June 3 & 4, 2018, Days 4 & 5
We awoke Sunday morning to the gently rocking of Velomer and
clear blue skies. We gave the Keurig one
last chance to redeem itself but to no avail, so out came the French
press. During morning coffee on the
flybridge, we planned our day and decided to restock fresh fruits and
vegetables and anything else that we might want for provisioning. A Whole Foods Market is within easy walking
distance from the marina and that was our destination. Much of our morning was idled away. I broke down and got on line and ordered a
new Keurig from Amazon which will arrive by June 6. Bob decided to hose down the deck but
neglected to close the stateroom window by his side of the bed and had to deal
with minor flooding. The dysfunctional
Keurig was deposited in the dumpster.
The shopping center with the Whole Foods Market also has an
Ace Hardware store, US Post Office, liquor store, pharmacy, hair salon, and bank with an
ATM. What more could a boater ask
for? We did our shopping and returned to
the boat.
Constitution Marina is one of the best marinas we have
encountered. The location is incredibly
convenient within walking distance to many of Boston’s attractions and
shopping. The facility itself has very
attractive private bathrooms, a laundry room, swimming pool, lounge, large deck
with grills and friendly staff. Sunday
mornings include bagels and donuts, and fresh pot of coffee is always in the
office. The best feature is the
community of boaters many of whom are live aboards. We met Tony and Phil with their ten-week old baby on the sailboat adjacent
to Velomer, Chuck and Victoria on the Sea Ray on the other side, Steve and
Sherri across the dock. We also found
out that Sunday evening was the “Start of the Season” party hosted by the
marina with all boaters invited including us transients. What a welcome to the area!
As expected, Monday’s weather was dreary with rain including
the occasional downpour. The bright spot
was meeting up with our friends Sally and Randy who happened to be celebrating
their 48th wedding anniversary.
We had a fabulous three hour lunch at their favorite Portuguese
restaurant in Cambridge where we discussed everything under the sun. Sally, Randy and I go way back, more than 50
years. I was with Sally when she met
Randy and witnessed their budding romance.
Still very much in love, they can bicker like nobody else I know and
it’s always a treat to watch the show.
We arrived back on Velomer stuffed to full capacity and
enjoyed some quiet time. About 2030
hours, I decided to use the marina bathrooms, put on my yellow slicker and
headed down D dock. The trek to the
bathrooms is a good hike of about 500 paces along various floating docks. Night was descending and the overcast skies
limited whatever daylight remained. I
saw some activity where D dock joins A dock and thought that another dockside
gathering was taking place. I had to
pass by the gathering to get to the bathrooms.
As I approached, I saw something across the dock and as I got closer
realized it was police tape. I looked
closer at the gathering and realized the people standing around were all police
officers. One officer approached me and
I explained I needed to use the marina restroom. He lifted the tape and escorted me along the
dock about 25 feet to another police tape cordoning off the area. He asked me if I had any identification. I said I only had my I-Phone with me. He then asked my name which I gave him and my
birth date which I also told him and he wrote this down in a small notebok. I then asked him if he was going to send me a
birthday card. He smiled and replied,
“Maybe next year.” I didn’t think
anything of this thinking maybe a boat had been damaged and the police were
investigating. A few by-standers were on
A dock watching the police activity and I asked them what was going on. They said someone had fallen into the water
and died. Not the answer I expected.
I used the restroom and walked back to D dock where the same
officer met me and escorted me along the dock to the opposite side of the
police tape. Along the way I noticed
something on the dock covered with a blanket.
I realized that must be the body!
From the size of the covered item, I suspected the deceased was male at
least six feet, but the body could have been bloated. How long had the body been in the water? Who discovered the body? Did the person drown? Was it an
accident? Was it foul play? So many questions. No answers!
When I returned to Velomer and told Bob of my experience, we
closed all the curtains and double checked to make sure the doors were
locked. Just in case.
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