The Cap Goes Overboard

Quest
Jack and Hannah Ormerod and Lucia, Delphine & Fin
Fri 6 Jan 2017 11:14
Position: 18:28.787N 64:27.387W

Well, it had to happen sometime. Here at Great Dog Island, there are two anchorages. And one beach. The beach anchorage is more exposed and rolly so we’ve hidden round the corner, behind sheer cliff walls. We can live without a beach for a few days. Well, most of us can. Someone on board will cross her legs until she reaches sand. Or grass. Or pavement. Or semi-explodes. Of course, none of these conditions apply for fireworks, in which case it turns out that a clean bed will do just nicely. So, beach round the corner it is. The bumpy headland corner. 

It was on the late afternoon beach trip that I stood on Quest’s transom, watching her crew smile as broadly as cats on their return. The girls said the Cap had been there one minute and gone the next on that bumpy headland corner. The Cap said he’d never clambered so quickly back into a dinghy. Edna herself had stopped immediately since her kill cord had also gone overboard round the Cap’s arm. 'If I'd sped up maybe we’d have been ok but the wave was so steep, I instinctively slowed down and we nosedived.’ The Cap looked to his side. 'The last thing I remember was pushing Delphine into the dinghy and that was it.’ Delphine pointed to her left arm. It was still holding onto Edna's strap. ‘Good thing I’ve got a bionic arm.’ Lulu had a scratch to, well as usual, her nose. ‘I got flung into the petrol can,’ she said proudly. ‘What happened to Fin?’ They shook their heads, suddenly blank. ‘No idea. It was like she wasn’t there.’ Must be the four leg advantage. So the morale for this, even though we hate morales: if a cool guy or girl offers you a lift in a dinghy and doesn’t wear the kill cord but says don’t worry, I don’t need to wear it. Do you go with him or her? Exactly. We think that if our Cap can go for an unexpected swim, anyone can. 

The next morning, Fin wee’d and watered, it was busy busy busy. The Cap and Lu went diving again. Me and the Phine did a serious amount of BS… boat school! He he.. sorry. We put the hours in! Then, after lunch, we went around the other corner and discovered a sea cave between the rocks… with a lagoon on the other side. Is this a moon pool, we wondered? Where you turn into mermaids on the full moon? We’d done the research (via Netflix of course) before we left Wales. Wait, the MickBeth girls may know! Whatever this place is, it was so beautiful it made us love life with a sudden fierceness. So much so that we had to come back and peel potatoes, whack them in the oven until they were crispy golden on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. Cause we’re here. 

Much Great Dog Love from Quest and her crew xx