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Another Cruise, Another Adventure An action film with a nautical theme and comedic overtones Setting: Cape Romain lighthouse and its watery environs Starring: Fred Wichmann and a cast of tens As is his custom, Fred Wichmann stages yet another birthday pilgrimage to Cape Romain lighthouse, site of his birth lo, these many years ago. (As it turns out, we were almost upstaged by actor Kevin Costner, who had been filming his latest movie at the very restaurant where we were to dine Saturday evening.) The trek begins on Leap Day as Distant Isle and Molly Brown make their way up the ICW from Charleston to McClellanville. This proved to be quite a peaceful 5-hour trip that Joyce describes, almost wistfully, as “uneventful”. (In the “careful what you ask for” category, this was to be more than compensated for the following day.) Saturday arrives full of promise with sunny skies, mild temperatures, and a slight breeze. Soon Daisy Belle and James Rowe’s unnamed speedster Fountain are spied making their way up Jeremy Creek to Leland Marine. Capt. BJ skillfully rafts up to Distant Isle and comes aboard with his crew for a hearty helping of cheese grits. By 11:00 the boatless people arrive, ready and able to crew the intrepid trawlers. Glitch # 1: Distant Isle’s cantankerous port engine once again balks, (take 2 from 2007!) but Capt. Fred climbs down into the engine room and soon persuades it to cooperate. So the caravan of four sets out toward Five Fathom Creek, reaching the Cape right on schedule, an hour and a half later. Once more, uneventful. Not even a moment of drama getting Fred’s boots on; they slide on and off like melted butter, thanks to a liberal application of Johnson’s Baby Powder. Now the man of the hour is Ferry Meister BJ, who skillfully manages to get some 19 of us almost to dry ground, with a lot of help from waders, Mike Fauss and Gene Corbett. After a brief foray around the two lighthouses, a birthday serenade from the Squadron Chorus (Don’t give up your day jobs!), and a few tales from master raconteur Fred, the erstwhile captain declared it was time to hit our boats and run before the tide. Here the plot thickens and the “adventure” part of our story begins. Captain Fred leads the pack, only to realize shortly that the pack is not following. Details are a bit murky, but a quick check by radioman first class, Dave Walsh, revealed something about mysterious mud in impellers and overheating engines, rendering Molly Brown and Fountain not nearly so speedy as before. Ta-dah! Capt. Fred to the rescue! The perennially problematic Distant Isle now takes on the hero’s role as she tows not one, but two disabled vessels all the way back to Jeremy Creek. All vessels safely secured, we make our way to quaint little T. W. Graham’s for dinner. Frazzled after a week of frenzied filming and hectic Hollywood activity, the management is a bit overwhelmed as 35 extra clients show up for dinner. (Well, they were forewarned and gave us clearance.) Undaunted, the wait staff tackle the task of serving the hungry mariners, who wait patiently while the small kitchen churns out plate after plate of fresh seafood and sweet potato fries. Crews fed, bills paid, we make our way back to our vessels. Fade to black…
How many Squadron members does it take to watch Fred fix his engine?
Fred Wichmann telling a Lighthouse story.
The Squadron group at the Lighthouse.
Boarding the Daisy Bell for the return ride to the anchored fleet.
Distant Isle towing Molly Brown and James Rowe
Wendy Walsh and Angela Wright meet the cruise dinner chef at T W Graham's
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