Warming up
The captain shouted, “Anchors aweigh, my boys,” and we….
looked around, confused. None of us knew what that meant. Does that mean we put the anchor down, and if so, how do you do that? Or, does that mean you pull the anchor up, and again, how? This didn’t bode well. Besides, I didn’t like being called a boy, since I obviously wasn’t one. The captain pulled me aside and asked me this question, “Is the boat moving?” Good question. I picked an island to focus on and then noticed that it was getting farther away. Proud of myself, I answered “Yes!” He then walked me over to where a metal rope was on a circle-y thing, like a garden hose. He showed me how to unwind it and put the anchor down. It was really heavy, but after about twenty minutes of grunting, the boat came to a halt. Of course, by this time, we were nowhere near where we wanted to be, but the captain seemed pretty laid back.
For October, it was warm, about 60 degrees, and sunny. The first mate brought out coolers of sandwiches , chips, and cookies. That was a nice touch. I went for the double chocolate chip cookie before I even took a sandwich, just to be sure I got what I wanted. When I went back for a sandwich, there were none left, so I took two more cookies. Let those pigs live without dessert. On a sugar high now, I asked the captain what I could do. He replied, “Man, if you have to ask, you’ll never know.” And with that, I took off my glasses, climbed over the edge, and jumped head first into Casco Bay.
