Day 923

Supply Boat at High Tide

Dawn found Kevin and Jenny at the dock's edge, the onshore breeze light, humidity high. Jenny shifted weight off her wrapped ankle while Kevin checked the dinghy mooring lines. "Lines are holding. Dinghy's riding easy," he said. She replied, "The dock planks are still soft. Don't lean too hard on the edge." He stayed off the soft section as he inspected the north pilings and newly sistered planks ahead of the supply boat. Jenny remained near the cottage, organizing seed tins and managing her ankle pain.

The boat's engine drone echoed across the bay as the tide began to fall. Kevin moved to the seaward end to secure bow lines, checking the sistered planks. Jenny clutched the manifest by the winch. "Boat's here. Two-hour window. You stay on the radio log and manifest. I'll handle the crane and heavy gear," Kevin said. "I have the manifest ready. way don't forget the pH strips and the salt," she answered. "pH strips and salt are on the list. Go sit on the crate by the winch. I'll bring the loads to you."

The crane swung the first pallet — diesel drums, a crate marked 'Yanmar impeller,' a heavy mail sack. Kevin monitored the seaward plank and stringer sister joint as the second drum lowered. "Steady on the winch. Let the tide do the work," he said. Jenny hobbled to the landward bolt with her cane. "It's holding. For now. Watch the second one close." The drum settled without shock load; the sister joint held.

At high tide, the barometer read 1026 hPa, steady, no wind. The second drum was chocked on the seaward planks. Kevin leaned on the crane rail; Jenny sat on the crate lid, cane across her knees, the ridge map folded in her pouch. The supply boat was due again tomorrow at high tide. The dinghy rode its doubled lines, stern spring singing faintly as the tide retreated, exposing slick, rotting pilings. Kevin finished securing the sister joint, though the rot within the beam felt more structural than surface damage suggested. Jenny watched from the shadows, her ankle throbbing in sync with the lapping waves.

Scenes

the dock · dawn

The Calm Before Arrival

Kevin and Jenny stand at the edge of the dock, watching the horizon under the light onshore breeze. Jenny shifts her weight off her wrapped ankle while Kevin checks the tension on the dinghy mooring lines.

Kevin spends the morning inspecting the structural integrity of the dock and north pilings ahead of the supply boat arrival. Jenny stays near the cottage, managing her ankle pain and organizing the seed tins while the humidity remains high.

🔧 Kevin07:22

Lines are holding. Dinghy's riding easy.

check the bow spring tension with one hand, the other resting on the worn gunwale

💭 thought

She's favouring the left side. The red line on her ankle hasn't retreated past yesterday's mark. Boat's due on the high tide — two hours, maybe three. I've got the impeller coming, the mail, the rest. But she's watching the horizon like she's calculating whether to get on it.

🌿 Jenny07:23

The dock planks are still soft. Don't lean too hard on the edge.

Lean against the cottage post, wincing as the throb hits my ankle.

💭 thought

The tide is high, and the pressure is rising—if that boat doesn't come tomorrow, I'm stuck with this rotting wood and a fever.

🔧 Kevin07:24

Noted. I'll stay off the soft section.

step back onto the sound timber, boots finding the sistered joist beneath

💭 thought

She's right. The third plank from the seaward end gives under a full man's weight. I marked it with chalk yesterday. She noticed.

🌿 Jenny07:25

I need to check the pH on the ridge before the sun gets too high.

Wipe sweat from my brow with the back of a hand, staring at the water.

💭 thought

He thinks it's just the wood, but the whole island is shifting and I'm sinking with it.

🔧 Kevin07:26

Take the cane. And the radio.

unclip the handheld VHF from my belt and hold it out to her

💭 thought

The ridge. She's been up there three days running, pH strips and notebook. The slope's moving — she knows it, I know it. The intercept trench is holding for now. But she goes up there like she's proving something. Her ankle can't take the descent.

🌿 Jenny07:27

I'm fine. I just need to get the sketches done.

Take the radio with trembling fingers, the plastic cold against my palm.

💭 thought

I can't even walk to the ridge without the world tilting, and he treats me like I'm glass.

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the dock · morning

Supply Boat Arrival

The engine drone of the supply boat echoes across the bay. You meet Jenny at the dock to begin offloading the cargo.

The supply boat arrives as the tide begins to fall, its hull cutting through the heavy, grey air. Kevin moves to the seaward end to secure the bow lines, checking the integrity of the newly sistered dock planks. Jenny stays by the winch, clutching the manifest and shifting her weight to ease the throbbing in her Jenny's swollen ankle.

🔧 Kevin07:28

Boat's here. Two-hour window. You stay on the radio log and manifest. I'll handle the crane and heavy gear.

walk to the seaward end of the dock to meet the supply boat's bow line, checking the sister joints one last time as I go

💭 thought

There she is. Right on the tide. Engine note's clean — captain's sober. Two hours to move everything before the slack turns.

🌿 Jenny07:29

I have the manifest ready. way don't forget the pH strips and the salt.

lean heavily on the good leg, shifting weight off the throbbing ankle while I open the notebook to the manifest page.

💭 thought

My ankle is screaming with every step, but if I let him see me limp, he'll never stop.

🔧 Kevin07:30

pH strips and salt are on the list. Go sit on the crate by the winch. I'll bring the loads to you.

catch the heaving line the deckhand throws, secure it to the reinforced mooring ring, then signal the crane operator for the first sling — diesel drums

💭 thought

She's listing kit I already clocked. Ankle's bad today — weight all on the good leg. I'll take the heavy lifts. She stays on paper.

🌿 Jenny07:31

I'll be here. Watch the balance on those drums, they look heavy.

lower myself slowly onto the wooden crate, wincing through gritted teeth as the pressure hits my swollen ankle.

💭 thought

He's so efficient it's irritating, and I'm just here rotting in my own skin.

🔧 Kevin07:32

Clear the deck. Drums coming over.

step back from the dock edge, arms up to guide the first diesel drum as the crane swings it outboard, watching the dock planks for deflection under the load

💭 thought

Drums are two-hundred litres each. Crane's old but the rigger knows his job. I'll stand clear until they're on the planks.

🌿 Jenny07:33

Watch the pilings, Kevin! The wood is soft.

grip the edge of the crate, knuckles white, as I breathe through the throbbing in my leg.

💭 thought

If those planks give, the whole load goes into the salt water and I'm not diving for it.

🔧 Kevin07:34

Rigger's swinging to the ring, not the piles. Planks are sistered. Hold the radio log.

keep one eye on the north piling joint as the first drum settles onto the dock timbers, the other on the crane hook for the second drum, ready to wave off if the deflection exceeds five millimetres

💭 thought

She's seen the same flex I have. North stringer gave three millimetres last spring tide. Greenheart plates are holding but the through-bolts are the weak link. Crane swing loads the ring, not the pilings — if the rigger knows his job.

🌿 Jenny07:35

It's holding. For now. Watch the second one close.

note the weight in the log, my hand shaking slightly as I watch the dock dip under the iron.

💭 thought

He's too confident. The wood is groaning and I can hear the fibers stretching like skin.

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the dock · midday

Offloading the supply

The two-hour window is narrow as the first of the heavy crates and drums are swung toward the shore.

Kevin and Jenny stand at the dock as the tide begins its slow turn, the humid air hanging heavy over the salt-crusted wood. They are testing the integrity of the newly sistered planks under the weight of a heavy supply crate, knowing that the supply boat is due tomorrow at high tide and the dock must be sound to handle the arrival.

🔧 Kevin07:37

Steady on the winch. Let the tide do the work.

walk to the seaward end of the dock, position myself at the newly sistered planks to monitor the first crane load

💭 thought

Watch the crane operator's hook path — if he swings wide the starboard cleat takes the hit. Jenny's on the winch, ankle bad, can't move fast. Need to be at the seaward end before the first drum touches timber.

🌿 Jenny07:39

Watch the tension on that line, Kevin. The wood is slicker than it looks.

lean on my good leg, squinting at the joint where the crate meets the timber.

💭 thought

If that crate shifts, the whole jetty goes down and the seeds are lost to the salt.

🔧 Kevin07:39

Got it. Ease her in, don't snub.

grab the bow line at the seaward cleat, feed it slow to take the crate's weight as the crane lowers, eyes on the sister joint for any flex

💭 thought

She's right — greenheart's dense but the salt film makes it ice. Crane operator's rushing the swing. If that crate catches the cleat wrong the whole sister joint shears.

🌿 Jenny07:41

Slow. It's groaning already.

place a hand flat against the main piling, feeling for vibration under the weight.

💭 thought

way's holding it for now, but the rot in those planks is deep.

🔧 Kevin07:41

Crane! Hold! Let it hang!

step to the crane tag line, haul it tight to arrest the swing, then signal the operator to lower slow and vertical

💭 thought

She feels it through the piling before I'll see it. Three millimetres of flex at the sister joint under static load — add the crane's swing moment and the greenheart plates'll peel the bolts. Need to kill the swing before it starts.

🌿 Jenny07:43

(shouting over the rigging) "Brace the stern! If it pivots—"

grab the spare anchor warp and run it through the bow chock, securing it tight as insurance.

💭 thought

If that crate drops even a foot, it'll shear through the sister joints.

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the dock · afternoon

Preparing for the Tide

The tide is starting to rise, giving them a few hours of dry light to finalize the area for the supply boat's arrival.

Kevin reinforced the second cleat with a greenheart sister plank and 150mm stainless through-bolt torqued to 26Nm, then rigged bow and stern spring lines with fenders deployed. Jenny attempted soil pH testing and sea beet transplanting but was hindered by rising tide and ankle pain, managing only a partial shrine sketch before weather worsened.

🔧 Kevin07:44

Stringer bolts are tight. Cleat sistering held last surge. Going to walk the seaward piling one more time before they round the point.

walk to the seaward end of the dock, testing each plank underfoot, checking the north piling shims and the oak wedges in the mooring ring mortise

💭 thought

Tide's turning. Two hours before the boat shows. Need to finish checking the starboard stringer bolts and make sure the cleat sistering holds under crane load. Jenny's on the manifest — let her handle the paperwork. My job's the dock.

🌿 Jenny07:45

Watch the rot on the second cleat, it still feels soft.

Jenny leans back against the cottage wall, wincing as her ankle shifts, and opens her notebook to sketch the morphology of a sea beet leaf she found earlier.

💭 thought

If that boat doesn't show tomorrow, the soil is going to be the least thing I worry about before I lose my mind.

🔧 Kevin07:49

Marked it. Will sister before they hook the first pallet.

crouch at the second cleat, probe the rot line with the screwdriver, then pull the greenheart offcut and 150mm through-bolt from the staging pile

💭 thought

She felt it too. Second cleat, landward side. Rot goes deeper than the chalk mark. Have to sister it before the crane swings anything heavy.

🌿 Jenny07:49

Just don't over-torque it, the salt has already made the fibers like glass.

Jenny stops her pencil mid-stroke, staring at the thickening clouds on the horizon, and rubs the damp skin over her ankle.

💭 thought

He's too fast with the tools; the humidity will eat the grain before the epoxy even sets.

🔧 Kevin07:50

Won't. Quarter turn back from torque spec. Feel for the wood.

drill the pilot hole through the greenheart sister into sound timber behind the rot, drive the 150mm stainless through-bolt with washers and nyloc nut, torque to 26Nm instead of 35, test the cleat with body weight

💭 thought

She's right. Salt-crystallized timber takes torque differently. Back the wrench off a quarter turn from spec. Feel for the bite.

🌿 Jenny07:51

way. The tide is turning too fast for us to be mistakes when the boat hits.

Jenny closes her notebook with a soft thud, stands up slowly with a grimace, and walks toward the end of the jetty to check the artworkhy lines.

💭 thought

At least he's listening to the wood for once, even if he isn't listening to me.

🔧 Kevin07:52

Spring lines next. Then the crane hook.

walk to the bow cleat, double the heavy weather line around the north piling base, serve the chafe point with sail twine, check the stern spring tension

💭 thought

She's not wrong. Tide's pushing harder than yesterday. Spring lines need another wrap. She's favoring the left leg bad — ankle's not improving.

🌿 Jenny07:53

Keep them tight. The current will pull harder than it looks.

Jenny reaches the end of the dinghy, watching the water lap against the wood, and feels the weight of the hunger in her stomach.

💭 thought

He's moving like the boat is already here, but the sky is turning wrong.

🔧 Kevin07:54

Bow line led fair. Stern spring doubled. Crane swing clear?

check the crane swing arc from the dock edge, verify no shrouds or mast bracket in the radius, pull the manifest from the oilskin pouch at the winch

💭 thought

Current's already setting west. Boat'll come in sideways if we don't lead the bow line right. She's hungry — we both are. First thing off that boat: diesel, impeller, then food.

🌿 Jenny07:55

Clear. But watch the swell, it's picking up.

Jenny leans over the side of the artworkhy, checking the rotten planks of the jetty, and watches the horizon for any sign of the hull.

💭 thought

If that boat doesn't come, I'm going to lose the seed tin.

🔧 Kevin07:56

Fenders. Bow and stern. Warp slack two feet.

deploy the rubber fenders on the seaward gunwales, pay out two feet of slack on the bow and stern warps, scan the horizon for the supply boat's hull

💭 thought

Swell's building. Short period. Boat'll pitch at the dock. Fenders out. Warp slack for surge. She's scanning the horizon — same as me. Neither of us saying the part about what happens if the impeller isn't aboard.

🌿 Jenny07:57

Got it. We need to be ready if the wind keeps pushing.

Jenny grips the rough timber of the dinghy, her fingers tracing the grain, and watches the flat sky turn a bruised purple.

💭 thought

The air is so heavy I can barely breathe it.

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the dock · evening

supply boat arrival

The supply boat rounds the point at high tide, engine throttling down as it approaches the dock. Kevin stands at the bow cleat with the manifest, Jenny at the landward end braced on her cane. The crane boom swings out over the water. First pallet touches the planks — diesel drums, a crate marked 'Yanmar impeller', and a mail sack heavy with official envelopes.

Kevin monitored the seaward dock plank and stringer sister joint while the crane lowered the second diesel drum, signaling the operator to ease it slowly. Jenny hobbled to the landward bolt with her cane, confirming no fresh movement at the joint, and marked the flex point on her sketch. The drum settled without shock load; the sister joint held.

🌿 Jenny08:01

Kevin, check that seaward plank where the first drum settled—my compass test showed movement.

move toward diesel drums, test plank stability with cane, retrieve pH strips and notebook from dock bag, sketch plank deflection in margin of existing ridge map

💭 thought

The planks creak under the diesel drums—still too much give in the starboard stringer. I can feel my ankle throb with each hydraulic hiss from the crane. Those pH strips are burning a hole in my pocket; I meant to test the north ridge soil today. The 'E' stone carving needs touching up before the rain softens the spruce scrap again.

🔧 Kevin08:05

On it. You take the manifest, I'll watch the plank.

walk to seaward end of dock, crouch beside third plank from crane side, press palm flat to timber where drum sits, watch for flex under load, tap with hammer handle to listen for hollow rot

💭 thought

She's right to check. That third plank from seaward has always been soft. If it gives under a drum, the crane's weight shifts to the sister joint I just bolted. Better to know now than when the boat's rolling.

🌿 Jenny08:06

If it shifts more than an inch, don't let them drop the crate yet.

lean weight on cane, watch the timber for lateral movement, pull pH strips from pocket, dejected note the swelling in the journal.

💭 thought

He's right. If that stringer snaps, the whole finger pier goes into the surf. My ankle is screaming in sync with the crane's rhythm. I need that way, but I need the dock to hold long enough to unload it.

🔧 Kevin08:06

Holding. No shift yet. But we've got two more drums and the crate. Stringer sister's the weak link — if that walks, the plank goes with it.

stay crouched, eyes on the stringer sister joint where greenheart meets old timber, watch bolt heads for rotation, tap plank again with hammer handle listening for change in note

💭 thought

She's steady on the cane. Good. The plank's holding so far — no lateral creep I can see. But the crane's only got one drum down. Two more plus the crate coming. If the sister joint on the stringer lets go, the whole seaward section walks.

🌿 Jenny08:07

way them to set the next drum slow. We need to see how the way takes the load.

shift weight to my good leg, watch the wayer sister for new cracks, wipe sweat from my throbbing ankle.

💭 thought

The wood is groaning. I can hear the fibers stretching under the weight. If the way fails, my grandmother's seeds are lost to the salt water before I even plant the first one.

🔧 Kevin08:08

Radio. Tell them slow lower on the second drum. No shock load.

stay crouched at seaward end, one hand on the stringer sister joint feeling for vibration, other hand raised to signal crane operator — palm down, slow motion — while watching the bolt heads and the scarf line for any fresh opening

💭 thought

She's using "wayer" for stringer. Old yard term. Means she's been listening. The stringer sister joint took the greenheart plate and the 150mm bolt at 26Nm — but the old timber's punky past the bolt line. If the crane drops the second drum hard, the shock load could crack the sister right at the scarf.

🌿 Jenny08:09

way they to ease the drum up and forward a bit, I'll check the wayer bolt.

shift to the landward end, grab the manifest from the crate, mark the flex point on my sketch with a red line, then hobble toward the joint with my cane as a probe.

💭 thought

The second drum settling too hard and I can see the greenheart sister joint start to flex where old timber meets the new. My ankle throbs in time with the creaking.

🔧 Kevin08:11

Ease it up. Forward slow. Jenny's checking the landward bolt.

raise arm to crane operator — fist clenched, then slow forward sweep — keep eyes on the seaward scarf line and bolt heads, ready to call stop if the timber breathes wrong

💭 thought

She's limping harder than yesterday. The ankle's not right. But she's moving to the landward bolt on the stringer sister — smart. That's the fixed end. If the scarf opens, it'll open there first. I'll hold the seaward end and signal the crane.

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the dock · night

Night watch at the dock

High tide slackens under a flat, cloud-thick sky. The second diesel drum is chocked on the seaward planks. Kevin leans on the crane rail, watching the water. Jenny sits on the crate lid, cane across her knees, the ridge map folded in her pouch. The supply boat is due tomorrow at high tide. The barometer reads 1026 hPa and steady. No wind. The dinghy rides its doubled lines, stern spring singing faintly.

The humidity hangs heavy over the dock as the tide retreats, exposing the slick, rotting wood of the pilings. Kevin finishes the securing work on the sister joint, though the rot within the beam feels more structural than the surface damage suggested. Jenny watches from the shadows, her ankle throbbing in sync with the lapping waves as they wait for the supply boat's arrival tomorrow.

🔧 Kevin08:13

Drum three and the crate on the high. Come-along on the landward cleat. Last long bolt for the crate landing spot.

walk to the landward end of the dock, inspect the cleat sister joint and stage the come-along and final 150mm stainless through-bolt with washers and nyloc nut

💭 thought

Third drum and the crate tomorrow. That dull plank's held two drums but the crate's a different weight, different moment arm. Need the come-along on the landward cleat, last 150mm bolt through the new sister joint before the crane swings it over. Barometer holding. Weather window's ours if the front stays south.

🌿 Jenny08:15

Check the cleat again, Kevin. Don't let the drum slip.

Shift weight to the good leg, wincing as the thbbing spikes through the gauze.

💭 thought

If the boat doesn't come tomorrow, I'm out of antibiotics and this ankle is going to rot off the bone.

🔧 Kevin08:15

Cleat's holding. Greenheart plate, four long bolts, epoxy mortise. Two drums didn't move it. Third won't either.

tap the cleat sister joint with the hammer handle, checking each bolt head for movement, then set the come-along on the landward cleat and run the tail to the north piling base

💭 thought

She's watching the cleat, not the drum. Ankle's talking louder than she admits. Cleat sister held two drums — greenheart plate, four 150mm bolts, epoxy in the mortise. It's sound. But she needs to hear me say it.

🌿 Jenny08:17

Just make sure the tension is even. I don't want that crate sliding into the water.

Pull the two remaining pH strips from the kit and look at them in my hand.

💭 thought

He's too confident. The wood is old and the salt eats everything slow here.

🔧 Kevin08:17

Tension'll be even. Come-along's fresh, north piling's solid. Last bolt goes in the seaward sister before the crate swings. You save the strips for the beds.

pull the final 150mm stainless through-bolt, washers, and nyloc nut from the east shutter staging spot and carry it to the seaward sister joint, laying it ready on the dock plank

💭 thought

She's managing the details because the ankle won't let her manage the heavy work. Two strips left. She'll want them for the garden beds after the boat's gone. Crate's heavy — winch plate rated, come-along's good, but the landing spot on the seaward planks needs that last bolt through the sister joint before we take the load.

🌿 Jenny08:19

Tighten it twice. The rot is deeper than the surface looks.

Watch him work the joint, my ankle throbbing in time with the waves.

💭 thought

If that bolt shears, the whole thing goes with the tide.

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What changed

3 intentions for today.

plan · dawn

×2

A pod of dolphins passes close off the point.

dolphins · dawn

Found: Diesel drums.

item · morning

Found: pH strips.

item · morning

Kevin and Jenny ate.

meal · morning

A jellyfish bloom has drifted into the bay, pale and slow.

jellyfish · midday

Jenny made a sketch: "Morphology of a sea beet leaf she found earlier".

made · afternoon

Found: soil pH test strips.

item · afternoon

cottage garden soil pH 5.6 (untreated), confirming lime amendment needed for heirloom varieties

discovery · afternoon

Jenny made a sketch: "Plank deflection in margin of existing ridge map".

made · evening

Jenny made a sketch: "With a red line,".

made · evening

Found: ridge map with flex mark.

item · evening

Kevin and Jenny ate.

meal · evening

The supply boat is confirmed for tomorrow high tide with a replacement impeller.

discovery · night

← Day 922 Day 924 →

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