Mouse Island

Again, with the steady breeze and beautiful sunshine I'm longing to go sailing. I found this short story I wrote in my creative writing class at La Roche. Again, about sailing, which most of my creative pieces seemed to be. This piece might be loosely based on a true story.

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The day began as a beautiful, cool morning with a steady breeze blowing from the Northwest.  The shore was filled with men, women and young adults preparing their sailboats for one of the most important races of the summer, the Mouse Island Race.  Earlier that week, the advanced sailing class had decided that eight of them would sail double-handed in the race.  The girls filled three boats and the boys were in another.  The boys bragged that the two of them would smoke the girls and would return first.  The two, trying to be funny, wore sombreros on the boat.

As the large group of sailors prepared for the race, the announcer began to recite the rules.  The actual race consisted of a four-mile sail to the island, sailing around the island, and a four-mile return trip.  Paddling and collisions with other boats were prohibited.  The single-handed Sunfish began the race.  Five minutes after the first round of boats had started, the double-handed sailors shoved off.  The sailors were expected to remain in the water and not in the boats until the whistle blew, making the start extremely difficult.

From the group of students from the advanced sailing class, there were two sisters, Leigha and Rosie.  The eldest of the two, Leigha, was the captain and the younger, Rosie, the crew.  This was not the first race the two had sailed and they were confident that this race would be an easy straight shot to and from the island.  The previous summer, they had sailed double-handed in their first regatta.  They had come in last, but all the experienced sailors had congratulated them and encouraged them that it was excellent practice for future races.  Leigha and Rosie had been taking sailing lessons for years now and had been practicing in the afternoons following their lesson.  Their sailing skills had progressed over the years even though they only sailed two weeks each summer while on vacation.
As the double-handed group left the confines of the harbor, the two sisters were clearly in the lead.  The two were ecstatic they were actually winning.  There was good-natured joking between the boys and the girls but before long they were too far away from each other to carry on an audible conversation.

The group was headed straight for the island, but after an hour or two the Sunfish all began to tack since the wind had shifted.  As the tacking progressed, the sisters fell back and pretty soon were one of the last boats.  By this time, the other three boats from the sailing class had given up and returned to shore.  Leigha and Rosie were determined not to quit and they were firm in their decision to finish the race, even if they were last.  The tacking continued until the island was clearly visible.

The two sisters discussed their methods of tacking the sail around the island.  There were many obstacles to overcome before the return trip.  The other side of the island was right in the path of a ferryboat traveling to another island.  The wake from this large boat was enough to turtle a small craft.  The waters around the island were extremely shallow and would be very challenging to navigate without paddling or getting out of the boat. 

Unfortunately, the determined sisters would not have to combat any of these obstacles to overcome before the return trip.  Leigha and Rosie decided that after sitting for a while, that they would return home and forfeit the race.  The decision was a difficult one, because they had come so far only to be rejected of the satisfaction of completing the most important part of the race.  The task of returning home was easier said then done.

The return trip was much longer than expected.  Normally, the return trip would be somewhat faster due to the wind being directly behind the boat causing the boat to run.  On that morning though, all the wind could do was cause the sail to luff.  The five to fifteen knot winds that had begun the race and prompted the sisters into the lead were now gone and the two floated the four miles back to shore.  Less than a mile from the shore, the two completely gave up.  The boat was not moving, and they were drifting in the wrong direction rather than towards shore.  

The captain, Leigha, figured she had already lost her chance at winning this race and they were already disqualified; why not paddle.  She began to paddle not caring what the people in charge were thinking.  As the boat inched closer to shore, the wind picked up enough to sail through the harbor onto shore.

The remaining onlookers cheered and clapped as the two slid out of the boat and began to de-rig the boat.  The two than solemnly explained that the wind had died and they never really made it around the island.  The announcer still congratulated them and told them it was a hard race.  The race was for experienced sailors and they had done their best.  The two were proud of themselves anyway; they still had much improvement before winning a race but the sisters had beat the rest of their class and had done what they were capable of doing.  Mouse Island was now just another race added to their repertoire, a race that taken five hours.  On began as winners and ended as semi-experienced sailors.