|
Bailey Meets Glory
8/8/03
Blaine Parks
Cruising
with two large dogs has been an enchanting experience at times, but is
often full of challenges. I believe that every cruiser who chooses to
bring their pets along has to focus on the positive aspects of that
venture. But in the back of each pet owner's mind is the fear that their
furry loved one could be lost overboard. It was on July 29th, 2003 that
Janet and I came face to face with that gut-wrenching terror. While we
were ashore in a borrowed car looking for more generator parts, Bailey
fell overboard into the cold Maine waters.
We had
driven to Bangor and  were
on our way back - still twenty minutes away - to Castine where Charbonneau
was lying to her anchor. Because we had borrowed a friend's car and were
running late, we decided to check for messages on our cellular phone and
then place a call letting them know our whereabouts. Instead of a message
from the car's owners, Don and Ann Bitting (Valkyrie), we had a panicked
message from a woman named Barbara aboard the sailboat Glory. I watched the color drain from Janet's face
as she listened to the message before she turned and relayed the message
to me: Bailey had fallen off the boat.
I stepped
on the car's accelerator, driving safely but as fast as I could. Janet
listened to the message again, wrote down the phone number and tried
calling Barbara back for more information. In the midst of shock and the
confusion of this tragic news, I missed the turn for Castine. We had to
backtrack for an additional thirty minutes when we realized my error.
Overcome with guilt and horror that I'd missed our turn, I drove faster
still.
Janet
continued to place call after call to both Barbara and our friends, Don
and Ann; nobody answered either phone, but Janet left messages for both.
Feeling helpless, we went through all the possibilities of how Bailey
could have fallen overboard. He never leaves the cockpit, so falling off
the boat just didn't make sense. Had somebody boarded our boat and thrown
him off as part of a robbery? And if so, what about Max? Barbara hadn't
mentioned anything about him. Our hearts ached, but there was nothing we
could do. I focused on driving; Janet kept making calls.
Just as
our cellular phone's battery was about to die, Don's daughter, Brianne,
answered the phone aboard Valkyrie. Talking as fast as she could, Janet
passed the message about Bailey - and about the uncertainty with Max -
asking Don to get in his dinghy to do what he could aboard Charbonneau and
to let Glory know that we'd gotten the message. Then, our phone went dead.
When we
finally reached Castine, Janet and I both leapt from the car and ran for
the dinghy. We passed Ann Bitting in the parking lot, stopping just long
enough to hand her the keys and shout that Bailey went overboard. She had
been ashore the whole time and hadn't heard the news. I broke every
no-wake law on the books as we raced across the harbor. We immediately
noticed Glory anchored behind Charbonneau; we had been the only boat there
before we'd left for Bangor. We also saw two sets of eyes looking at us
from our cockpit, both attached to wagging tails - one a little wetter
than the other. We met the heroes of this story - the crew from Glory - in
their dinghy as we were racing back to the boat. Barbara, her husband
Rene, and their two teenage children, Peter and Julie Martinez were on
their way into town. In between our hellos and words of thanks, they told
us the story of how they had come to save Bailey.
According
to Peter, his father Rene spotted Bailey swimming several hundred yards
behind where our boats were anchored. At first he thought nothing of it,
thinking it was just a local dog going for a swim. After watching for
several moments, however, it became clear that the dog was in trouble:
swimming in circles and losing buoyancy. It was the kids, Peter and Julie,
who raced to get the outboard motor on their dinghy and headed to Bailey's
rescue. Though completely exhausted, Bailey perked up when he saw the
dinghy heading his way and began swimming towards the dinghy - just as he
is trained to do. Peter is a strong young man and was able to haul
Bailey's 100 lb. body into the dinghy.
They
initially took Bailey, exhausted and shivering from the cold, back to
their boat. Checking his collar, they found our names, the boat's name,
and a telephone number. Barbara placed a call to the number on his tag,
thinking she'd reach a house, but was pleasantly surprised to hear our
voicemail message saying that this was our boat cell phone. After leaving
a message, they decided to try and get Bailey back aboard Charbonneau.
Peter and
Julie first tried to get Bailey to climb aboard the boat using the swim
platform and steps we have for that purpose. Bailey refused to climb the
stairs and upon closer inspection, Peter found out why he wouldn't go and
why he might have fallen into the water in the first place. It appeared
that Bailey had eaten something that didn't agree with his stomach and had
tried to relieve himself off the stern of the boat, falling overboard in
the process. Because of the mess on the stern, Bailey refused to climb
back aboard. Peter then tried to lift him up through the side boarding
gate. Strong as he is, Bailey was just too heavy. Finally, with a little
help from their father, they got Bailey aboard safely and brought him some
water before going about their normal routines.
After
listening to their story and saying thanks a few hundred more times, we
parted dinghies and motored the remaining distance to our boat. Bailey
wasn't his normal, hyper self when we arrived at the boat, but he was
certainly happy to see us. There were wet hugs and tears, followed by a
confusion of whether to be angry about his fall overboard or happy about
his safe recovery. We chose to be happy. Holding him then, and knowing how
close we'd come to losing him, carried some very strong emotions.
Though
they thought little of their heroic actions, we owe the Martinez family,
especially Peter and Julie, more than money or words can ever repay.
Without their intervention, our world would have been shattered on that
July afternoon. There is a very swift current that runs through that
anchorage. Bailey had been swept away from the boat towards a distant
shore. All the while, he kept trying to swim back to the boat against it.
We truly believe that if it had been Max - our older dog - who had fallen
into the frigid waters, he wouldn't have been so lucky.
|
Bailey's Heros -- The Martinez Family aboard
s/v Glory
(L-R -- Julie, Peter, Rene, and Barbara)
|
The
Martinez family wouldn't accept any of the tangible things we offered as a
token of our thanks. So, we're left with just these words as a way of
showing our gratitude. If you see Glory on the water, please pass along
our kindest regards. Because of their fast thinking and a willingness to
act, Janet and I will have the joy of hugging Bailey for many more years.
And for that, we are forever in their debt. To learn more about the
Glory and her crew, visit their website at www.svglory.com.
|
