Escape from Ensenada
An action packed, adventure comedy
by
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The Squash Buds
T
om stood frozen to the helm. His iced fingers held the wheel like a vice as the fifteen foot swells crashed and sprayed over the decks. Crashing through a behemoth wave, he could see that off to the starboard side, one of the Mexican HSB gunboats was on course to either board the Swan or ram her.
Flying over the crest of a swell, the Mexican HSB came around broadside to the Swan's starboard side and the Mexican sailors readied their grappling hooks and began to swing them in the air to hook the swan and bring her within boarding distance.
ÓDamnitÓ thought Tom. ÒJust when I thought we were in the clear. Now we're dead! How in the heck did I ever get into this to begin with? This is the last time I ever listen to that son of a gun Ernie again!Ó
He had only moments to think of a way out before he and the crew were to become either inmates of a Mexican prison or residents of Davy Jones' locker.
~
T
om, Ernie and Emmett had become fast and inseparable friends after meeting at the bar overlooking the squash courts at the Santa Barbara Athletic Club. And after innumerable StellaArtois' shared there, had several times conjured up the idea of a quick trip toRiowhere Ernie's antics had more than once almost landed them all in a Brazilian jail.
Ernie, the lacrosse captain atSan DiegoState and an ex-Navy SEAL, loved the ocean and especially body contact. He was also the son of a cop. As engaging as he could be, if you crossed him he could snap you like a twig.
But Tom had him under control at least most of the time. As the brains behind this notorious trio, he had graduated fromStanfordLawSchool but hated his profession and had been thinking about changing careers. However, he did take pride in defending underdogs in the legal system against overzealous and clueless prosecutors while managing to keep the respect and confidence of the judges in his jurisdiction.
And being suave and charming, his low fees were compensated in other ways by his clients. They greatly appreciated not only his legal sagacity but also his sensitivity and wit.
He was also more than a little mischievous. Do any of you recall Ronald Reagan's visit toSan Diegoin 1981 where, like FDR, he was to give a speech from the end of a train? And does anyone recall a college student who ordered the engineer at the front of the train to depart just as Reagan had started his speech at the rear? That was Tom pretending to be an FBI Agent.
And do you recall when Queen Elizabeth visitedSanta Barbarain 1983 and an officer diverted her Majesty's motorcade off of State Street, onto Micheltorena and over the 101 bridge into the Westside barrio? That was Tom in a bogus police uniform.
Then there was Emmett. Emmett was born a natural promoter and salesman. Slick as deer guts on a doorknob, he had become a multimillionaire many times over by taking a mundane idea and turning it into a goldmine. Remember the Pet Stone? That was Emmett. Remember the Briar Patch Kids? That was Emmett too. Only Emmett could have created and promoted these hideously ugly plastic miniature Quazimodos which retailed for over $300 each at F.A.O. Schwartz inNew Yorkduring the '85 holiday season. New Yorkers were fighting over them. He had a talent. He could sell icicles to the Eskimos and make them feel happy about it at the same time.
Each of these people individually was harmless. But place the three of them together in one of their many escapades and you have a volatile prescription for madness, lunacy and the bizarre.
As Tom stood there in horror at the helm with his icy fingers locked to the wheel as the gun boat grew closer portending his doom, he thought this was one prescription he wished the pharmacist had lost.
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About the Book
Three mischievous Santa Barbara sailors embark on a journey to Ensenada, Mexico to take delivery of a sail boat. But before they can leave, Tom, who is captain of the vessel becomes involved in a traffic accident with the Prince of Pop Jeremy Princeton. Concerned for Tom's well being, Jeremy insists Tom accompany him to his Santa Ynez estate Tierra Bella to consult with his in-house physician. While Visiting there, Jeremy's art consultant Peter Harrison shows him two paintings, a Renoir and a Rembrandt, which have been stolen from the Swedish National Museum and which were shipped to Jeremy anonymously in a shipment of musical instruments. Also in Jeremy's possession is a mystical sphere called the Black Piper which is a mysterious and supernatural relic that at first is a godsend but later becomes a curse to the person who possesses it. Enter Joy Heather Kensington, an Interpol agent and Lynne Northland, an FBI paranormal psychologist who are assigned the Swedish National Museum case. The duo team up with a Swedish cop and a CIA agent to solve the mystery. The clues lead the group on an amazing and harrowing journey from Beirut to Stockholm to CAdiz to Ensenada where they uncover along the way some ancient mystical writings called the Emerald Tablets of Troth, a monk who knows how to save the world from Armageddon, a demon called Wegreog, and a malevolent smuggling scheme led by one of the most powerful persons in the U.S. government. Escape from Ensenada is a light-hearted tongue-in-cheek fictional adventure about three rogue sailors on a lark whose mischievous inclinations lead them into a labyrinth of extreme danger and mystical intrigue amidst the backdrop of today's contemporary political world scene.
About the Author
Harris T. Vincent is an advertising executive and publisher who has sailed most of his life. He has participated in regattas in Hawaii and Bermuda and most recently sailed a sloop down through the Grenadine Islands in the Caribbean.