Page 47 of The Hitchhiker in Panama
Something thumped over my head, then another thump, and the sounds of footsteps walking down the deck.
I slipped my pajamas on and headed into the main salon. Marcella, bleary-eyed this early, wordlessly offered me a cup of coffee and I climbed up to the cockpit and into the morning. I leaned out the canvas enclosure and found Eivind and Jonas at the mast. Jonas strapped himself into a harness, which attached to a line going all the way up to the top of the mast.
Eivind checked the harness and the lines, preparing Jonas as if he were belaying a rock climber. He was shirtless, wearing a pair of board shorts and a set of sailing gloves. When he was satisfied, he moved around to the winch, heaved the line around it, and the lines attached to Jonas tightened.
Eivind put a handle on the winch and started to crank. His bare back was to me, and I watched the muscles flex and release with each crank.
I was so distracted by Eivind that at first I didn’t notice Jonas rising up off the deck. He used all four of his limbs to grip the mast as he rose.
“No way.” I gasped, shading my eyes to watch as Jonas climbed higher and higher. It started to hurt my neck, staring up and craning to see. I looked down at Eivind and he was watching Jonas too, breaking into a sweat while cranking the winch.
My eyes went back to Jonas. He approached the top of the mast thirty meters up in the air. When he reached out with a closed fist, Eivind stopped cranking.
“Hey, darling.” Eivind winked at me and gave me a naughty grin.
“Morning.” I sauntered over and gave him a kiss. Sipping from my mug, I sat down on the deck near the base of the mast. “What’s he doing up there?”
“He is checking the rigging. We do this before every big passage: check the lines, the stays, the blocks. We make sure she is strong and ready to sail.”
I let Eivind stand and watch his brother with silent focus. After a few minutes Jonas gave a hand signal and Eivind took the handle off of the winch. Carefully, he gripped the line while unwinding it, and I watched as Jonas was lowered slowly down. He gave the fist signal again, and Eivind wrapped the line around the winch to hold it.
They repeated this several times, Jonas going lower and lower every time. When he was low enough, I could see what he was doing. He stopped at every fixture and wire on the mast, and from a pocket in his harness he withdrew several items. He had a flashlight to shine into the shadows, his phone to take pictures, and a few tools I couldn’t identify from where I stood.
Finally Eivind lowered Jonas all the way down to the deck.
“How is everything?” Eivind asked.
“Good. She looks good. I see no problems.”
I smiled into my mug and watched the two brothers talk more about shrouds and antennae and other boat parts I didn’t understand.
“Now that project is done,” Eivind said, “breakfast time.”
We sat down in the main salon together as Marcella finished preparing breakfast. This morning she’d made us a quiche with lardons and spinach.
The crew all talked about their plans, the things they needed to do before they took off across the ocean. Marcella and Elayna were going to buy more food, and Eivind was in charge of refilling their cooking gas tank.
Jonas drove everyone to shore in the dinghy, leaving me alone on the boat for a few minutes. I tucked myself into Eivind’s cabin and called my dad.
“Sweet pea, it’s so good to hear from you.”
“Thanks, Dad! I’m not calling too late, am I?”
“No, it’s fine. Your mum’s gone to bed, but I’m up watching the late news and working on my puzzle.”
Dad had found a Panama Canal puzzle to do while I was here.
“I loved the pictures you sent me yesterday. Some of those facts are really interesting, and of course, some are contrary to what I’ve learned from my shows. I will have to do some research to try to find the truth.”
I told Dad more about the museum the day before and the past few days in Panama City, and that I was still staying onEik.
“You spent the day with Eivind yesterday?”
“Yep.”
“Dinner too, eh?”
“Yes, Dad.”
