Salvage—extra special

The coast‑guard cutter Arrowsic rolls back into its home port after weeks of icy patrols, its crew still humming from the recent grind of iceberg work. Captain Rawson Bent, a steely‑eyed veteran whose habit of pacing a ship’s beam masks a fierce pride in his vessel’s salvage record, receives the routine orders with a quiet, almost ritualistic precision. The cutter’s deck hums with the familiar clatter of men securing lines and checking communications, a reminder that even routine returns can turn on a moment’s notice.

A terse call from Popham Sands shatters the calm: the two‑master schooner Harvest Home has run aground amid treacherous rollers, a woman and children clinging to its deck. Bent’s grin tightens into resolve as he orders an immediate cast‑off, his crew snapping to duty with practiced efficiency. The Arrowsic heads south, cutting through the harbor’s lingering foam, poised to confront the storm‑laden shoals that have already humbled a sturdy ship.