The Rest of the Story (Positano)

I promised you the story of the little "toy" boat ~ so here it is!

The weather has been gray during our stay in Positano ~

 but tonight it turns into a full-fledged storm.

The ferry "dock" is completely submerged in icy water, as the waves cash clear up to (and upon) the first and second story buildings.  

It was interesting to watch the last ferry "unload".  They back up with just a ramp, if you'll recall ~ so to unload the luggage with waves like this, they can't possible plant the ramp on the dock like normal, it would be dashed to pieces in within minutes.  So they would wait till the boat was tossed high, and then at the peak of the wave they heaved the luggage through the air to land on the dock!   The passengers were a little more difficult to unload ~ but the concept was pretty similar  ~ the crew stood on the back of the boat, "loaded" the passengers onto the heaving, swaying ramp, passing them from deck hand to deck hand, and then thrusting them, at exactly the right moment, into the waiting arms of a deck hand on the (remember, cement) dock.  Wow.  It looks as though they've done this before.   I think the guy in the little yellow boat is there in case something important falls into the ocean by mistake.

 I must admit that I'm glad it wasn't me or my luggage doing this circus act.  

We decide that dinner "in" is a good idea.  So I head down to the restaurant to get us a "take-out" antipasta plate of meats and cheeses, and we buy a bottle of wine at that cute little grocery store up that flight of stairs.  (By the way, that's the only grocery store we saw during our stay....)  

And yes, that's an ashtray I turned up-side down for the photo.....A girl without dishes gotta' do what she's gotta' do....

This and the setting makes for a pretty spectacular dinner, 

even if we only spent a few euro's.

And that brings us back to this little boat.  It's so tiny,  I almost feel like it could fit into my bathtub........We've watched this little boat go out every day and come back in with a "daily catch".  We have marveled that it stays afloat out there with a fisher-guy and a bucket o'seafood on board, since there's no real "bay" here, it's straight-on ocean, with all it's waves and currents.



Now, as we are watching the storm hit from the safety of our balcony, we see this little boat ~ struggling against the current. He's waited a bit too long to get in.  And now he can't.  He finally gives up on rowing, thinking (I presume) that perhaps he can "swim it in" instead.  This looks to be a bad idea.

A crowd forms on the beach.  Somebody, out of sheer desperation, finally, bravely (or foolishly, depending on how you look at it) swims out in the freezing water to try to pull him in with the tow rope attached to the front. 

Now they are both in the water, and they are both in trouble.  Serious trouble.  

Someone runs for help.  There's quite a crowd now, everyone is yelling ('cause there's nothing else they can really do to help).  He returns with a life ring, which he wades in to throw to the guys in the water.

Now they are able to pull them in, with the rope that's attached to the life ring.  All hands rush to help ~ and it's still difficult to get them past that outgoing current.

And then, everyone is ashore, finally, safe and sound.  Meanwhile, somebody has had the foresight to go for blankets, which have to be more than welcome.  That water is freezing freezing freezing. They could not have lasted very long out there.

Whew, what a close call that was.  And what a "slice of real life" for us to witness.  And the lesson is clear ~ no matter the country, you don't mess with Mother Nature!