Cape Cod Adventure....

For more than twenty years our family has rented a small cottage on Cape Cod in South Chatham. The cottage is only 60 feet or so from the water's edge. The warm sun soaked beach and ever present breezes are a welcome change from the stifling weather we left inland. Sun tan, bleached hair and great memories are the perks we'll take back home. This year is no different. We've been vacationing for nearly two weeks now. My sailboat, a 21' sloop the 'Paula T' named after my daughter, is moored in shallow water about 50 yards off shore. We've sailed it almost everyday since arriving. One of the most enjoyable pleasures is ocean sailing. Now it's early evening and the sun is low in the sky. Time to return to the mooring and tie her off for the night. Not owning a dinghy, I grudgingly jump over the side. I wade back to shore, the whole time, mumbling under my breath. I'll explain why later. The water is shallow at low tide. I reach the beach quickly, and head back to the cottage. Everyone will be getting ready to dine out this evening.

Tonight, as is the norm, we head out to find a new restaurant, preferably one we haven't tried yet. Sea food is a prerequisite for everyone except me. I don't eat anything that swims, crawls or floats on the ocean. You could say, with certainty, I'm not a fish eater..If it moos and has hooves, I'll eat it. With a little luck, I always find something on the menu. After an enjoyable dinner and good conversation, we head back to the cottage. Often times, an evening walk on an empty beach is a good way to end the perfect day but, this night will be different. 

It's an inky dark night. The moon is small, distant in the the sky. It's reflection cast across a large expanse of black ocean, flat and eerie. The only sounds, tiny waves pushing onto a quiet beach. The ever present breeze, strangely absent. It's dead calm. As I walk past our cottage, I reach the open expanse beach. Something's amiss, out of place. The tide is ebbing and the small boats moored in the area all face same direction. Their bows facing toward shore. It hits me with a jolt of adrenaline. The Paula T is strangely out of place. She should be pointing in the same direction as the other boats. Instead her broadside is toward shore and she is slowly moving away from the rest in an easterly direction. I had moored her 50 yards off shore and now she's moving! It's difficult to see, dark..erie, deathly quiet. The sails are down, the motor is off. I begin running along the beach trying to keep up. Is someone on board trying to sail her away? I can't see, can't hear anything..so quiet..so dark. And now the light on the mast top is flashing on and off like it's signaling. Someone must be onboard.

I must confess something. I'm not a big fan of swimming in the ocean. Most often, it's too cold, too salty and I don't like the crabs that are all over the bottom nibbling on my toes. Honestly, I love sailing on the ocean but, swimming in it, not so much. Now I have my boat sailing away without me. Need to make a decision, and quick. Do I jump in after it or let it continue moving away and hope it'll eventually run aground? I begin running along the water's edge, trying to keep up. I keep up for a while but, I'm running out of beach and most importantly, breath. Between the exertion of running through the sand and the adrenaline..I'm wearing down quickly.

I'm fully clothed. I start wading in...must be quick...it's moving quickly. Got to catch up to it? Man, this water is cold and black..like ink. I'm NOT liking this at all. Water up to my waist now. I have to push back the fear welling up inside. I'm getting closer. A little farther and maybe I'll be able to grab on. The water closing over my shoulders. I start swimming as hard as I can. Finally, and with much effort, I reach it and climb aboard. I'm dripping wet and breathing heavily but, I made it.

A quick look around reveals an empty boat. The hatch still closed and everything seems undisturbed. I look toward shore see family members are calling to me. Their voices are swallowed up before they reach me. We are no more than 100 feet apart but, I can't hear what they're saying. Sounds not reaching me from shore. Later I discovered they couldn't hear me either. A strange phenomenon for sure. After regaining my composure I try starting the outboard motor..it starts. Quickly, I grab the rudder and steer toward shore. Soon, I beach the Paula T and everyone gathers around, curious about what caused this strange event.

So what really happened....? Got up the next morning, I waded out to the mooring and quickly found the answer I was looking for. A week earlier I purchased a mooring fitting from a local marina. I mistakenly bought an incorrect one for salt water use. Within a week the sea corroded it, and it failed. The boat no longer secured to the mooring, simply began drifting away, pushed by a small current. Purely by chance I arrived at the beach as she broke free. A few minutes earlier and she would have drifted out of sight. The flashing light on top of the mast? It was moon light reflecting off the chrome mast top. The slight rocking of the boat caused it appear as a blinking light. 

Mystery solved but, it made for an exciting night on Cap Cod. We all had a good laugh. Years later, we still talk about it.  A story I'll be able to tell the next generation for sure....that one eerie night on Cape Cod.