I awoke to the sound of two anchors hitting the deck above me. And, at breakfast, everyone sang happy birthday to me. I lingered in the galley, chatting with a few of the women. When I climbed stairs to the deck, we were at the gangplank of the North End Shipyards. Captain Linda had pushed us across the harbor in the yawl boat so that we would not have to raise the sails for such a short distance.
We celebrated our final morning together with a champagne brunch. It was surprising, after that, how quickly everyone packed up and disembarked. We said quick farewells, with promises to “see you again”, loaded up our Buick Airbag, and headed out. We were running a bit late, so we decided not to stop at the shop in Rockland. I called instead. The proprietor said that he could ship the bird to me. I gave him our home phone number and he said he would call with a price in a couple of days.
Our four-hour freeway drive was uneventful. I managed to drive us through the Boston roundabouts without an accident or bloodshed. Then, when we were waiting for our flight, I felt suddenly wobbly and dizzy. I hoped I wasn’t getting sick. It occurred to me then that I still had my sea legs. It was several days before I felt like myself again.