The sureness of MacKenzie

by Frederick R. (Frederick Ritchie) Bechdolt

"The sureness of MacKenzie by Frederick R. Bechdolt" is a nautical short story written in the early 20th century. It centers on a veteran San Francisco bar pilot whose steadfast confidence is tested as he guides a great ocean liner through fog, surf, and shifting currents at the Golden Gate. A telephone summons pulls MacKenzie from home on the eve of his grandchildren’s birthday, and he heads out to the pilot boat in heavy weather, trading wagers and barbed talk with fellow pilots who chafe at his unshakable certainty. He aims to board the Empress, leaps for her Jacob’s ladder in a rolling sea, and takes the bridge, threading her around the breaking bar and down North Channel. When a sudden fog drop and hill wind warp the siren signals and a strong ebb shoves the ship toward disaster at Fort Point, the captain panics; MacKenzie holds his course by feel, sound, and experience, seemingly steering into danger to clear Lime Point. The fog thins, the harbor opens, and the liner steams in safely. Home in time for the party, he dotes on the children while his family, amused and admiring, sums him up in a phrase: he is so sure.