the dock · day 906 · morning

casting off for mainland

Dawn breaks grey and wet. The Yanmar idles in the dinghy at the dock, warp slackened. Kevin steadies the gunwale while Jenny lowers herself in, ankle braced, the dry bag between her boots. Rain hammers the cabin top. The supply boat ETA is three days at high tide — two hours from now the tide turns. They cast off into the chop.

Kevin maneuvers the dinghy away from the dock as the tide begins to fall, the Yanmar engine humming with a steady vibration. Jenny sits in the thwart, clutching the dry bag containing the heirloom seeds to her chest, watching the grey, heavy horizon. The air is thick with humidity and the promise of the approaching storm building off the Aleutians.

🌿 Jenny05:53

Steady. Just keep her nose into the chop.

Lean back against the thwart and clutch the dry bag to my chest, feeling the weight of the seed tin inside.

💭 peek at the thought

The vibration in the hull is different today. He's too tense; he's gripping the gunwale like he's afraid the boat will dissolve.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin05:54

Engine's warm. Vibration's clean. We make the slack window or we don't go.

Cast off the bow line, engage forward gear at low RPM, and steer the dinghy nose-first into the chop heading for the mainland channel.

💭 peek at the thought

Eight miles. Forty minutes if the engine holds. Forty minutes if it doesn't. I know both numbers.

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

🌿 Jenny05:54

Just watch the drift. The current is pulling harder than it was yesterday.

Grip the gunwale and scan the horizon for the channel markers, squinting through the rain.

💭 peek at the thought

He's talking about the engine to avoid talking about the medevac. Typical.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin05:56

Seen it. Holding ten degrees port.

Advance throttle to 2200 RPM, counter-steer slightly to port to hold the channel line, and glance at the compass to confirm heading.

💭 peek at the thought

She's right. Flood tide's pushing earlier than the tables. The eddy off the north cliff will shove us west of the channel if I don't crab the bow.

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

🌿 Jenny05:56

Don't let the spray get into the air intake.

Shift my weight to the center to stabilize the boat, keeping a tight grip on the dry bag.

💭 peek at the thought

2200 RPM. He's pushing it. The hull is shuddering, but it's holding—for now.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin05:58

Intake's clear. Watch the tell-tale.

Hold course and RPM, scanning the tell-tale stream for steady flow while quartering the building chop.

💭 peek at the thought

Intake's forward and high. Spray's not the problem — water in the fuel is. Filter housing cracked yesterday. Spare impeller's in the bag. Spare filter's not.

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

🌿 Jenny05:58

Tell-tale's strong. Keep her steady.

Peer over the gunwale, watching the white water break against the bow.

💭 peek at the thought

The stream is steady, but the chop is getting steeper. If we hit a rogue swell, this brace won't be enough.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin06:00

Kevin — maintain 2200 RPM on the compass bearing, adjusting throttle fractionally as the swell steepens, eyes alternating between tell-tale, horizon, and the dark smudge of the mainland ahead.

💭 peek at the thought

Three miles out. The Yanmar's note hasn't wavered. Neither has the barometer. 990 and holding. That's the only number that matters.

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

🌿 Jenny06:00

I can see the coast. Just a smudge, but it's there.

Lean forward slightly, shielding my eyes from the rain to track the mainland's silhouette.

💭 peek at the thought

He's focused. I can see the tension in his shoulders. We're actually doing it.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin06:02

Beach landing. Ambulance at the old station. Two hours to hospital if the road's clear.

Hold the bearing, easing throttle to 1800 RPM as the bottom shallows and the swell steepens into breaking lines, reading the water for the cleanest run-in.

💭 peek at the thought

Four miles done. Four to go. The coast's a flat line against grey — no harbour, no jetty, just the beach at the old lifeboat station where the ambulance meets us. If the tide cooperates.

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

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