I told him Id seen him go out on Sunday afternoon, and had wondered if he had intended to spend the night elsewhere. He laughed. The height of his replica Gucci watches spirits seemed unwarranted, but Im not complaining. Cheerful sailors are welcome around here. He recounted the details of the story, then zoomed out and assessed the big picture. Stuff broke, but nobody got hurt, John said. It was a grand adventure, and a steep learning curve. He paused, and smiled, and allowed a smidgeon of resentment to invade his sunny demeanor. OK, it was brutal. A week later, John and I tried to retrieve his tackle from the bottom of the bay.
We took his inflatable dinghy, fivehorsepower Nissan and all, as well as a grappling hook and 50 feet of line. We headed out before noon, before the tide and replica brand watches chop picked up. We both had on PFDs, and I brought a handheld VHF radio, inspired mostly by the leak John had just discovered in his dinghy. We brought a bailer, too, and a pair of oars. Perhaps we lacked faith. While John tended the throttle, I watched the GPS, and called out our coordinates. As we neared the spot on Johns map (which was more of a doodle),
I tossed the grappling hook over, and waited for the line to draw taut. I pulled it in, dribbling water all over my legs. Nothing. John threw it out with more Omega replica watches vigor, and I pulled it back in. Nothing. We spent the next hour motoring around, bobbing up and down in the building chop, tossing the grappling hook into the deep, and dragging it back and forth over the the silty bay floor. Nothing. All we got was water. But it was a faithful effort. Im pretty sure Johns gonna call his insurance company, and see if theyll spring for a new anchor. Jonny Waldman
