Plus it was nesting season and she had statistics to gather.
She sighed as she parked in the marina car park. Perhaps she wasn’t cut out for this kind of job. There were even more rules and every time she stuck to them, she felt inflexible, but the memory of what happened haunted her and she couldn’t bring herself to bend. She’d been too harsh on Sam and Rob. The stress of her first big decision, the knowledge she’d made the wrong call before, all topped with the way Sam put her on edge, had her unable to think straight. Hopefully the video would clarify what had happened and justify the week-long suspension.
Her guilt intensified as she saw Sam’s boat, Oceanid, still tied in its pen. She scanned the area, but couldn’t spot the man. Good.
Moving quickly, she grabbed her backpack and strode over to the PAWS boat. A day on the ocean would clear her head. It always did.
She climbed into the mid-sized, fibreglass boat and dumped her bag on the passenger seat. After putting on her life jacket, she untied the ropes and started the engine, clicking the kill switch to her belt. The last thing she needed was to fall overboard and be stranded in the middle of the ocean.
She radioed the office. “Karen, this is Victor Sierra Foxtrot. I’m heading out towards the Muiron Islands now. I expect to be back by four.” It would give her plenty of time to chat with people who might be out on the water.
“Copy that. Have a great day, Penelope.”
The communication was reassuring, not that she expected anything to go wrong, but it was better to plan for the worst.
She knew that now.
Penelope eased out of the pen and stuck to the speed limits as she motored between the markers and into the gulf. Light winds rippled the surface of the ocean, but not enough to make it a bumpy ride.
Several boats were already out fishing in the gulf, but not in areas of the marine park. Jimmy’s tour boat was ahead of her, motoring towards its first snorkelling spot of the day. As she followed, he spotted her and waved. A moment later, her radio came to life.
“You after me?” Jimmy asked.
Penelope smiled and picked up the radio. “Not today. Heading for the islands.”
“Have fun.”
The tour boat operators had been very nice to her. Probably wanted to stay on her good side.
When she reached the point of the peninsula, she slowed and checked her GPS. There were two sanctuary zones here, and between them a recreational zone. Not all people were aware of it or cared to make the distinction, but no fishing was allowed. As part of her role as park ranger, she had honorary fisheries officer status, which allowed her to monitor the fishing as well.
Today no one fished in either sanctuary zone, so she continued towards the islands which lay nine nautical miles from Retribution Bay.
Along the way, she stopped a couple of boats and checked their catch, but all was in order.
She rounded the tip of South Muiron Island and headed for the sanctuary zone off its west coast. One of the dive boats was already moored in place and its divers were getting into the water, so she took a wide berth.
Another two boats were anchored in the area, both with the blue and white flag that declared divers were in the water. One, a rubber tender, was unoccupied, but she spotted a person on the second larger luxury vessel which declared itself Joy Ridin’ on the side. This vessel had a large back deck, with multiple spaces for fishing rods, though none were out today. It had two huge motors to power it and the marlin board was down. The cabin area was large enough to hold a dining room and several bedrooms, and the upstairs area was undercover to give the captain shade when navigating.
As she motored over, she tried to hail the boat on the radio, but they didn’t respond. Maybe everyone was diving. Keeping her speed low and looking for bubbles which would signal a diver surfacing, she approached.
A tall, shirtless man came out on deck, his Lycra bather shorts clinging to his legs, and the tattoo on his upper arm highlighting his muscles. As she moved closer he gave an easy smile and waved, giving her a glimpse of the bulldog tattoo. “Morning.”
Penelope moved into neutral and came up alongside. “Good morning. I’m from Parks and Wildlife Services. I’m doing some routine checks of the area. Have you been fishing today?”
“Not here. This is a sanctuary zone.” His eyes flicked to the water and then back to her.
“Have you been fishing elsewhere today?”
“No. My mate wanted to go diving, so I’m finishing my book.” He gestured towards the cabin.
She couldn’t see much of the boat floor from where she was, but the smell of fish wafted towards her. “Mind if I come aboard?”
He shifted towards the cabin. “Ah, I’d really like to get back to my book.”
“This won’t take long.”
“Hey, Grant, give us a hand here.” The call came from the back of the boat.
