2nd July, 2023

The Stranger at the End of the Dock

There are many reasons that draw people to the sport of boating. Some like the peacefulness of sailing across the water. Some like the thrilling sensation of the speedboat, bouncing over the waves with the wind ripping through their hair. Others like the adventure of cruising where you never know what you will find from day to day. It’s a complex mix of tastes and with it comes a complex group of people.

Some come just out for the day. Others spend weekends on their boat. And then there are those who chose to live aboard. The boating community is a microcosm of our larger land communities and in it, you will find all kinds of characters. The following is a fictional account of a real event that happened many years ago.

The Stranger at the End of the Dock

He seemed like a nice enough guy. Or, so they thought. But Jesse and Cate had no idea what trouble lie ahead. Well, Jesse suspected. Cate was clueless.

“Have you ever noticed Martin always carries a small black briefcase whenever he leaves the boat?” Jesse asked Cate. “He doesn’t leave without it.” Martin had his 90-foot motor-sailor – with no name – docked in the end slip next to theirs. “So?” Cate wasn’t sure what Jesse was getting at. “Hmm, I wonder what he’s carrying in that briefcase.”

Martin arrived in the harbor one cloudy afternoon while Jesse and Cate were shopping for varnish. They had run out of supplies while in the middle of refinishing their 44’Alden ketch, named Nice Ketch. (Jesse was a huge baseball fan.) When they returned, a beautiful, wooden boat, with no name, lie next to theirs.

A short and somewhat round man with a round face suddenly appeared on deck. His hair had streaks of gray. When he opened his mouth, he had a booming voice and wasn’t afraid to share his opinion. Martin introduced himself and said he had just sailed in all the way from Turkey. He loved entertaining and after a quick hello, invited Jesse and Cate over for his famous barbecue chicken. Jesse and Cate immediately warmed up to him and offered to bring the wine.

This became a weekly ritual. Every Friday night at 6pm Jesse and Cate, along with other guests from the dock, visited with Martin. They sunk into his soft cushions that lined the stern cockpit. In the center was a large mahogany table. He always had a vase bursting with the most beautiful spring bouquet, and always, always served the same chicken, marinated in soy, ginger and garlic. He loved to hold court, telling dramatic stories of his sailing adventures. He mentioned he had a wife that lived in Europe and two grown children stateside.

Everything seemed normal for a while, except for that black briefcase and that he had no visible means of financial support. Then one day, he untied the lines and left for Mexico. Eighteen months later he returned to share more tales of his adventures; of spending months in the tiny village of La Cruz and hanging out at the famous Philo’s Restaurant. Famous for good food and great music, Philo drew some of the best musicians from all over the world. Philo’s was something of a cult favorite for cruisers. Martin’s joyous storytelling was contagious and fueled Jesse and Cate’s dream of one day cruising to Mexico on Nice Ketch. They longed to see La Cruz and meet Philo for themselves.

Martin’s boat was a lot to handle on his own. While away in Mexico, he hired a young man named Kid. Maybe it was a nickname. He never said. Kid was tall and lanky. His thin, stringy, hair brushed his shoulders. His face was pot-marked and looked older than his age. And he was constantly moving.

One day, Jesse and Cate were sitting in their cockpit and Kid invited himself over. Martin was gone as he frequently was. “So where is Martin?” Cate asked Kid knowing she wouldn’t get a straight answer. Nobody ever seemed to know where Martin was or what he was working on. The answer was always the same. “He’s away on business,” Kid said. Whatever that meant.

Kid stepped into their cockpit and Cate offered him a beer to which accepted. He kept moving while sitting still. He rubbed his hands. He rubbed his face. He scratched his arms, his legs. His sentences didn’t always make sense. Jesse looked at Cate and could see she was uncomfortable. But Kid seemed lonely. Like a little boy whose mother abandoned him and his father frequently left him alone to hang out at the bar. They felt sorry for him and therefore sat quiet for the hour or two he visited.

About a week later, it was the middle of the night and Jesse and Cate were sleeping in the state room. Cate woke up and had to go the bathroom. They didn’t have the head plumbed so she had to go up to the bathrooms outside the locked gate of their dock. It was very dark but there were some lights highlighting the restrooms and the open field next to them.

Just as Cate reached the bathroom, she heard loud voices. She looked to her right and there was Kid sitting on the grass, yelling to someone she couldn’t see. If he wasn’t making sense before, he really wasn’t making sense then. He frightened her. He must be on some kind of drugs. She worried what he might do, should he see her. Cate turned and ran, as fast as she could, back to the boat.

Cate scrambled into bed and cuddled with Jesse trying to get Kid out of her mind. Minutes went by and she heard voices again. They were coming from Martin’s boat next door. Kid had brought another man and woman back. They stumbled up onto the boat and took residence in Martin’s cockpit. They were telling stories through garbled conversation that only they could understand. Laughter echoed through the darkness. It was eerie and it took Cate a long time before she fell back to sleep.

The next morning, around 7 am, Jesse and Cate were getting ready to close up the boat and go home. Cate grabbed her overnight bag and told Jesse she would meet him at the car. Fifteen minutes or so later, Jesse still hadn’t arrived. She returned to the boat to find Kid bruised and bleeding and frantically asking Jesse for help.

“You have to get these guys off my boat, man,” Kid was saying. “He’s crazy,” he continued.

(Two men and one woman on drugs is never a good mix.)

“If I call the harbor patrol or the police, Kid, they will most likely search the boat. They will confiscate the boat if you are holding anything,” Jesse warned. “Are you sure you want me to do that?” Kid insisted. “Just call them, man. Look what he did to me.”

Both harbor patrol and the police showed up within five minutes. They separated the three of them. Kid didn’t want to press charges against the guy who fought with him. Evidently, he was a friend. They let the friend go and he took off on his bicycle. The woman, however, was arrested after finding a stash of drugs in her car.

Jesse and Cate went back to their boat the following weekend. Kid was cleaning the “no-name” boat. Martin still hadn’t returned. Jesse and Cate were eating lunch in the cockpit when Kid’s phone rang. Cate noticed and couldn’t help but overhear his conversation. He was that close.

“No, Martin isn’t here,” he said, pacing. “I don’t know when he will be back.” Pause. “His voicemail is full.” Pause. “Okay, When I hear from him, I will tell him.” Kid hung up and went back to work.

Not five minutes later, three men arrived on the dock between Jesse and Martin’s boats. The dock was gated and locked, but somehow, they were able to get in. One wore a suit. The other two wore big overcoats and sunglasses. It wasn’t that cold. They stood on either side of the man in the suit watching their surroundings. They were all Mexican. “Where’s Martin?” the man in the suit asked, looking up at Kid who stood topsides with a mop in his hand. “I told you. I don’t know,” he answered nervously.

Jesse was in the middle of a sentence when Cate whispered, “Shush!”  She nodded her head toward Kid and the three men standing beside the boat, clearly overdressed.

“When will he be back?” the man in the suit demanded. “I don’t know.” Kid said, his voice cracking. “You tell him, the man wants his money,” he threatened as he turned around to leave. The two men in overcoats followed him. Kid put down the mop and went below deck.

Jesse looked at Cate wide-eyed, “Shit,” Cate said. “That didn’t sound good.” Jesse agreed.

The following weekend, the story changed. “Martin had a heart attack,” Kid told Jesse and Cate when they returned to the boat. “Oh no! Where is he, Kid? Is he alright?” Cate wanted to know. “I’m not sure,” Kid was being vague again. “Somewhere in the valley, I think. But he’s not well enough to have visitors.”

Cate looked at Jesse as she put the groceries and her overnight bag on the boat. She climbed up the ladder, stepped onto the boat and turned around to face Kid, “Let us know when you hear something, please. We would like to send some flowers at the very least.”

“Will do,” Kid said, taking a phone call and moving inside for privacy.

“Hmmm…” was all Jesse said, looking skeptical while joining Cate on board.

It was Saturday evening and the sun was low in the sky. Jesse and Cate were back sitting in the cockpit, watching the boats come in after a day on the water. They also noticed a whole lot of people coming and going from the “no-name” boat. Martin’s girlfriend showed up. (He had since been divorced. Or, maybe he was never married. Who knows?) His adult children too. Several others joined Kid inside.

“It looks like they are having a party,” Jesse said. He could see them through the cabin window opening bottles of wine and chatting excitedly.

“I know. Why isn’t his girlfriend at the hospital?” Cate wondered. “And his kids.” Something’s weird about this.”

“Yup,” Jesse agreed.

The very next day, they watched as a parade of people started removing items from Martin’s boat. Out came the large television screen. They took bedding, pillows and anything they could find that wasn’t attached. Then, they started removing the electronics. They were stripping the boat. It didn’t look like Martin was coming back and they knew it.

“I don’t like this,” Cate said. “I’m scared. What if those men come back and all hell breaks loose? We could be caught in the crossfire.”

“I think the harbor master should get them out of here. They are putting us in danger,” Jesse said. “And I don’t think Martin had a heart attack. I think he’s hiding.”

Later that night, Cate had to go to the bathroom. It was 4 am. Walking up the dock, she noticed a trailer in the parking lot. That’s strange, she thought. Overnight parking isn’t allowed here. Just then, a car door slammed and two men got out and went inside the trailer. Two other men left. Cate went back and woke up Jesse and told him what she saw.

“I bet they are feds monitoring the boat. They were probably doing a shift change. Probably waiting for Martin to show up,” he said.

“This gets crazier by the minute. I just want them gone,” Cate worried.

The harbor master did finally tell Kid to move the boat from the private docks to the guest dock located on the other side of the harbor.

Cate and Jesse were relieved – but still curious. They drove over to the other side and found the trailer had moved too. “Still keeping an eye on them, I guess,” Jesse said. “I wonder if we will ever know what really happened.”

Six months later, Jesse got a text from a boat neighbor. Google Martin, it said. Martin had been arrested while driving through Texas. He was caught with several kilos of cocaine in his car and was now serving a five-year prison term.

“Wow! I guess that answers that question,” Cate said.