In our modern age, our phones are now more than just a phone. They have become a portal to a larger world, the keeper of our memories, our security, and sometimes our secrecy. We feel lost without them.
Davy Jones Locker took mine.
After a well-protected anchorage on Marco Island through some significant winds, we started making our way down the channel, out to the Gulf of Mexico, and turned south towards the Everglades.
Being the videographer of record, I was up on the flybridge taking a video of our departure when a beam wave rocked the boat, and I lost my balance. I was in the middle of the boat using my leg against the back for leverage, so I was in no danger, but as I gripped the side rail for stability, the phone dropped from my hand to the deck below.
If it had stopped there, all would have been well. We had, however, placed an 11-foot plastic kayak there a couple of weeks ago. You know what is next. My phone hit the plastic kayak and elegantly flipped straight into the ocean. I was in shock. I told Scott; my phone just went into the water. We turned around to make sure it sank (it did) and then continued.
I felt sick. I hadn’t uploaded photos and videos in almost a week; they were gone. We were now down to one phone, which we used for navigation. I cried. Mainly for the missing memories but also for the loss of independence I felt. We were heading into one of our trip’s most remote areas; there is no Walmart, Best Buy, or Verizon store.
It was a weird feeling, like a part of you is missing.
Once we arrived in the Florida Keys, where shipping is possible and stores were available while limited, I ordered a new phone from Apple, and this time I got the insurance for loss. I also bought a waterproof case with a lanyard and floatation device. Just in case, I bought an extra two floatation devices. Reordering the phone was way more an ordeal than needed because I did not have a device to trade up or trade-in. Layer on to that the new way of doing business, with artificial intelligence and computers, not humans.
So far, I have not again dropped it into the water. It feels more secure with the lanyard that I can have around my wrist while still using the phone, and I have the floatation device attached continuously. Given that we are constantly surrounded by water and in constant motion, I suppose this was an eventuality. Lesson learned, the hard way.
ohbuoy.net 