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Guest Flys In For A Visit
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May 23, 1997 (Thursday) |
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Phill and I were relaxing in the cockpit and we were pleasantly surprised to learn that we were having houseguests. The first was to arrive momentarily. This guest was not your ordinary guest. This guest was a native, not a guest from our homelands. Although the guest had no formal invitation, Phill thought that it was only appropriate that we extend a warm welcome. |
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This guest showed up on our starboard side, his (or maybe her) beauty contrasted against the clear blue sky. We watched as he (or she) circled around in front of us and neared us on the port side. As it turned out he (or she) decided to land on the bambini. I freaked and Phill took exception to my reaction. Our guest was a booby bird. I pushed up on the bimini, trying to discourage our guest from landing on the bimini. He just flew off and circled around us again, preparing to reattempt his landing. I again pushed up on the bimini and hampered his landing. He decided to teach us a lesson. He left us one of his calling cards, a big one. We then had a gray bimini with a big white streak in the middle. This guest was not easily discouraged. He circled yet another time. This time he tried to land on the barbecue. He partially succeeded. He landed momentarily on the barbecue and then fell off. Unfortunately, a bird does not land on their feet like a cat. This poor bird fell headfirst into the sea. Not to be discouraged, he shook off his coat of salt water and circled again. This time he attempted to land on the port side spreaders. After about four unsuccessful landing attempts he gave up and headed for the boom. We happened to have a single reef in the main so it made for a perfect landing spot for our guest. This time the landing was successful. He sat comfortably on the boom for about an hour and then lost his balance. He again went for a swim, head first again. |
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Again he dusted himself off and sought another resting-place. This is one determined bird. This time he discovered our whisker pole mounted on the port stanchions. He landed successfully and found a way to balance himself without falling off. I thought this was so funny until he was finally successful in finding a somewhat permanent resting spot. I started to go up on deck and shoe him off but Phill came to his defense. To quote the skipper "After all this is his ocean and we are his guest. Leave him be." I bit my tongue because we all know the rules. The skipper is always right. The bird tucked his head under his wing and settled down for the night. Each time we made a shift change we gave a status on our houseguest. He was still there and resting comfortably. He seemed to have a special talent to be able to sleep and rock back and forth on the whisker pole without falling. In the morning he was still there. I still did not approve of his visit but Phill was delighted to have him aboard. See what I mean about having too much time on your hands and what the sea does to your brain. Well my revenge was sweet. Our houseguest apparently could not locate the head in the middle of the night and decided to use the fore deck instead. Boy did he leave a mess for the SKIPPER to clean up. Now the skipper is much more selective about whom he lets visit. |
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NOTE: Comments and suggestions should
be sent to JReese@JRDelta.com |
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