A Ghostly Rescue

When the aging schooner cast off the lines at the dock in Marco village and headed for Key West, the 1800s were almost over. A new age was about to dawn and the excitement of electricity and the newfangled inventions that were to make everyone’s life easier was like something out of a novel. Aboard the wooden sailboat with the two masts that was riding the outgoing tide were the Marco captain, one passenger, a full summer’s collection of guava honey, and the veteran captain’s three teenage daughters. For everyone aboard, life was about to change forever.

The first sign of trouble came when the sunset disappeared in a thunderstorm and the buffeting wind began to get stronger. When the dark and stormy night was truly a tempest, and the waves even in the darkness were overwhelming, the captain turned around and headed back to Marco. Before the dawn could arrive and show a watery light upon the terrible seas and the wind that was determined to tear away the masts and the rigging, the captain ordered the three teenage girls below and began to beg for help from the only passenger. The man who had paid for a ride to Key West, however, was unable to act because of his fear. When a particularly large wave broke in the shallow water, the captain also became another immovable figure in the flashing lightning as the schooner capsized and broke apart on the Cape Romano shoals. The three teenagers, who were suddenly victims under the falling masts, became trapped in the sinking cabin and were never laid to rest. The forlorn tale, however, of the three lost maidens still haunts the waters of Marco and the Cape Romano shoals.

Meanwhile, 13 decades later, a new age is dawning and the excitement of newfangled inventions and artificial intelligence is like something out of a movie.

When the honeymoon couple boarded the cruise ship in Miami, the newly married groom was concerned about all the hidden cameras. His plan was simple, but now that the last six months were coming into fruition, he was in a bad mood but also filled with anticipation. His new bride was truly a windfall. She was wealthy and did not want a prenuptial agreement. After she was over the side and swimming forever with the tropical fish, he would have all her money and she would be only an irritating memory.

The cruise ship cameras were indeed a problem. They were everywhere. Passengers falling overboard—or having help to fall overboard—was apparently a big concern. The new groom could not find a single place where the cameras were not watching until a sudden storm came late in the afternoon and the sunset disappeared in a thunderstorm and the buffeting wind began to get stronger. By midnight, the waves were huge and confused, and the new bride was equally befuddled. With a little coaching, she had enough champagne to float the ship, and when the rain and the darkness were so intense—no camera could see anything—the new bride was over the side in a storm not even an Olympic swimmer could survive.

On the night of the sudden squall at sea, the cruise ship was offshore of Marco Island and the Cape Romano Shoals. The passenger, who reported his new wife missing, did not do so until he found that the bride was not in the deluxe cabin decorated for the honeymoon.

Upon discovering the tragedy, the captain of the ship ordered an immediate turnaround and initiated a massive search at sea. The Coast Guard was at once on the job and airplanes and helicopters were soon sweeping the gulf for any sign of the wayward bride who witnesses were claiming had too much to drink.

Meanwhile, the new groom was secretly delighted with his plan and success, and outwardly, his acting skills might have won an Oscar, if hiding a murder at sea was on the list of performing arts for the very wicked at heart.

After day three, the massive search was over. No one could have survived the hypothermia of 72 hours even in the tropical water, and after the decision to shift from rescue to recovery was official, the grieving groom could only find comfort with a beautiful young woman who happened to be a nurse and a grief counselor onboard the cruise ship.

When the new bride was exhausted and freezing, she swam some more, and when the seas became calm, she floated. As she swam and floated, and swam again, the water that was freezing seemed to grip her ever more tightly until three teenage girls suddenly appeared and joined her in the water. The girls also must have been lost at sea, because it soon became apparent that the three young maidens were from a very old background of seafaring women. After the girls were surrounding the bride and coaching her with their old-fashioned way of speaking and companionship, the water became warm enough to stop the freezing. During the last hour of darkness before the third day, a strange light began to rise above the young women in the water and a shrimp boat from Key West came into sight. After the bride turned to raise her arms and wave to the arriving rescue in the early morning dawn of a new day at sea, the three young girls suddenly vanished.

With the new bride safely aboard the trawler, the shrimper captain began calling on the marine radio to tell the tale of a wicked man with a black heart who was to be arrested in Tampa, and also of what could only be a miracle at sea or A Ghostly Rescue.