One day we were approached by Captain Ed Powers of the Gloria, a beautiful 64-foot schooner anchored in the inner harbor. We had talked to him when we first scouted the scene and he had told us he was heading south and through the canal to the Caribbean. But he was waiting for someone to charter the schooner. No charter clients had showed up. Now he was willing to take us, if we would help him repair the damage he had suffered in a squall off Nicaragua. We moved on board that same day, loading the cycle in his skiff and then winching it on board the schooner. We went to work on the damaged rigging, replacing broken stays, realigning cables, patching the mainsail and getting ready for the voyage to Panama. Both of us had experience sailing. Naren had crewed with an uncle in Argentina and was quite well versed in nautical lore. He even knew how to use a sextant. While we did the repairs the captain laid in supplies: mostly cheap canned goods and what turned out to be our staple, a full stalk of still green but ripening bananas. Over the next three weeks I heard his story, which struck me as the tale of a classic American hustler. Photo by Naren Bali |