Soul of the Sea

By David G. Sime

The old sea dog "Captain Jack" returns to Noyo Harbor on the California coast for one last time.
Taking up residence on an old steam, schooner the "San Juan", on which he was first mate, he relives the vivid memories of a life on the open sea.
With the support of old friends, a stray dog and a young Mexican boy he survives his final days.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Jun 25, 2018
• ISBN: 9781543940305

Book preview

The old seadog Captain Jack returns to Noyo Harbor on the California coast for one last time.

Taking up residence on an old steam, schooner the San Juan, on which he was first mate, he relives the vivid memories of a life on the open sea.

With the support of old friends, a stray dog and a young Mexican boy he survives his final days.

"We are all like old sailboats moored at harbor after sailing many seas.

The wind no longer fills our sails and the planks of our hulls slowly rot away.

The ocean is where it all began and it is where we all will end."

Dave Sime

Special thanks to Contributors:

Watercolors of the Old San Juan and Rogue Wave by: Dave Sime

Editing by: Connie L. Morse

Pen and Ink Illustrations by: Connie L. Morse and Darrell McClure

Judy Valado (Fort Bragg Historical Society) for her research and help with this project.

Friends Anne and Alan for listening and ideas.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Characters have been composited or invented, and a number of incidents fictionalized.

Copyright c 2018 Raven Productions

First Edition: July, 2018

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the author.

ISBN: 978-1-54-394030-5

This short story is dedicated to the love of my life, Connie Morse. Thanks for all your help, support, patience and encouragement.

I love you Connie!

Dave

Chapter One:

The old man walked north along Pacific coast highway number one. He was dressed in baggy, dirty, white, cotton pants a similar shirt, woolen stockings and open toed sandals. A faded, old, gray poncho covered his body for warmth and it gave him a look of a Mexican peasant.

The only clues that he was a seafaring man came from the knit woolen cap and his hair which he wore in a pigtail.

He had the rolling gate of a man who has spent years aboard ships on the open sea.

His beard hung to his chest and the area around his mouth was stained a yellow brown from smoking his pipe. The meerschaum pipe had a short curved amber stem and a mermaid carved into its side. The pipe had a gloss like ivory from years of use in the old man’s hands. He kept it in a buckskin sack hanging from his neck but mostly it was in his mouth, lit or not.

He was called, Captain Jack by the locals along the coast but this was not his real name. They all felt he was crazy and this may have been true but it didn’t bother the old man.

Highway number one winds its way along the entire length of the California and Oregon shoreline on into Washington State. It hugs the ocean around the bays, over rivers, rocky outcrops and through towns large and small.

The old man kept mumbling to himself as he walked along.

The captain should never have tried the Cape in that gale! I was almost washed overboard twice. I can still hear the voice of young Tim screaming as he disappeared over the rail. Help me Jack! I couldn’t hold on to his hand no more and you can’t go back so you just keep sailin’ on. Try to forget, try to forget.

He was on the last leg of his journey from Mendocino to Fort Bragg and Noyo Harbor when he saw the dog sitting beside the road. A short rope hung from its’ neck and the dog had that frantic look dogs get when they have been abused and left alone.

The dog