Read The Chase: One Courageous Skipper Battling The Perilous Evil Out To Destroy Him. (Sea Action & Adventure) for Free Online
Authors: Herzel Frenkel
chose a Volvo for quality and service, and a twenty horsepower - strong enough to move the Galatea at five knots, yet small enough to be hand-cranked should the batteries fail.
The engine started at the touch of the button. The boat gathered speed as he pushed the throttle a quarter forward. A few minutes later, as the gauge settled on two knots and the engine warmed up a bit, he pushed the throttle up to 2200 RPM. Soon they were sailing at five knots, heading for the small island of Agathonissi. Avri stared anxiously at the compass and the horizon, alternatively, eagerly waiting for the island to appear on the skyline. Five knots was full speed for the boat while motoring. She was capable of up to twelve knots when on sails.
Agathonissi Island emerged low on the distant horizon. It appeared like a low mist, a bit dark and hard to discern amongst the low clouds. It was still some two or three hours away.
He was aiming at the long, deserted and nameless bay at the south of the island, planning to repair that nasty gash in the bow for besides being odious, it would surely raise a lot of questions to which he was not prepared to answer.
The entrance, and the bay itself, fused seamlessly into the landscape, making it impossible to distinguish from the sea. The chart exhibited three pointed hills nestling in the back of the bay. The entrance laid about a half a mile to the west.
It couldn't be more than an hour , he thought, timing the ordeal.
A few minutes before noon, they were close enough to the shore to navigate solely by the coast. The land was flat and empty. He sailed closer to the shore and then northwest, parallel to the coastline, searching for the bay.
The narrow entrance emerged all of a sudden, though expectedly. A short minute ago there was nothing there, and then it materialized from the low land.
He turned on the depth sounder and, as he turned slowly into the bay, pulled back the throttle to 800 RPM. The chart showed a narrow channel running along the left bank, with a depth of three fathoms and a sandy bottom. Although there would be no real danger to the boat in running aground, it was definitely not a suitable time for it to happen.
He passed the entrance dead slow, keeping a wary eye on the depth sounder. After a hundred yards, the water widened and he sailed into large, almost circular, cove, with an old stone quay at the far eastern side. He turned right and docked alongside its western edge.
The quay was as ancient as the surrounding landscape. He tied at the old stone bollards and stepped happily over to the smooth dock. By 1520 that afternoon the Galatea was safely secured. Two anchors on her Starboard side, one fore and one aft, , ensuring they could take to sea in any wind or tide condition.
There were two stone buildings on shore, small and desolate with no signs of any recent life there. He hoped the entire island would be this way.
Satisfied with the surroundings Avri commenced the task at hand - to repair the boat and eliminate any evidence of the collision with the Russian submarine.
CHAPTER FOUR
There was a storage compartment underneath the sole at the rear of the main cabin. Here, in the cool space bellow the waterline, Avri kept small quantities of material for fiberglass repairs. There were a couple of two-gallon cans of polyester resin, four quarts of white gel-coat, two quarts of wood varnish, a few square yards of fiberglass mat and cloth, an assortment of sandpapers, wax and polishing compounds, brushes and rollers, mixing bowls and cleaning solvents. Everything, in fact, that was needed for a decent repair job.
Avri worked quickly. He was short on time, but the rupture in the hull had to be properly prepared for the repair to be undetectable. He cut and filed the jagged edges and the rough corners until the hole was smooth all around and the edge tapered inward. It was almost twenty inches across and shaped like a pear. The job was not as hard as it
The engine started at the touch of the button. The boat gathered speed as he pushed the throttle a quarter forward. A few minutes later, as the gauge settled on two knots and the engine warmed up a bit, he pushed the throttle up to 2200 RPM. Soon they were sailing at five knots, heading for the small island of Agathonissi. Avri stared anxiously at the compass and the horizon, alternatively, eagerly waiting for the island to appear on the skyline. Five knots was full speed for the boat while motoring. She was capable of up to twelve knots when on sails.
Agathonissi Island emerged low on the distant horizon. It appeared like a low mist, a bit dark and hard to discern amongst the low clouds. It was still some two or three hours away.
He was aiming at the long, deserted and nameless bay at the south of the island, planning to repair that nasty gash in the bow for besides being odious, it would surely raise a lot of questions to which he was not prepared to answer.
The entrance, and the bay itself, fused seamlessly into the landscape, making it impossible to distinguish from the sea. The chart exhibited three pointed hills nestling in the back of the bay. The entrance laid about a half a mile to the west.
It couldn't be more than an hour , he thought, timing the ordeal.
A few minutes before noon, they were close enough to the shore to navigate solely by the coast. The land was flat and empty. He sailed closer to the shore and then northwest, parallel to the coastline, searching for the bay.
The narrow entrance emerged all of a sudden, though expectedly. A short minute ago there was nothing there, and then it materialized from the low land.
He turned on the depth sounder and, as he turned slowly into the bay, pulled back the throttle to 800 RPM. The chart showed a narrow channel running along the left bank, with a depth of three fathoms and a sandy bottom. Although there would be no real danger to the boat in running aground, it was definitely not a suitable time for it to happen.
He passed the entrance dead slow, keeping a wary eye on the depth sounder. After a hundred yards, the water widened and he sailed into large, almost circular, cove, with an old stone quay at the far eastern side. He turned right and docked alongside its western edge.
The quay was as ancient as the surrounding landscape. He tied at the old stone bollards and stepped happily over to the smooth dock. By 1520 that afternoon the Galatea was safely secured. Two anchors on her Starboard side, one fore and one aft, , ensuring they could take to sea in any wind or tide condition.
There were two stone buildings on shore, small and desolate with no signs of any recent life there. He hoped the entire island would be this way.
Satisfied with the surroundings Avri commenced the task at hand - to repair the boat and eliminate any evidence of the collision with the Russian submarine.
CHAPTER FOUR
There was a storage compartment underneath the sole at the rear of the main cabin. Here, in the cool space bellow the waterline, Avri kept small quantities of material for fiberglass repairs. There were a couple of two-gallon cans of polyester resin, four quarts of white gel-coat, two quarts of wood varnish, a few square yards of fiberglass mat and cloth, an assortment of sandpapers, wax and polishing compounds, brushes and rollers, mixing bowls and cleaning solvents. Everything, in fact, that was needed for a decent repair job.
Avri worked quickly. He was short on time, but the rupture in the hull had to be properly prepared for the repair to be undetectable. He cut and filed the jagged edges and the rough corners until the hole was smooth all around and the edge tapered inward. It was almost twenty inches across and shaped like a pear. The job was not as hard as it
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