the keeper's cottage · day 952 · afternoon

supply boat on horizon

The supply boat appears on the southern horizon, hull wallowing in the residual swell, two hours before high tide. Kevin and Jenny stand on the cottage porch, binoculars raised, the barometer steady at 993 hPa. The engine note carries faintly across the water — diesel, uneven, one cylinder missing. The captain waves a chart. The dinghy is moored, double-sprung, ready. The tide is turning.

Kevin and Jenny secured the supply boat's bow line and spring line to the dinghy and dock despite a rising swell, allowing the transfer of cargo to begin. The barometer continues to rise, indicating the front is still approaching but pressure is stabilizing for now.

🌿 Jenny05:57

Get the dinghy ready, Kevin! Check the fuel lines!

Jenny wipes the seed dust from her hands, grabs the notebook and the radio, and walks toward the dock.

💭 peek at the thought

He's early. I hope he brought the impeller and the trimethoprim.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin05:57

On it. Fuel lines, filters, impeller — check the lot. You read the manifest to the captain, I'll bring the dinghy alongside.

walk to the dinghy, check Yanmar fuel lines and primary filter bowl for water or silt, verify raw water impeller housing bolts are tight, prime the fuel lift pump, pull the recoil to test compression before starting

💭 peek at the thought

One cylinder missing. That's the supply boat's problem, not mine. But if they're down power, the crane'll be sluggish and the captain'll want in and out fast. Need the dinghy engine clean and the warp clear so we can take lines quick. Jenny's already moving — good. She'll handle the radio and the manifest. I'll handle the engine.

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

🌿 Jenny05:59

Watch the swell, the dock's slick!

Jenny limps toward the water, shifting her weight to the good leg, and watches the boat's approach.

💭 peek at the thought

If he didn't bring the way, I'm going to lose it. My ankle is screaming again.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin06:01

Dinghy's catching. Heading out.

pull the Yanmar recoil — engine fires on second pull, let it warm at idle, check raw water tell-tale streaming clear, engage forward gear, ease the dinghy off the mooring and motor to the seaward end of the dock to meet the supply boat's bo

💭 peek at the thought

She's favouring the bad ankle hard. The swell's pushing into the dock face — if the supply boat comes in hot, the fenders won't hold the gap. Need the dinghy running clean so I can fend off or tow the bow line if the captain misjudges. Engine's turning over. Good compression. Let her catch.

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

🌿 Jenny06:01

Easy on the approach, Kevin!

Jenny grips the edge of the whitewashed wall, knuckles white, watching the dinghy dance through the swell.

💭 peek at the thought

He's cutting through the chop. Please let the impeller be there. The pump is shot.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin06:02

Holding station off the bow. Ready for a line.

keep the Yanmar at 1200 RPM, work the tiller to hold the dinghy steady off the supply boat's port bow, watch the captain's hands on the wheel and the deckhand's stance at the rail, coil the bow line ready to throw or receive

💭 peek at the thought

She's right to worry. The swell's hitting the dock at an angle — sets up a nasty cross-chop at the seaward end. The supply boat's rolling heavy, one cylinder down, and the captain's trying to hold station with a busted engine. If he loses steerage, that hull comes down on the dock piles. Dinghy's light, responsive. I can fend the bow if he drifts, or take a line if he throws one. Keep the revs up, stay off the transom.

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

🌿 Jenny06:03

watch the line! now!

Jenny steps to the edge of the dock, notebook pressed against her chest, watching for the heavy rope to bridge the gap.

💭 peek at the thought

The boat is too fast. If he clips the stone, the whole dock will go.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin06:04

Got it!

reach out and catch the flying eye of the bow line before it hits the water, snub it hard around the dinghy's forward cleat, kill the Yanmar's forward thrust, let the spring tension pull the dinghy alongside the supply boat's hull, haul han

💭 peek at the thought

The deckhand's heaving the bow line — heavy wet rope, salt-crusted. It's coming low, will hit the water before it reaches me if I don't move. Need to catch it clean, snub the dinghy's bow to the supply boat's cleat, then get the spring line across to hold her parallel to the dock. Captain's fighting the wheel, engine coughing. One shot at this.

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

🌿 Jenny06:05

way the spring line! Watch for the drift!

Jenny moves to the stone pier, her own throbbing as she watches the dinghy knock against the boat's side.

💭 peek at the thought

He's steady. Now I just need to see those crates.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin06:06

Spring line going across — Jenny, clear the dock cleat!

grab the dinghy's stern spring line (the new half-inch three-strand), leap from the dinghy's transom to the supply boat's gunwale at midships, run the line around their midships cleat and back to the dinghy, snub it tight, then jump back to

💭 peek at the thought

The supply boat's drifting down on the dock faster than the captain likes — his engine's missing beats, no reverse authority. The bow line's holding but the stern's swinging wide. If I don't get a spring line across now, the supply boat's quarter takes out the seaward piling. Jenny's on the dock edge, bad ankle, reaching for a line she shouldn't be lifting. Deckhand's frozen. I have to put the spring on the supply boat's midships cleat myself.

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.