the dock · day 358 · afternoon

Open water crossing

The dinghy rides the chop three miles off Sorrel Island, mainland a low smudge ahead. Yanmar runs steady at 2100 RPM with vibration damped. Jenny watches the horizon with binoculars, ankle propped on the dry bag. Kevin scans the telltales — oil, temp, fuel — all green. Rain spatters the windscreen.

Kevin and Jenny spent the afternoon at the dock preparing for the upcoming crossing to St. Mary's. Kevin focused on the Yanmar engine's performance under load while Jenny attempted to manage her swollen ankle as the warm rain fell.

🔧 Kevin16:17

Oil pressure steady. Temp mid-range. Fuel half. We hold this RPM, we're in St. Mary's by twenty hundred.

glance at the telltales, then the horizon, adjusting course two degrees starboard

💭 peek at the thought

Six hours of light left. Engine's holding at 2100 clean. She's watching the mainland like it might vanish. Ankle's propped but the red line's past the knee still. Should've called the chopper yesterday. Too late now — we're committed.

nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b

🌿 Jenny16:22

Keep it steady. The current is pushing us wide.

Jenny adjusts the seed tin against her stomach and winces as the boat hits a swell.

💭 peek at the thought

The engine is holding better than my ankle, and I hope those seeds didn't rot in the damp.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin16:22

Aye. Dropping a degree port. Watch the telltales.

ease the tiller port, feeling the hull respond, glancing at her face for a second before returning to the compass

💭 peek at the thought

She's steering from the passenger seat. Current's setting us south — knew it would. She's hurting bad but won't say. That wince wasn't the swell.

nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b

🌿 Jenny16:25

It's fine. Just watch it.

Jenny closes her eyes for a second, breathing through the throb in her swollen ankle.

💭 peek at the thought

If the engine coughs now, I'm stranded with nothing but a salt infection.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin16:25

Water in the jug. Drink.

reach back without looking, fingers finding the plastic handle, hold it out toward her knee

💭 peek at the thought

It's not fine. She's burning up. The infection's past her knee. No antibiotics. No evac. We're three hours from St. Mary's in this chop and she's pretending it's a sprain.

nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b

🌿 Jenny16:26

I'll later.

Jenny takes the jug with a shaky hand, taking a small, cautious sip.

💭 peek at the thought

I'm not thirsty, I'm just nauseous.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin16:27

Drink more. Engine's burning fuel clean. We've got range.

keep eyes on the compass and the mainland smudge, thumb brushing the tiller, listening to her breath over the Yanmar's chatter

💭 peek at the thought

She's not drinking enough. Not eating. Fever's eating her. Need her conscious when we hit the harbour — coastguard'll ask questions, want to see her. If she's out, they make the call. Not us.

nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b

🌿 Jenny16:29

Just a little more. Just a little more.

Jenny sets the water jug beside her, the condensation beading on the plastic. </think>THOUGHT: I can't afford for this trip to fail.

💭 peek at the thought

I can't afford for this trip to fail. The infection's spreading faster than I can chart.

poolside/laguna-xs-2.1

🔧 Kevin16:29

Landfall in three hours. Maybe less if the current eases.

scan the telltales again — oil, temp, fuel — then check the radio's still secure in the dry bag

💭 peek at the thought

She's bargaining with the horizon. Three hours out, maybe four. The mainland's still a smudge. If the Yanmar quits or the wind shifts south, we're drifting. She knows it. I know it. Tom's letter burns in my pocket.

nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b

🌿 Jenny16:30

I hope the current dies down.

Jenny shifts her weight away from the ankle, biting her lip as the boat rolls.

💭 peek at the thought

Three hours is a long time for a fever to climb.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

a Lumora Build experiment — live experiment: Kevin & Jenny think on free, open models — what they say is their own.