A Captain's Duty

be putting someone in danger,” he said.
    “Welcome to the job,” I said.
    When they were ready to go, Shane radioed me.
    “Okay,” I said, turning to the pirates. “Don’t get crazy, this thing drops like a stone and it makes a lot of noise.”
    They nodded.
    With a tremendous splash, the lifeboat dove into the water and then popped back up. My crew members came alongside the MOB and we began transferring food and fuel into our new vessel. We changed places with the bosun and third engineer and, thankfully, the pirates made no attempt to take them with us. What I didn’t find out until later was that the third engineer and the bosun were both carrying concealed knives. They were ready to jump the Somalis at the first opportunity, but they didn’t get a chance.
    “Good luck,” I said to the bosun as we were getting ready to shove off in the lifeboat. “Make sure they get you back up quick. And if something happens to me, don’t worry about it. Just get the hell out of here. Don’t worry about the MOB boat either. The pirates might swing around and try to take that, too.”
    I started the lifeboat up and the engine came to life. The third engineer and the bosun threw us our lines and we were free.
    As I came around, I jammed the throttle down and rammed the stern of the lifeboat into the ship. We hit the hull of the Maersk Alabama with a jarring thud.
    “What’s that?” the pirates cried out.
    “Oh, that’s me getting used to this thing,” I said.
    I’d wanted to damage the prop on the lifeboat. I didn’t want to go anywhere with the Somalis. But they build those things for survival and the prop was still pushing water.
    My luck was turning. The wrong way.
     
    Back home, Andrea was walking around our farmhouse wearing my Polarfleece jacket, because it still smelled like me. She was mad at herself for doing the laundry after I left for Africa, because that jacket was the only thing in the house that still had my scent. “I wouldn’t let go of it,” she said. “I had it on from the moment I heard you were taken. And at night I’d lay it across the bed and my friend Amber and I would each take part of the jacket and sleep.”
    About noon on Wednesday, the media got hold of my name. Suddenly, local news crews started rolling up to our farmhouse and into our driveway. Andrea’s sister, being a true Vermonter, invited them in for coffee. By early afternoon, they had a full house of local reporters and cameramen sitting on our couch and nibbling on cookies, watching Andrea watch the news. Shane Murphy’s father was still calling his son the captain of the Maersk Alabama —which was technically correct, as the chief mate takes over when the captain leaves the boat—but it made Andrea feel like I’d been forgotten. There was still no mention of me on the national networks.
    At this point, Andrea was thinking, This is the scenario. A ship got hijacked. They’ll demand ransom. The company will hold out for a little while. Then they’ll pay the ransom. The crew will get set free and everybody will happy and safe. A couple of merchant mariners who knew me called and said, “Andrea, you know the pirates’ MO. They have a business plan. They just want the money. They don’t want to hurt anybody.”
    “I know, I know,” Andrea said.
    “Knowing Rich, he’s probably on the lifeboat telling bad jokes. And he’s going to come home with a great story.”
    And that’s what Andrea prayed for: just a normal, everyday hijacking. She didn’t want heroics.
    Our daughter, Mariah, called back. “Mom, what happened to Dad?” Andrea told her what she knew, managing to keep her composure. That set the tone for the kids. Mariah was strong—deeply worried but not hysterical. “I want to come home,” she said. Andrea tried to convince her to stay, but Mariah was adamant. Dan called, too. Andrea gave him the choice to stay or come back and he chose to stay for the last couple days of exams week. “I want to finish,” he said. “Oh, Mom, I just studied so hard for these things and I know Dad would tell me to stay. He’d say, ‘Stay and finish the job.’”
    “You’re right, he would,” she said.
    They were right. Do you know how much I paid for that college? Dan stayed to finish his work. By holding it together, Andrea was hoping the kids would be able to handle the news.
    When she knew our kids were okay, Andrea went right back to watching TV, flipping channels between all the major news