... and catch her breath on deck as Alfred prepares to follow the bags up the side relieved that the bags were not trapping them, the dinghy was swung towards Ironhorse and Bittern, now over 100m away. I spotted the ship’s crew unrolling a ladder which dropped down amidships. (We learned later that the Captain ordered this when Avanta motored away from us.) “Make for Bittern!” I yelled, and we paddled towards her as though our lives depended on it – as indeed they did. Her lee made things easier as we got closer, although being perched amongst the tubes and bags made paddling awkward and any manoeuvre precarious. But despite extreme exhaustion, with our eyes on that ladder we somehow found new strength. As Bittern rolled threateningly towards our tiny dinghy, the lower part of the ladder (of rope with hefty wooden steps) tumbled into the swell which raced along the hull from bow to stern, then was jerked above us, before being flung back down as the swell ran on along the hull. Once more, we had to avoid being hit! As we reached her, we anticipated judging our transfer for a foothold on that wildly moving ladder. We were about 3m aft of the ladder, but each impact bounced us away again. Then a thin rope slid down past the ladder and, as we paddled back again, I grabbed it, holding us close to the hull. Way above us, carried away by the wind, was unintelligible shouting. Two safety lines were lowered to attach each of us to Bittern. Safety was high, SO HIGH, above us, and all we had to do was get on that ladder and climb up there. Timing was crucial, and Alfred repeatedly urged me to “go for it”. Ensuring that my feet were fully free from between bags and dinghy tube, and finding strength I wouldn’t have believed I had, I pushed off from the dinghy – it, miraculously providing resistance to send me off. Then I was on the ladder. The shouts continued from above. I looked up – and up – and up ... vertically forever! I could see the faces of six or seven men. Prone on the deck, head and shoulders over 59
Flying Fish 2017-1
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