During the summer, I witnessed a salvage operation by the skipper. At the time he owned the Stephen Taber, and he also had part ownership of the Alice Wentworth, an 85-foot coasting schooner. One night, both vessels anchored in Friendship. The Wentworth’s captain decided to leave about 0900 using the yawl boat for power since there was no wind that early in the morning. Neither of these old vessels would have passed Steamship Inspection if they’d had internal engines installed. Therefore, they were pushed by yawl boats secured to their sterns. The skipper waited until noon for the breeze to make up and sailed out of Friendship. As we left, he received a VHF call from the Wentworth stating that their yawl boat had thrown a rod and that they were drifting toward some ledges. The skipper used his yawl boat to push the Taber and tow the Wentworth. At the time, we were in a dense fog. I was manning the yawl boat. The skipper told me
to occasionally shut off the engine so we could hear the bells and gongs and know where we were. I was impressed by his navigation skills. I have since learned that it isn’t that difficult, even without Loran or GPS. We arrived in New Harbor, a small harbor, and the two vessels, not counting the tow line, totaled 150 feet in length. The skipper managed to get them safely anchored and claimed salvage for the remaining interest in the Wentworth. Another memory of New Harbor was when we were leaving the mouth of the harbor and snagged a lobster-trap warp on the keel of the Taber. One of the passengers had caught my eye, and I was anxious to impress her. I grabbed a knife, bit down on its blade, and dove off the stern. In my young mind, I thought I was performing just like Errol Flynn in the movies. However, the passenger had disappeared below by the time I climbed aboard. I guess she was not all that impressed. The skipper chewed me out for putting the
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