Waiting for the helicopter

A while after we learned that the helicopter had been dispatched, a small yellow bird landed on our boat. Unlike the many water birds that we've been seeing, this was a land bird. He was far from home and obviously exhausted. He landed on the lifelines that open to the swim platform. After a few minutes he flew over and landed on Pete's life jacket. Pete held the exhausted bird in his hands for a few minutes. Then "Fuzzy" as Pete named him flew over to visit other crew members. First he landed on Scott, then Steve. Rusty went down below to get him some food and water. About the time the crew of the Coast guard Rescue helicopter called us to let us know they were a few minutes away, a pod of dolphins arrived at the boat. We looked at each other asking ourselves "Is this really happening?" We stowed Fuzzy down below so the rotor wash from the rescue helicopter wouldn't blow him away and finished securing the boat for the transfer. The transfer went off without a hitch. Pete is home and doing well, but the crew is sad to report that Fuzzy did not survive the night. Fuzzy and the dolphins were a welcome distraction for all of us we waited for the evacuation.