North of the Cuban CoastlineR
alph Bartlett was wrapping red tape around one of the white plastic fenders that the Junebug carried to put over the side when the boat was docked or moored alongside another vessel. A line of these 24-inch plastic tubes, secured to cleats by line and hung over the side, kept the hull and deck edges from being damaged as a moored boat ground against a dock or jetty in a swell. Every smart skipper used fenders, and they were among the most common pieces of boating equipment seen in harbors everywhere around the world. Which is why the Steamer decided they would be the perfect hiding place for the .45 caliber pistols Shake and Mike brought aboard and unlikely to draw any kind of scrutiny from the Cuban Guarda Fronteras officials when they inspected the Junebug.
