Coincidence - Alan May [26]
Mac gave a mock courtly bow at this acknowledgment.
“The Inspiration has two captains who rotate every six months,” Mr. Flynn continued. “Each has been with the program for over fifteen years. Captain Luke Marzynski here likely has more time at sea than any other living sail-endorsed captain. And now I will stop bragging about him and give him a chance to get in a few words of his own. Captain Marzynski?”
When the applause died down, the captain began.
“As you all know, this is no luxury cruise. This is a working vessel, and much of the unique learning experience we offer comes from the students pulling their weight with all of the day-to-day operations. They are not playacting. They are not engaging in busywork or performing superficial tasks. They are crewing this vessel, with all of the responsibility that entails. But I want to assure you that, in spite of the inherent risks involved in sailing, we do everything we possibly can to ensure the safety of every person on this ship.”
All of the parents had already heard all of this several times. Program safety had been stressed in the Blue Water brochure. Kathleen Tutty had gone over it with them at the time of the interview. It had all been laid out again in the admission papers. But no one minded in the least hearing it one more time.
“Students must wear the right kind of shoes on deck and when going aloft. There are stringent requirements as to when their safety harnesses must be clipped on. Stainless-steel safety lines are part of the rigging. The professional crew knows when to add an additional lifeline and when to demand that all students stay within the deckhouse. I’m happy to report that accidents have been few and far between—and the most serious ever was a broken arm.”
“And that from slippin’ in the soup he’d just spilt!” Mac called out. “Had nothin’ to do with the sailin’!”
“True,” the captain said. “Furthermore, no student is required to take on a job in which he or she is really uncomfortable—”
“They’ll peel tatties whether they like it or no’!” Mac put in, leaning forward in his best pirate-captain imitation, sweeping the crowd with an evil sneer that fooled no one.
“Other than peeling potatoes, of course,” Captain Marzynski said, suppressing a smile. “But no student goes higher on the rigging than is comfortable, no student handles lines that are too heavy for them to manage. All jobs aboard this ship are vital for its operation—”
“Especially tattie peeling!” one of the students yelled.
“Hear, hear!” several others shouted.
The captain grinned.
“We have conducted emergency drills every day since the students arrived—fire, man overboard, abandon ship, every conceivable emergency—and will continue to conduct them on the course of our journey. And, believe me, no one runs a tighter emergency drill than our Mac.”
The students let out a cheer. Mac had scared some of them silly with his gruffness in the first drill, but they had soon discovered that it was a cover for his sweetness and a manifestation of his abiding concern for their safety.
The truth was, if anything were ever to happen to a student in his care, Mac would never be able to forgive himself.
“And now,” Captain Marzynski said, “before our bosun’s head gets any more swollen than it already is, I’d like to introduce our ship’s director, Anika Johnson. She’s going to tell you a bit about the educational aspects of the program.”
Anika seemed slightly out of breath as she stepped up to speak and was rummaging about in her pocket.
Dave Cameron had been wondering where she’d disappeared while the captain had been talking. Was something wrong?
“One of the chief educational tasks the students face, “Anika began, with a graver expression than Dave had ever seen on her usually sunny face, “is the use of this crucial piece of equipment—”
Here she produced the potato peeler she had run to the galley to fetch,