Cruisers to the Rescue

By law, every mariner is required to keep a lookout at all times. The rule, of course, was made to help vessels avoid collisions. But sometimes there are additional benefits to watchkeeping — such as saving a life or two.

Such was the case recently when Reylyn Yarussi of the sailboat Tropical Dance scanned the surface and saw what she thought were two turtles. . . then a wad of netting and some floats. On further investigation, she, her partner Dan and crewman Andy Conlin realized that the poor creatures were hopelessly tangled in the netting.

While Reylyn tugged the net up along the side of Tropical Dance, Dan gradually cut it away from the immobilized turtles, and within 20 minutes they we both freed. As if the job wasn’t tough enough, given the boat’s 6 foot freeboard, a baby shark was also tangled in the net. It’s fate is unknown.