Chapter 18

No alarm clock. No alarm clock and I'm awake! Thursday morning with no appointments, no alarm clock and I'm awake!! What is happening to me?

"Make the most of it girl!" I say out loud to myself putting the radio on and heading for the bathroom. Have you any idea how embarrassing it is to catch yourself with toothbrush in hand pretending it's a microphone, performing and singing along to Christina Aguilera's Genie in a Bottle.

It is particularly embarrassing when the moment of self awareness is accompanied by the awareness of one's mother leaning in the doorway watching!

"A year ago" she started, "I was watching you wondering when you'd start showing an interest in girls. Now… . Is there anything you'd like to tell me sweetie?"

"Boundaries mother! Boundaries!"

As I planned to go to the marina I went down to breakfast wearing what had become my favourite cut-off shorts, a yellow top and my wedge-heeled sandals.

"No daughter of mine is going out dressed like that!" thundered my father.

"What's wrong with the way I'm dressed?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to say it." he chuckled spreading marmalade thickly on his toast. "Remembering that your sister never took any notice of my advice, you might want to consider a bra under that top."

Glancing down, the sight of a pair of headlights illustrated his point and I ran back upstairs to chose a bra on which mum showed me how to reclip the straps so they wouldn't show.

A camel is sometimes lightly loaded compared to my bicycle. To be accurate it is my mother's bought in a moments fitness enthusiasm and only ridden twice by her but with a small rucksack, the bike's panniers and basket I might be less than streamlined but I was equipped and provisioned to take on most eventualities.

First stop was at Dad's yard where I had agreed to replace the lifelines on a yacht.

It wasn't skilled work as I simply unscrewed them from their tensioning turnbuckles at their pushpit and pulpit ends, coiled them up and pedalled with them to the riggers for replacement.

"I was wondering when you'd turn up," said Ian, the rigger who I'd known since childhood. "You've been the main topic of conversation for days but as for me, I didn't even know you were gay."

"Seems to me I'm not gay, just a tomboy who grew up too much to carry on pretending she was a boy."

"Do you mean that's all you?" he smiled nodding toward my breasts.

"All me and all homegrown," I answered, "but enough of the chat Ian; me Da's waiting for me to bring back the lifelines if you could do them now."

"Ready in 2 hours and a discount for a kiss"

"OK, 2 hours it is and I'll ask me Da if he's interested in giving you a kiss." and with that I was back on my bicycle and off.

With time on my hand I cycled to the marina for a look at the yacht headed for Bilbao, a Swan 50 named Blue Horizon.

The boat was there but nobody was aboard so I wandered over to where Bill was splicing rope to a length of chain.

"Shall I put the kettle on for tea Bill?"

"What with me being a Scot and Scots being famously mean you dare to ask? Aye, go on with you, but be sure to put two bags in my mug."

Sitting and chatting in the cabin a few minutes later, over tea and the biscuits I'd brought with me, I asked about Blue Horizon.

"A nice boat but almost too big for a couple to handle which is why they have a 2-masted ketch rig. Smaller individual sails but more of them. Expensive boat too with a lot of maintenance."

"You talk as though you know the owner? I only saw him once, here when he asked me to crew to Bilbao. We're supposed to be meeting in the marina bar this evening at 5:30 and originally it was to arrange details On the phone last night though he made it clear the talk he had heard about me was making him reconsider"

"Well good luck with that. I've been on Blue Horizon but mainly know Alistair Dougan through business which is dull. On the other hand to change the subject I've got something interesting to show you." with that he pulled a square wooden box from under the chart table and revealed inside what even I recognised as a sextant.

For the next hour we were up on deck as Bill showed me the intricacies of the sextant and how it measured the angle between what the telescope was pointed at and whatever object was reflected onto a half-mirror in front of the telescope. Trying it with the sextant held horizontally for example I could see both the bow of Blue Horizon through one transparent part of the half-mirror and my bicycle reflected onto the other reflecting part of the half-mirror at the same time even though they were 50° apart.

"Oh my bike!" I exclaimed. "Sorry Bill but I got carried away and I must scoot off. Thank you for the tea and lesson."

"How about we meet in the marina bar at 5:00 before you meet Alistair. I've got a book I'd like to show you."

"Yes, I'd enjoy that Bill. Thank you again but must run now." with that gathering my things and sprinting up the dock.

So much to do and so little time. Collecting the new lifelines, pedalling back to Dad's yard then fitting them took three hours so it was 2:45 when Dad asked the inevitable. "I've just got a few circuit boards need making up before you leave?"

Dad designs and builds custom electronics while I have the mathematical and scientific understanding of a gibbon. What I can do is build from a diagram, solder and test one of his circuits about three times as fast as he can. I make sure I get well paid for that ability so at 5:00pm was feeling financially flush when I joined Bill in the bar.

"You take these to a table and I'll get the drinks in lass." Bill instructed; passing me his sextant box, with a book perched on top. I wasn't asked what I wanted but he reappeared with a pint of beer a whisky and a glass of wine along with two bowls of bar nibbles. The wine was placed in front of me and for once I was smart enough to keep my mouth shut. The book was Celestial Navigation for Yachtsmen by Mary Blewitt and he wanted me to take it and the sextant home with me to practice.

"With modern satellite navigation there is no need for a sextant any more but there is nothing like it for getting in touch with the sea and the skies. Polynesians like your grandmother populated the whole Pacific sailing from island to island with no more than that feel for the sea and a knowledge of the stars. The Tahitian Goddess Taonoui was mother of Fati, the moon god, and of all the stars… "

"Ah Alistair!" Bill called out as, unnoticed by me, Blue Horizon's owner had entered the bar and was approaching my back. Venus told me she was meeting you here but please let me formally introduce you. Venus, this is Alistair Dougan who manages my properties in Wales and Alistair this is Venus Williams my lovely granddaughter.