“The life raft is on the seat behind me,” Stone said, “and the life jackets are in a blue zipper bag right behind my seat. In the event of an unscheduled landing, you put on a life jacket, strap yourself into a rear seat, and when the airplane has stopped moving, open only the top half of the door. We’ll float for a while, but if you open the bottom half, the Atlantic Ocean will join us inside immediately. You wrap the rope attached to the raft firmly around your wrist and hand, push the raft out the top of the door and jerk the cord hard. The raft will inflate. You hold it there until I can get out, then you pull the tab that inflates your life jacket and join me in the raft. I’ll bring along the handheld radio and the beacon that broadcasts our position to the Coast Guard via satellite.”
“Then what?”
“Then we wait for the Coast Guard to show up, remove us from the life raft, give us a cup of coffee and take us to a convenient land location.
“How long do we wait?”
“A few hours, maybe less.”
“A few hours in a tiny life raft with you is all I need to complete my day.”
“It’s a character-building experience.”
“And then?”
“We make our way to Key West by available transportation, and my insurance company buys me a new airplane. Feel better now?”
“And I lose all my stuff?”
13
S t u a r t W o o d s
“No, your household insurance reimburses you for your clothes and buys you a new set of golf clubs and tennis racket.”
“You make it all sound so attractive,” Dino said.
“Don’t worry, it will scare the shit out of you,” Stone replied. FIR S T, THE Y S AW some small islands to their left. Dino looked at the chart. “The Keys don’t run north-south,” he said.
“You’re very observant. They run
northeast-southwest, and
toward the end more west. Look.” He pointed out the window as an island swam into view through the haze. Key West Approach had them down to 1600 feet now.
“N123TF, Key West Approach, report Key West Airport in sight.”
Stone looked to his left and saw an airplane take off in the distance. “N123TF, airport in sight.”
“Fly direct Key West VOR, then enter a left downwind for runway niner. Contact Key West Tower on 118.2. Have a good day.”
“Thanks, and good day,” Stone replied, then switched frequencies. “Key West Tower, N123TF at the VOR, left downwind for niner.”
“N123TF, Key West Tower, cleared to land.”
Stone pointed as they approached the island. “We can see everything from here.” The island was laid out before them, every inch of it. “You been here before?”
“Once, a weekend with the ex. You?”
“My fi rst time.”
Stone turned final at 500 feet and lined up on the runway. He made a smooth landing, and Ground Control directed him to parking
.
They unloaded their gear, left refueling instructions and picked up their rent-a-car. Twenty minutes later they were parking in front of the Marquesa.
“Looks like somebody’s house,” Dino said.