All Aboard Andi's Dream Ch. 03

© 2024 Duleigh Lawrence-Townshend. All rights reserved. The author asserts the right to be identified as the author of this story for all portions. All characters are original. Any resemblance to anyone living or dead is purely coincidental. This story or any part thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the expressed written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a review or commentary.

All Aboard Andi's Dream

Chapter 3

Rescue at Sea

While on a family honeymoon Paul and Andi Jarecki picked up their close friends and planned to yacht from Melbourne Florida to Jupiter Florida for a day, then celebrate New Years Eve in the Jupiter Yacht Club, however just as their cruise got underway they picked up an SOS on their radio. The Coast Guard Helicopter was responding to a different emergency and the Coast Guard cutter Venturous was an hour away.

Paul and his brother John could not sit by and do nothing. Paul responded to the emergency call and announced that Andi's Dream was responding and was on the way. Turning the helm over to Captain Stan Carlson and his wife Sunny, Paul explained what was happening to his friends and family. The most horrible thing a boater could hear was ringing in Paul Jarecki's ears. SOS, SOS, SOS. ... craft ... distress ... boat is breaking up ... three souls on board ...

Andi's Dream felt like a rocking horse as she bounced from wave to wave "We have a small sailboat that is breaking up, details are sketchy, but it sounds like there was a fire and the boat started breaking apart, and the family is in the water. All we know for sure is that there are three, maybe four, people on board. The mother is pregnant and due soon, and that someone is tangled in the rigging..."

In the salon, Andi's Dream started a rhythmic bouncing as she hit wave after wave at thirty nautical miles per hour. Paul continued, "Sunny has plotted a course and at this speed, we will be on the scene in under 30 minutes. The Coast Guard cutter Venturous is due north and turning south, but they're an hour away. Their helicopter has been transporting people from another incident, so it's not available yet."

He paused for a moment and made sure he had eye contact with everyone. "I'm not asking anyone to do any more than they are moved to do, but John and I are going to do what we have trained to do... we can save this family and we will. We're going to get them out of the water and get them stabilized until the Coast Guard arrives. Folks, this is going to change our plans, but we're sailors, we're doctors, and we're Christians. We have to respond."

Andi suddenly felt sick. She knew she had to respond; she was a doctor. Paul and Lucy are doctors, they have to respond... but she had a sick, terrified feeling that Paul will be going in the water. She knew her husband, and she knew he would go. All she knew of his swimming skills was the splashing around they did a few hours ago and she was terrified.

No one said a word for a long moment, then Lucy went into 'battle mode' that she learned working at the CEMC Hospital Emergency Center. "Paul! Can we use the swim platform to bring the victims aboard?"

"Yes ma'am," said Paul. "That's a good idea."

"Ok, let's do that. We'll triage in the cockpit. Andi, Sunny, you're with me." She turned to Sunny and asked, "what do we have on board for medical supplies?"

"I'll show you, we're good for supplies," said Sunny, who was coming down the staircase from the flybridge.

"Thanks," continued Lucy. "Paul, what do you have?"

"John and I will be in the water; we have our lifesaver merit badges."

Lucy gave him an angry look, as if Paul were making fun of the whole situation until Macy quietly told her, "That's what the boys call their Coast Guard rescue training."

"Ok got it," she continued without a pause, "Macy, there's going to be emotional trauma. Can you help with that?"

"Oui, it is what I am trained for."

"And what about me?" asked Gus. "I don't have any specialized training, but I want to help..."

Lucy turned to him and softened. "I know darling, what I need you to do is go up on the fly bridge and be our eyes and ears. Get binoculars from Stan and take your DSLR up there. Photograph everything, that is crucial because there are more lawyers than sharks in Florida. And be a lookout. Stan will probably need help, too."

"Aye aye dear," and with a hug, Gus headed up to the flybridge.

Andi gathered the twins to her, crouched down, and looked them in the eye. "Mommy has to work, just for a little while," she hastily added, seeing little pouts beginning to grow. "So does daddy and Aunt Lucy..."

"AUNTY, Lucy!" the twins corrected in unison.

"Yes, Aunty Lucy, thank you. We really, really need you to go upstairs and help Uncle Gus, ok?"

"To do what?" asked Sandy.

"You two be his special helpers. If he wants a Coke or some other cold drink, you can come down to the galley and get him one. I need you to do whatever he asks. You need to stay up there with Uncle Gus and make sure he doesn't get scared."

"Ok" the twins nodded and headed upstairs to the flybridge where they could watch everything with Uncle Gus.

John and Paul went to get their snorkeling equipment while Andi and Lucy headed to the cockpit where Sunny awaited with blankets and their medical equipment. As they knelt to inventory the medical equipment, Andi paused and grabbed Lucy's arm. "Wait a minute... Darling? Dear? Just what have you and Gus been up to in the 48 hours since we saw you last?"

Lucy just grinned. "Concentrate on the task at hand, then we'll dish."

"Yes, Doctor Kocsis." Andi turned her attention to the first aid supplies that Sunny provided. "This med kit is quite extensive. I'm impressed."

"When you are at sea, you don't want to be caught short," said Sunny, who had a stethoscope draped around her neck. "Doctor Paul made sure that we had proper medical supplies on board the minute we signed up for this jaunt." They had to speak loudly to be heard over the roar of the engines, and Yi also had the hatch open to aid in cooling the twin diesels, and with every hard rock of the boat Andi was afraid she'd fall into the engine room.

John and Paul emerged wearing swimsuits, and neoprene vests carrying mask, snorkel and fins. "Do you have wetsuits?" asked Andi.

"It would be nice," said Paul. "They're like full body flotation devices, but no. These vests should keep us warm." He knelt down beside Andi and looked through the first aid kit.

"Hey," said Andi and she grasped his chin. "You're going to come back to me, right?"

"Of course I am. You doubt me?"

"No, that's not a request. That's an order. You owe me a son, and I want him in my arms before Macy has hers."

"I heard that," said Macy from her corner of the cockpit.

"I will be back," said Paul.

"ALIVE," demanded Andi, as she closed up the medical kit.

Paul wrapped his arms around his terrified, brave little wife and kissed her. "Everyone makes it home today."

<><><><><>

"This is MV Andi's Dream answering USCG Venturous. Go ahead," said Stan into the radio.

"What is your estimated time on scene?" said the radioman from the Venturous.

"I am seeing smoke at the location we were given, latitude two eight dot zero three zero three, longitude minus eight zero dot zero six six seven. We will be on site in one zero minutes."

"Andi's Dream. Are you able to provide aid?"

"Roger, we have three doctors, one nurse, and two ministers."

"Thank you, Andi's Dream. Keep us updated."

On the rolling deck of the USCG Cutter Venturous, Warrant Officer Don Coats turned and smiled at his captain. "I told you they were packing, sir."

"Damn," said Captain Brown. "Those people in the water have the worst and best luck at the same time. Exec, how long until we get there?"

"Four zero minutes, sir."

"And our helicopter?"

"It is inbound to Melbourne Regional hospital. When it is free, it needs fuel before they can respond."

"Thank you." Captain Darius Brown eased back in his seat and looked off into the distance. Three doctors and a nurse. Amazing.

<><><><><>

In the KTFL newsroom, the news director was listening to the voices coming from his assistant's laptop. He was logged into Broadcastify.com, a website that rebroadcasts police, fire, EMS and other services radio communications. They were listening to the drama unfold in real time. "On New Year's Eve," he muttered and shook his head. Then he turned to Margaret Garcia and said, "Get a helicopter. I don't care how, beg, borrow, steal, and get that interview."

"You got it!"

<><><><><>

The engines roared as they dashed across the Atlantic; the sound filled their ears and even up on the fly bridge they could feel it in their bones. However, down on the cockpit on top of the engines, with the wind blowing past, they heard Stan's voice loud and clear over the PA: "Three minutes to arrival, three minutes."

"Get ready," said Sunny, "he is going to put it in reverse to slow down. It will be like hitting the brakes hard. Then we will back up to the wreck and take survivors on."

Up on the fly bridge Gus was photographing every step of their preparations, Andi, Lucy, and Sunny along with Macy preparing their equipment, John and Paul standing at the rail with their snorkeling equipment, and Yi in a swimsuit stacking rescue floats at the rail. Yi was wearing a tiny bikini bottom with a neoprene vest of her own. He noticed that the twins were standing next to him looking up at him expectantly, Sandy held a can of Coca Cola, and Madeline held a can of Miller Lite. They raised the cans up to him and he took them trying not to laugh and set them on a skid proof mat on the table and told the twins, "Let's go sit down next to Captain Stan, the boat is going to stop soon."

"K!" chirped the twins. They weren't sure if they were allowed to sit on the couch next to the driver, so they've been waiting for their invitation. They practically dragged Gus with them as they headed forward.

As soon as they sat down, Stan called out, "Prepare to stop!" over the intercom.

Andi, Lucy, Sunny, and Macy sat on the deck with their backs against the cockpit grill and freezer. Yi jumped down into the engine room, while John and Paul held on to the stern transom. The roar of the diesels hushed to a purr and the forward thrust stopped and the boat was coasting. All 60 tons of her. A faint call for help could be heard in the distance and Macy tried to stand, but Sunny pulled her back down.

Suddenly, the engines bellowed back to life and the boat sharply decelerated. Their stern wave came crashing into the stern, splashing everyone and everything in the cockpit and sending gallons of water into the engine room. Immediately, the big boat slowed to a crawl and the sight of the wreck appeared on the port side. John and Paul quickly opened the stern transom doors to the swimming deck and stepped out there. Yi emerged from the engine room sputtering and swearing. Up on the fly bridge, Stan got up from his seat and headed back to the port side exterior helm and took control of the big boat from up there while John and Paul pulled on their flippers.

The brothers stood on the swim platform and Paul turned to John. "Everyone comes home today."

"Roger that," said the younger brother and with a fist bump, they were in the water.

The big boat rotated until the stern was pointed directly toward the wreck and the boat started moving astern toward the wreck using thrusters so any lines from the wreckage wouldn't foul the propellers. Sandy stood on the swim platform and directed her husband to bring the boat back until they were too close to the wreckage, and she directed him to stop, then she got back in the cockpit and lowered the swim platform until it was a couple of feet below the surface of the water.

"Coast Guard Cutter Venturous, this is MV Andi's Dream. We are on scene. I can see two victims in the water, and we have deployed swimmers," said Stan into his radio microphone from the aft bridge.

"Venturous copies and monitoring. Keep us updated Andi's Dream."

Andi could see a man and a woman in the water, and she started moving toward the swimming deck, but Lucy called, "Stay here, let them bring the victims to us, just be ready." Yi tossed several rescue floats as far as she could toward the wreck and then dove over the side, joining Paul and John in their dash to the rescue.

The wreck was a wooden sailboat. It was burning, but now the burning portion slipped under the surface and was extinguished. The scene was a mess. There was line and sail and mast everywhere, and much of it was being pulled under. A woman in the water was clutching an empty life vest and was screaming in pain, anguish and terror. Her husband was nearby, desperately trying to get under a sail that was lying on the surface crying, "Stefanie! Stefanie!" It was impossible to get information from them. They were obviously in shock.

John immediately started pulling the woman toward Andi's Dream, and the reason she wasn't wearing the life vest was suddenly apparent. She was very pregnant, and it wouldn't fit. "It's ok Stefanie, I got you, you're safe."

And then she said the words that John never wanted to hear her say; "Stefanie is my daughter!" and then she wailed in anguish.

"Go!" shouted Paul. "Take her back. I will get Stefanie," and John pulled the shrieking woman away from the wreckage, praying for strength as he went. With powerful kicks of his finned legs, John moved the woman to Andi's Dream as fast as he could and was met by Lucy and Andi. They had the swim platform lowered into the water so John could swim aboard. The woman was still fighting John, reaching out to the wreck and shrieking for her daughter.

"We got her, go back and get the girl," ordered Lucy as Gus at the controls up in the fly bridge raised the swim platform up out of the water. As soon as John was sure that Lucy, Andi, and Macy had moved the woman on to the cockpit enough so she wouldn't fight her way back into the water, John dove back in and raced back to the wreck scene where Paul was searching for eight-year-old Stefanie among the debris and Yi was trying to get the father back to Andi's dream.

"Coast Guard Cutter Venturous, this is MV Andi's Dream. We have one victim aboard, a woman in her mid to late twenties. She is pregnant and is in labor. My swimmers are searching the wreckage for a third victim." Stan hung up the microphone and leaned over the fly bridge to see what was going on.

<><><><><>

"In labor?" said Captain Brown.

"That's what he said," said his radio man.

"Where is that helicopter?"

"It's at the Melbourne Airport, taking on fuel."

"Please inform them that they are cordially invited to join this party," snarled Captain Brown. "RSVP required."

"Aye sir," said the radioman. Captain Brown isn't a sarcastic man, but when he is, it's usually pretty biting.

<><><><><>

"We got you, it's ok," Macy was chanting into the terrified woman's ear, "There's two Coast Guard trained rescuers in the water with your husband and Stefanie..."

"It's coming," she gasped at Macy wide eyed while holding her stomach.

"Sunny! This is your department!" called a terrified Macy.

"It's ok, keep her relaxed," said Sunny.

"Relaxed?" Macy almost shrieked. She leaned against the bulkhead, and she held the woman in her arms. "What's your name?" Macy asked.

"Moyra," she said as Lucy and Sunny pulled her slacks down and cut her panties off.

"Moyra, I'm Sunny Carlson. I'm a pediatric nurse at Palm Beach County General and I am going to check your dilation, ok?" Moyra nodded nervously as the Korean nurse pulled on gloves. "Ok, just relax..." She gingerly checked Moyra's cervix and her eyebrows shot up. "Oh my, it looks like we're going to have a baby." Moyra looked around in terror and Sunny said, "Girls, introduce yourself to Moyra. She may be interested in your professional qualifications."

"Moyra, I am Lucy. I'm a doctor of pulmonary medicine and a thoracic surgeon. When I'm not on this boat, I'm an Emergency Department surgeon in Buffalo, New York."

"Hi Moyra, I'm Andi, and I'm a doctor of pulmonary medicine too, and this is my boat!"

"Moyra, I'm Macy, and I'm a doctor of theology and psychology and a Baptist minister."

Moyra looked around in amazement. "So many doctors!"

"Our husbands are doctors too," said Macy. "They're bringing Stephanie to you right now. So, let them take care of Stephanie and let us take care of you and your baby."

Meanwhile, in the water, Yi had the man calmed down enough to at least tell her his name. His name was Fernando, and he was still fighting to get away from her. John came up to them and grabbed Fernando by the shoulders and said, "Fernando, I understand you want to save your family, but we're here now. Let us help you. My brother over there is a doctor. We will get Stefanie for you."

"This is all my fault, this was my idea to get away on New Year's eve... the fire, it happened so fast..." he looked shocked and confused, "we have nothing to burn, no stove, no large batteries..."

John grabbed a rescue float and put it in Fernando's hands. "Now is not the time to worry about that. Your wife is in labor and needs you."

"I can't go back without Stefanie; I have to bring her back to Moyra."

"Is that your wife, Moyra?" asked John, and the man nodded. "Ok, but you need to stay here with Yi and let me and Paul get Stefanie for you, OK?" Fernando nodded again. "Where was the last place you saw her?"

"She was sunbathing at the base of the mast..." Fernando pointed toward a tangled mass of rigging and sailcloth at the east edge of the wreckage field.

John took off like a shot. He swam up to where Paul was searching. Paul surfaced and turned to John, who said, "Her father, he last saw her in that mess over there," and pointed to the area Fernando indicated.

"The hull is pulling that mess under," said Paul, pulling out his snorkel. The brothers pulled their masks down and dove for the suspected area. It was a tough swim with the debris and lines in their way. When they got to that area, they found a young girl fighting to remain in a bubble of air beneath a sail, but her legs were tangled in line, and she was being pulled under.

Both men pulled the knives out of their thigh sheaths and began cutting her free. It was a lot of work; the nylon line was tough to cut, and she was fighting back in terror. Her kicking legs kept pulling the line out of their hands, and each man almost dropped his knife several times. The girl was completely under by the time they could cut her free. Paul held her motionless body tight to his chest and kicked hard for the surface. He was shocked to see how deep they had sunk. Paul held her tight and, swimming hard; he pulled her out of the sinking, tangled mess to freedom.

Reaching the surface, Paul gasped an explosive breath of air, then began kicking toward Andi's dream with all his might. He held Stefanie to his chest, on her side, and thumped her on the back, trying to free the water from her lungs. John swam alongside, shouting encouragement. He shot ahead and reached the boat ahead of Paul and was on the swimming deck when Paul arrived. Paul swam up onto the ramp and only relaxed when he felt the ramp lifting him and Stephanie out of the water. John and Andi lifted the limp girl from Paul and lay her on the platform as it rose from the water.