Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Two Ships in the Night

Margo and Craig Parker's boat lost power on Friday night in the dark on Lake Coeur d'Alene. Tom and KJ Torgeson were returning from John Magnuson's wedding rehearsal in their ski boat and came upon the stranded couple. Click the comment section below to read Margo's telling of the tale ....

2 comments:

  1. From Margo Parker:
    Late Friday night on Lake Coeur d’Alene, the Serendipity was stranded. This is the original Serendipity – a beautiful but older 30’ Well Craft Cruiser that has been on the lake since 1990 and was named by us in 2001. Anyway, as we floated aimlessly in the murky darkness, while I tried to flag down other boats without any success.
    With no directional lights on, floating in the darkness, I feared that another boat would blindly plow into us. We could see the Resort in the distance; and the lights of all the houses on the shore. We were invisible to all but one gorgeous couple, Tom and KJ Torgerson. They saw my flashlight and headed our way – are they going to hit us? Do they see my flashlight spinning and flashing on and off? My husband, with his head in the engine compartment had no idea of what was going on. In a panic I watched as they headed right for us; I braced myself – but instead of impact, I heard a calm male voice calmly say, “I see you”. I shine my light on our rescuers; and almost blind them. Then my husband throws our enormously long lead line to Captain Tom – hitting his beautiful bride in the head. We heard the thud and a soft ‘ouch’ in the darkness. He ties us up to their sweet; but much smaller ski boat and takes off. We were like a huge dead weight, a floating behemoth that they pulled as though we were an enormous tube behind them. It was such a nice quiet ride without our engines roaring. Their strong craft sinking deep into the dark lake water; obviously straining under the load with Captain Tom confidently at the helm. They were rocked by other boats passing by as they pulled us to the safety of the Yacht Club Marina fuel dock. Our handsome hero even grabbed our boat and his own somehow so that we would land at the dock and not collide. Seeing them in the light finally, both dressed in formal attire and glowing with goodness. I think I saw an aura around them. Hopefully, KJ, wasn’t bruised from the line that hit her. We thanked them, our angels. They made us laugh, they saved us; and they didn’t accept any retribution – not even the offer to fill up their gas tank Tom saidn, “this is what you do – you help others in need”. Thank you Tom and KJ – thank you for using your powers for good. You are superstars in our ship’s log!

    ReplyDelete
  2. KJ and I were very happy to help. Margo has been exceedingly kind in her thanks! Anyone would have done the same thing! Happy cruising!!! Tom Torgerson

    ReplyDelete