><>

John, Macy, Gus, and Lucy sat in the Marina Café right where they had been told they would be met, and they sipped cool drinks in the warm, muggy atmosphere. The locals were drinking hot coffee and wearing sweatshirts and sweaters. Seventy-eight degrees appeared to be too cool for them, Lucy guessed. She has never been south of Denver in her life and this place was incredible! The palm trees, the greenery, and the oranges! She loves citrus, so early January on the "Space Coast" is nirvana for her. In fact, right then she was enjoying a Sea Breeze, grapefruit juice, cranberry juice, and vodka.

"They should be here at any time," said John, sipping his virgin sea breeze. "If there's one thing about Stan Carlson, he's always on time."

"Maybe they're behind that giant moving up the channel," remarked Macy. She pointed to a huge boat headed their way.

"That is most likely. This thing would block the view of a container ship," growled John. He really couldn't wait to get back out to sea and catch some fish. The last text he got from his brother read, "Andi's Dream is a fishing MACHINE!" so it had to be behind this giant that should be part of the Royal Caribbean fleet. He could even see outriggers, so Stan had to be following the giant. Landlubber Gus who knew nothing about sailing or fishing realized this thing was a monster.

"Why is that huge boat moving so slow?" asked Gus.

"A couple of reasons," answered Macy. "this is a no wake area, they go slow so they don't produce a wake..."

"Oh, I thought those 'No Wake Zone' signs meant you had to let sleeping dogs lie."

Lucy gave him a gentle backhanded smack to the chest as she tried her hardest not to laugh. Even his dumbest jokes brought a smile out of her in her foulest moods.

"And this is a manatee area. They're near the surface on a day like today to warm in the sun."

"The manatee is a confusing animal to me," said Gus to Lucy, "it's a sea cow, so how do you serve manatee, with steak sauce or with tartar sauce? Very confusing..."

Lucy gave him a blank stare as long as she could before she started laughed. She put her arm around him and buried her face in his shoulder to stifle the laughs. When she finally recovered, she gave him another backhand. "What?" he said with a confused look before laughing himself.

"Don't be telling that joke down here to a local. They love their manatee more than they love Jesus," said John, leaning in toward the chuckling couple.

Lucy asked, "What are those big antennae for on that ship?"

"What big antenna?" John tried to see what she was asked about.

"The super big antenna, they're leaning back at about a sixty-degree angle," clarified Gus, who was mystified, too.

"Those are outriggers, they're like long fishing rods, but they aren't..."

"Yes, they are," said Macy with growing excitement. "They're attached to that huge boat."

As the monster neared the dock, it slowed to a stop. John still couldn't see a member of the crew, though he thought he saw what looked like Sung-mi in the enclosed flying bridge. The engines revved up a little bit as the thrusters came in to play and slowly the boat rotated 180 degrees around until finally the stern came into view. It was Andi's Dream.

"That's our boat?" gasped Gus.

"I saw the pictures, but I didn't realize how big it would be," gasped John.

When it drew up parallel to the dock, it started moving backwards towards them until it was fully alongside of them. Then it stopped and, ever so gently, it moved sideways toward the dock. John recognized Yi-jin amidships as she set out the fenders, and Stan was at the stern, both getting ready to tie up the behemoth. Paul was in the fighting chair with 3 young girls on his lap; Sandy, Madeline, and Bit-na. And where were Sunny and Andi?

John looked up at the fly bridge and saw Andi at the port side docking helm and Sunny was standing near her, giving advice. Soon Bitty jumped off Paul's lap and ran the length of the boat, dropping the fenders over the side. She took the bow rope from Yi, who walked aft and stepped off the boat the moment the fenders made gentle contact. She trotted fore and Bitty tossed her the rope and Yi made the bow fast with two lines while Stan did the same for the stern.

Sunny and Andi came down off the bridge after the engines were shut down and the standby generators were running properly. The pier crew came up and began topping off the fuel tanks as Yi came up from the engine room. The twins exploded off of Paul's lap and dove over the stern transom on to the dock. "Aunty Lucy! Aunt Macy!" they cried as they ran. As soon as they slammed into Lucy, they started chattering away. Lucy caught the words "Fish, swim, boat, bed, window, decorations, and pancakes..." but the rest was all lost in the TwinBabble®. There were hugs and handshakes all around and Andi was shaking with excitement that everyone was here.

"What's so exciting?" asked John. "We just saw you the other day."

"Today's our wedding anniversary! And I have my entire wedding party here!"

Andi, Lucy and Macy hugged, then one of the marina matrons overheard and said, "That's so sweet. How long have you been married, dear?"

"Six days, eighteen hours and thirty minutes," said Paul, coming up behind Andi to give her a hug.

An official-looking fellow came up and said to Stan, "That's some amazing boatmanship. Your boat is 75 feet long, and the channel is only 85 feet wide. You did a fine job swinging it around."

"We're 75 feet long with the swimming deck down," said Stan. "Andi here was the helmsman on that docking." Andi heard her name and walked over to them.

"I'm Andi Jarecki, and to be honest, Sung-mi Carlson guided me through that entire procedure."

"Either way, it was flawless. And Mrs. Jarecki, these fellows have a delivery for you from my mom, Justice Nicoletta Atherton." He indicated two fellows in coveralls carrying large cardboard boxes. "They need to see your chef."

Andi asked Yi to speak with the men and she did and led them to the cockpit of Andi's Dream while the marina official handed Andi a greeting card. She pulled it from the envelope and read it; it was a sweet wedding sentiment. Written on it in Miss Nicoletta's flowing script read, "Forgive this late wedding gift. Have a wonderful New Year from one special mother to another—Nicoletta."

Andi sniffed and wiped a tear from her eye. "Your mom is a very special person. Thank you."

The man introduced himself as Nathanial Atherton, "Mom says you two have something in common."

"We truly do," she said.

Paul was going to take her out when Andi's Dream was ready, so he kept an eye on the refueling crew. After everyone was aboard, Paul and Stan went over the undocking procedure. The moment refueling was done, Paul and Yi spent twenty minutes in the engine room. They were going over the pre-departure checklist, ensuring the twin MAN V-12 1800 diesels were ready to operate. "You ready Doctor J?" Yi asked.