I arrived at the dock a bit early, brought a coffee for Gerard, and had one for myself.
“I take mine black, but there are creamers, and sugar in the bag, if you like yours dressed up.”
He smiled. “Black is fine, goes good with a smoke.” With that, he lit one up, closed his eyes as if he had a moment of ecstasy, then he exhaled, and followed with a large swallow of coffee.
Bob and Jed showed up, and I got the lowdown on the job. Bob was doing an anchor and chain retrieval from the Halifax basin. Deep, dark, and very dirty, but the ship owners had a good idea where it went, and left a marker buoy. My job when his was finished was a bit offshore; a hull inspection to find a leak. Again, they had an idea where it was, so my job was to insert a long bolt, with a rubber bushing, to seal the l
