05.02.24
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Direction?

That’s easy, a compass.

Now, I’m pretty good at knowing my directions, I’m one of those with a good sense of direction. I know enough about the night sky, I know my direction in the dark.

But, when you come up from a dive, and you are fogged in so bad you can’t see the front of the boat, I don’t care who you are, or how well your innate sense of direction is, you’re lost. There had been current throughout the day, I thought, “I’ll toss out my anchor, when the boat pulls tight, I’ll know which way is S.”* Well they shut the current down, the same current that had been running all day, was now nill. No wind, which would have helped, but nope.

So, the next thing you do is try crank up the outboard, and head in the direction you think an island near you is. No matter how straight you hold the helm, all you do is make a wide circle, quite soon you will be hitting your own wake.

Now I take stock of my supplies, one granola bar and a bottle of water. Slim pickings for supper. Lost and hungry, great.

The sun, if I could have seen it, would have helped. In the fall afternoon, around these parts, the sun will be in a westerly direction. But the fog was so thick the location of the sun was impossible. Every avenue of any way to find a direction was just not there.

I got lucky though, I heard a slow moving towboat. I cranked the outboard, headed in the direction of the towboat. Shut off the motor, listen, get a new tack on the direction of the towboat diesels, and make another short run. I did this several times, and I finally closed in on the tow. I suppose the captain saw me coming with his radar, there was a guy standing on the deck, I yelled, which way you headed? He replied S. Excellent, that’s the way I need to go, so I followed along.

We soon hit a bend where the river channel cuts close to the bank, and I could see land. I knew exactly where I was at! All I had to do was follow the shoreline and it would take me to the boat ramp where my truck was parked.

So I had supper at home after all. And I never, no matter if it’s a beautiful sunny day, ever, go out in a boat again without a compass.

Sorry, this is a rehash of an Old Divers Tale, you may have heard it.

Now, just in case the meaning of this WP prompt was meant to be a deeper diven (haha) into the word “direction.” all I can say there is, direction found me, not the other way around.

*The Tn. river runs S into Alabama, then turns and runs in a northerly direction till it hits the Ohio river. Bet ya didn’t know that. I don’t know of any other river that runs N.

Side note, made my first diving trip of the year yesterday, everything I have hurts right now. Very demanding on the body. But at the same time, I’m sitting here thinking of heading back out regardless. That’s the power that diving, and just being out there living, has on me.

Daily writing prompt
What gives you direction in life?
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13 thoughts on “Direction?”

  1. *The Tn. river runs S into Alabama, then turns and runs in a northerly direction till it hits the Ohio river. Bet ya didn’t know that. I don’t know of any other river that runs N.*

    SHELLDIGGER, with his MISDIRECTED WAYS

    Ummm, the Nile River runs south to north. 😁😉

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  2. Hi Shelldigger. I read this the first time you wrote about it and marveled about your ingenuity to survive. I don’t know if I mentioned on that other post when this country boy first moved to W.P.B. I got lost backing out of my driveway and going across the railroad tracks then a main street to a grocery story. The only way I found my way home was crossing a street with those tracks, then driving up and down them until I recognized the homes near where I lived.

    Ron who lived in Florida and other cities laughed his … backside off and to this day doesn’t hesitate to remind me of it 30 years ago, without thinking how much in the pre-cell phone days how panicked I was. A week into a new environment and totally lost. So congratulations to you for keeping your head / smarts about you. Grand. Hugs. Scottie

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    • It’s easy to get lost in a new place. Sounds like you used the tracks as a “known,” and started searching for something familiar, using the tracks as a reference point. Perfectly logical to me.

      Lost in the thickest fog I’ve ever seen, the only reference I had was the bow of the boat, which might as well be the end of your nose. Not a lot of help.

      I never panicked in the fog, but I sure was getting concerned I might be sleeping in the boat that evening, after my supper of a granola bar and a half bottle of water. (Saving the other half for morning)

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