STUDENT ENTRY

We are about ready to leave the port. The mainsail is set to keep us into the wind, like a weathervane. The mate of the watch gives the call “hands to haul the anchor.” The command is repeated at different points of the boat. Wooden bats that give us leverage are slipped into place and we say “ready to heave around.” The mate gives us the go ahead and we start to work. The “click, click, click” is monotonous. Sometimes we sing bits of songs, strike up conversation, but soon we are too winded to talk. We swing the bats up and down, up and down, again and again until the mate says “ring one bell!” That means the anchor is off the bottom of the ocean. Depending on the clarity of the water, “two bells” might come soon or late. It means the mate can see the anchor and it is clear. We heave around with alacrity because we know that “three bells” will soon be struck. “Three bells” means the anchor is out of the water and cranked in all the way. The anchor is lashed horizontally to the gunnel and away we sail!

Peter Wieser, Lenord Town, Maryland