The Bachelor Party …………………….

The phone rang just after 7:00 in the morning . . . those who know me very well are aware of the 9-o’clock rule around my place.  I reluctantly answered the phone. The caller was Zack . . . the message was concerning.  Chris and four of the guys had left the boat ramp at Bird Island Basis at 1 a.m., headed out on what was to be less than a one-hour trip to the cabin to unload . . . with a promise that Chris would return shortly to pick up Zach and Russell.  Zack said that he and Russell had waited at the boat-ramp to be picked up and taken down on the second trip so that they wouldn’t overload the boat.  They had been expecting Chris since 2:30 or 3.  He was something like 4 hours over due . . . and they couldn’t get him on his cell phone . . .

Zack told me that a Park Ranger had driven through the parking area and stopped to check on him and Russell.  They made him aware of the situation, and the Park Ranger called the Coast Guard . . . and a search was underway.  Zack and Russell were waiting on information and felt like they needed to get me in the loop.   We ended the conversation and hung up with the thought reverberating in my head . . . “the Coast Guard is searching for my son who has been missing for several hours!”  What a way to start the day . . .

The wedding was just a few weeks away . . . Chris was getting married and his Bachelor Party was a fishing trip at a remote cabin in Baffin Bay with six of his best buddies . . . his attendants. The problem was that none of them really knew the area . . .

The guys had arrived at our house about 8 the evening before.  Chris, Lucas, and Joe had driven down from Waco, while Zach and Russell had driven down from Houston; our place was their meeting site.  They had come here to pick up the boat and would meet up with Derrick in Flour Bluff on the way to Bird Island.  They would have our boat, Bamonitias, and Derrick’s boat for the 30-mile boat trip to the cabin.

Sandy, being the sweet Mom she is, had prepared dinner for the guys and insisted that they sit down and eat before heading out. That gang is always hungry and ate like lumberjacks. We had a great time laughing and having fun over a great dinner, and then they set out – excited about all of the fish they were certain to catch and their big adventure. Baffin is the home of the State-record Redfish and Speckled Sea Trout.

As I reflected on the situation, I began to prepare to go searching for my son and his friends (of course, Zach is like my son too), but then I realized they had Bamonitias and I was afoot.  Aftermath was in the middle of having engine repairs at the moment and not available. All I could do was pray and wait . . . Then the question hit me . . . do I call Sandy at school and trouble her with this disturbing news?  Do I call Courtney and worry her?  I decided that I ought not to bother them . . . I had raised Chris on the water and knew he was a good seaman and they were surely okay.  I did call my sweet little sister, Dorothy, my “go to” prayer warrior . . .  and asked her to pray for the guys’ safety.  I began to think about all of the submerged rocks around Baffin Bay . . . those were not pleasant thoughts about the guys in a boat, in the dark of night, in water that was known for its submerged rocks!

About 10 a.m., Chris called and said, “All is well and we are okay.”  Whew . . . What sweet words to an old dad’s ears.  I asked him what had happened. He related the following: “We got to the boat ramp about 1 a. m. and began to launch the boats. As we launched Derrick’s boat, he discovered that his steering cable had broken. Zach, always the engineer, rigged up a chopping hoe with bungee cords strapping the hoe to the motor so the hoe handle would serve as a tiller, but the engine sputtered and died. To top it all off, when we pulled his boat trailer out of the water, one of the wheels fell off.  We decided to leave Derrick’s boat at the ramp and just use Bamonitias and make two trips to the cabin.  All was good, until we got to the area where the cabin was supposed to be. We all had limited cell-phone service and our G4 GPS reception was poor, but the main problem was that the dude who had rented us the cabin had given us the wrong coordinates.  A cold-front blew in and the temp had dropped to 45 degrees and we were all dressed in shorts and Tee’s.  Unable to find the cabin and very cold, we just crawled up on the dock of an empty cabin and got in our sleeping bags and went to sleep.  I woke up when I heard a helicopter flying around.  I woke the other guys and said, ‘They are looking for us’ . . . so I headed back to Bird Island where Zach and Russell were waiting.”  He said that he was there with Zack and Russell at that moment.

I asked him what he was going to do.  He said, “Dad, I am going fishing”!  I asked him what time he would be here the next day.  He said . . . ”by 4 p.m, Dude! We need you to help us clean fish and everyone has to drive home afterwards.”  He had to be at Church – he was the Youth Minister!

The next day I waited for them . . . They weren’t here by 6:00 p.m. and I could not get an answer on any of their cell phones.  Two hours late and it was getting dark.  Again, I became concerned.  Sarah, Chris’ bride called to say that she had not heard from Chris and was concerned.  I shared my concern with her.  Reluctantly, I called the Coast Guard . . . not particularly to report them as missing . . . simply to see if there had been any accidents reported.  The Coast Guard dude had some stuff to say about those guys!

Around 8:00 my phone rang and I was delighted to see on caller ID that it was Chris.  He explained that a dredging crew was dredging the Inter-coastal canal between the cabin and the boat-ramp and had a discharge pipe off the barge, partially blocking the canal.  The guys had run hard aground trying to avoid the dredge and the discharge pipe.  They spent a couple of hours and a lot of energy pushing off.   He was calling from Bird Island where they were loading up.  He said they would be back here in an hour and a half.

They arrived here safe and sound and we cleaned a lot of fish.  They had really done well . . . Ummmmm, well they had done well on the fishing part anyway.  They were laughing and enjoying themselves.  As we left the fish-cleaning station, we stopped at a convenience store for them to pack their fish in ice so the fish would be good when they arrived home.  Each of the guys bought a couple of 5-hour energy drinks, we said our good-byes, and they headed off into the dark.  I pulled the boat back to the shop.

As I washed the boat down around 11 o’clock, I thanked God for each of those good guys and for the great time they had on their big adventure and His watch-care over them. When I arrived back at the house, Sandy was getting ready for bed. I sat with her for a few minutes and told her, “Honey, all over the free world there were many bachelor parties this weekend.  Some of those guys had the cops called on them for their behavior . . . Our son had the Coast Guard called on him . . . And that isn’t all bad”!  They are good guys . . .

Over the wedding weekend we had many laughs regarding the Bachelor Party . . . Well, the guys did.  I don’t think the girls are even able to see much humor in any of it almost a year later . . . but then that is why it is called a Bachelor Party . . . and girls aren’t allowed!

4 thoughts on “The Bachelor Party …………………….

  1. That was a series of adventures! Not many people get the Coasties called on them. Not many people catch a slew of fish like that. Not many people have friends that good. Not many people have extended families.
    How blessed are we?
    (but one adventure is enough!!!)

  2. That trip was awesome! Great time with great friends and great story to top it all off.

    One correction: it actually dropped to 35 degrees that night, not 45!

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