May looked at Abner and said, “You better pick them up!” just as Abner was increasing the throttle. Randy and Rick raised the jib to help give the Forty-Niner more speed, but the dinghy was fast and darted well ahead. “He’s getting a little far ahead!” Mae said to Abner.
“We better put up more sail!” Abner shouted. Randy and Ricky started to prepare the big mainsail.
“Get him to put the dinghy about!” Mae said to Abner as she handed him the big plastic air horn.
“Haul in the sail, Ray!” the Captain shouted from the bowsprit. Mae had the tiller and was keeping a firm eye on the dinghy as it was moving farther and farther ahead.
But now Peaches was now wrapped around Ray’s neck and his claws were digging in. “Ow! Peaches, you got to get down so I can haul in this sail and we don’t want to gybe in this wind.” So Ray gripped the little tiller as hard as he could and steered as straight as he should. As the wind started to gust, they went even faster. Poor Peaches grasped him harder and harder. His claws stuck in and he was still holding Ray around the neck.
The Forty-Niner was now nothing but a speck in the distance. Ray could barely hear his dad yelling and still honking on the horn from the foredeck. “Peaches, you got to get down. You must relax. One wrong move and we will be in the chuck!”
The island was long and the waves were now breaking on the shore. The seabirds and gulls were flying all around them. They were now on their own and they were really moving fast!
The Forty-Niner was now so far away that they could hardly see them. But Ray could see another point of land and he thought this must be the entrance to Pirates Cove so he kept a keen eye on that point. The boom was up against the stay and the sail seemed to billow. As the boom lifted the bow was digging under. They even were making a wake. White water gushed under the stern leaving a frothy trail. The rudder was vibrating and making a noisy wail. Ray was fumbling round for the bailing can and more water was coming over the rail. But the point was getting closer now and they slowly rounded it into a nice quiet and completely calm bay with no wind at all.
The sail hung and the dinghy drifted. He pushed and pulled on the tiller a little as he sculled the Lassie along. Peaches went to the bow and stood out on the stem, he could smell the Douglas firs and the beach as he sniffed the cool air. Ray gazed all around him at the shoreline, the thickets of trees and the snow-capped mountains. The surface of the water was like a sheet of glass. Ray was awed at its perfect reflection.
The End
Note:
There is a poem that is written lightly in the background of my Illustration. It was written by my good friend Andrew Mathison who also wrote “Peaches Goes Pacific”.
The Forty-niner came first
A plump little boat
And they spent several summers
Exploring the coast
From Saturna to Saltspring
From Gambier to Bowen
Bright, sunny days full
Of swimming and rowing!
Ray brought his sketchbook
And Randy his snorkel
While in the cockpit
Ricky and Peaches would
Snuggle and chortle
She was squat as a duck
And broad in her girth
Despite her cramped quarters
She brought them much mirth
But Abner still dreamed
Of a big boat someday
A ketch that would carry them
Far…far away…
