Chapter Three, Part Three
Sam sat in the shallow water as Ava pulled herself up over the side of the CL16. It was one of the larger sailboats in the small fleet that the sailing school operated. The water quite warm even this early in the summer. She was thigh deep in it with the rest of her body out in the air. The air was quite cool but the life jacket helped to trap some warmth around her. The black nylon pants and white tank top she had opted to wear would dry quickly but right now they were wet and sticking to her. Her lifejacket was just as tight around her as it had been when Tamara strapped it onto her. The strap between her legs had done its job keeping the jacket snug down on her shoulders. It was snug enough that she could feel the material tight against the top of them through her tank top.
She reached up and began to pull herself over the side of the boat, the walls were high for a sail boat and she and Ava had for some reason not bothered to go around to the side that was in shallower water so it was actually a bit difficult. She pulled herself up getting her chest onto the side and then pivoted getting her right leg over the side into the boat and then rolling over into it landing in the bottom. Laying on back with her legs out straight Sam had a bit of a flashback to her first time in a jacket like this a couple weeks earlier. Laying on her back in the crawl space of her family's boathouse. She felt her legs go numb and her breathing go harsh.
A loud thud signaled that Ava had landed just above Sam's head. Regretfully Sam pulled her legs in and sat up turning to face Ava who was already standing up. Liz was already busy getting the mainsail raised.
“What's up with the new jackets?” Liz’s tone was not teasing but a general inquiry. Liz was not the type to create drama, it was one of the things Sam liked about her.
Ava answered before Sam had to.
“They didn’t have enough normal ones so we got these”
“Nice” Sarcastically “Well enjoy. Want to help me out here?”
Ava moved to help Liz hoist the sail while sam set about untying the boat and pushing them away from shore with one of the oars. In a few moments they were under way. Tamara came by in a powered dinghy to give them some exercises to practice. For the few hours they sailed around buoy markers and yelled at other boats in friendly competition. Caught up in the activities Sam and Ava eventually forgot about the jackets they were wearing. One of two others asked about them out of curiosity but no one made a big deal out of it.
The wind had been building steadily all morning making for more and more fun sailing but shortly after noon the wind picked up like nothing Sam had ever sailed in before, the sail filled and the boat nearly tipped over from it, Ava allowed the boat to turn pushing into the wind to avoid a capsize. Sam heard the instructors blowing their whistles to head in at once. Ava pushed the rudder around and Sam worked the ropes and the boat spun. The wind was ridiculous now, the sail seemed to be not just a living thing but a powerful beast, straining to break free of its bonds. The ropes creaked under the strain. The boat seemed to pull-itself through the waves like a climber up a mountain. Sam could barely see Ava. She was gripping the rudder hard her foot braced up against the far side of the boat, leaning out far over the side to help balance the boat against the pull of the wind. Sam was on the same side as her now, she was gripping a rope tightly with both hands the clamps couldn't hold against the wind and she was feeling the full force of the wind pull on the line. Sam was thrown into the side of the boat, the foam of her life jacket padding the blow. She felt the boat lift up as a gust filled the sail, trying to flip the tiny plastic craft like bobbing toy. Sam leaned out over the water as far as she could. Her knees hooked over the Side of the boat hanging from the rope over the water. She could see the keel of the boat below her sticking out almost level to the water the boat was so far tipped on its side. The wind pressed the hood of her jacket up against the back of her head. The jacket itself provided some protection from the wind and spray but her arms and face were fully exposed. Sam felt the adrenaline pumping through her and she leaned back against the wind and yelled into the storm. Through the rain she could just make out the outline of another boat as it flipped, capsizing, to her left she could see Ava still gripping the rudder arm, leaning back as far as she could her body over the side of the boat sitting on the side. The wind was pressing her hood against her head as well. Her jacket was soaked and dripping Sam couldn’t help but stare at her for a moment. The orange strap that ran from the centre back of Ava's jacket down between her legs stood out clearly against her pants. Sam was aware of the jacket wrapped around her own body. The spray washed over her and the boat seemed to strain against the full force of nature. It was exhilarating, she had felt as tho she had a hand around the neck of Mother Nature. She could conquer anything. It was then that Sam heard the crack. She felt herself rise higher into the air, too high and the she was falling down. The humming tension in the line she had been clutching was gone. It was loose. She saw the mast falling. Sam fell back through space as the side of the boat rose up away from her. Just as she was expecting to hit the water she felt something hard slam into back and her body was knocked sideways. She just had time to recall the keel of the boat before she found herself plunged underwater.
Sam had never felt such complete disorientation. Her head was ringing from her impact with the keel, she was underwater but had no idea which direction the surface was in. Sam felt as tho she had been poking a chipmunk only to have it turn to face her and rise up revealing itself as a titanic grizzly bear. She was completely helpless and terrified, adrift in a current of power with no ability to move. She was kicking and turning underwater, unsure of what way to swim. She was still sinking, being dragged backwards toward the depths. Sam kicked and clawed at the water trying to swim against the force pulling her, dragging her, she twisted in the water. Then she broke the surface and gasped for air, the jacket had been pulling her, she had been so turned around she was trying to swing the wrong way, her head was still ringing, she was disoriented and coughing for air. She wanted to pull her whole existence inside the jacket and hide from the terrifying power all around her. Sam opened her mouth to try and breath, or maybe scream, she began to choke on water and tried again. She couldn't pull herself into the life jacket, it was wrapped around her torso but her head, arms, legs, hands, feet, were exposed, outside, vulnerable. She felt them flailing around, she twisted her body. She was choking. Water was hitting her face. There was air. She could breath. The waves were enormous, many times bigger than when they had been sailing. The sky was a black so dark it looked like the end of existence. There was crash so loud it sounded like the sky had broken open and a brilliant flash as tho the world was made of light the enormous roar rumbled on lingering like an enormous boulder tumbling down a mountainside. Sam was carried along by a wave. Picking her up and dropped her again. The jacket wrapped around her seemed to be embracing her. It was keeping her safe, Alive, her clutch on it was a death grip her legs hung below her pulled away by gravity. The strap between her legs kept her in the jacket and her from slipping away from it. The hood kept her head out of the waves helped her to breath. Another great flash of lightning ripped apart the sky. Sam saw Ava beside the capsized boat she was flailing around and yelling. Then there was another crash of lighting, and a great bang. Sam saw a great oak tree on the far shore explode in light. It nearly blinded her. Then there was Liz yelling at them from beside the boat, Sam saw her swim over to help Ava.
The third bolt of lightning was enough to bring Sam back. They weren't safe in the open they had to get under the boat like they had been taught to. It took her a moment to find her arms that were crossed tightly over her chest, still gripping the jacket. She consciously pulled them away and began to swim. She was at the mercy of the storm and waves pushed her forward and back, progress was slow. She was flutter kicking with her legs doing great large kicks. She reached with her arms as far from her as she could pulling at the water again and again, kicking, trying to swim against the storm. Again she felt the life jacket around her. The thick straps of the shoulders, the nylon back straps and the thick collar. The sides wrapped around her protectively. And the strap between her legs pulling it down and keeping it around her. There were three more cracks of lightning before she finally made it to the boat. Ava was in hysterics. Liz had her by the shoulders of her jacket pulling her against her, holding on tightly with arm and holding onto the capsized boat with the other. They bobbed in their jacket against the boat.
"Liz, Liz! We have to get under the boat! "
Ava stared back like a terrified animal.
"The lightning we have to get under the boat"
Liz nodded and leaned in to Ava to say something to her, Sam couldn't hear over the storm. Then Ava nodded and she bobbed under water. Liz followed. It sam a few more minute to reach the boat, when she finally did she was exhausted. Grabbing the side of the boat she tried pulling herself straight underwater against the lifejacket but no longer had the strength. A few more moments passed, Sam bobbed in the waves clutching onto the boat with what little strength she had left, her head was still ringing some. Then Liz reappeared and swam over putting one arm around Sam and hanging onto the boat with the other.
“We have to get under” It was hard to hear over the storm but sam knew what she meant
Sam tried again but was still too exhausted to push herself under water. Liz nodded and put a hand on Sam shoulder pushing down. Sam bobbed a few times to build up some momentum and then went for it, the extra force from Liz's push got her under and she immediately popped up under the boat.
The air pocket under the boat was pitch dark and about three feet high. The sound of the storm was muffled here and there was no rain or wind. The level of water rose and fell drastically with the waves and in the dark there was no way to see them coming. Sam felt around for Ava.
"Ava?"
"I'm here"
Sam felt her had land on Ava's hair and followed the shape of the other girl's head down to the nylon of her life jacket.
Sam pulled herself over to Ava and felt the other girl's arms wrap around her. Ava was breathing heavily and thrashing her legs around beneath the surface. Sam did her best to calm her down and keep her from freaking out too much.
"Stop thrashing, you’re ok, just let the lifejacket hold you, relax"
Sam held her comforting her while wrapping her arms around the smaller girl, pinning her upper arms to her sides. She felt Ava relax, letting her legs hang below her, her breathing slowed and she sank into the jacket, as Sam had, accepting its embrace and the embrace of Sam's arms around her.
Sam heard a splash as Liz came back under the boat.
“Where the hell did this come from?”
Sam shook her head not knowing, then realised it was too dark to see the girl at the other end of the boat and answered.
“I don't know, It can’t last long”
“Are you ok? I saw you get hit pretty bad”
Liz was maneuvered over to the other two girls. It was only when she joined their huddle, that Sam could see Liz did not have a lifejacket on anymore.
“What happened to your jacket?”
“I don't know, it came off somehow in the water, I got thrown pretty deep”
It was a good thing Liz was good swimmer, she had actually been able to try out for the Canadian swim team a couple years ago, missing the cut by what amounted to a few inches.
The space of air continued to shrink and expand with the waves. One second they would have three feet of air only to be dragged up toward the unseen roof of their shelter by the rising water. Every now and then Sam felt her head press up against the boat as the space shrank to less than a foot. Sam and Ava floated on their backs bobbing up and down while Liz treaded water. The waves bashed the sides of the boat and the thunder continued to roar outside.
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