STUDENT ENTRY

The most incredible thing just happened. I was aloft on the mainmast enjoying a calm sunset, rocking gently back and forth with the swells. I noticed the wind pick up ever so slightly so I zipped up my jacket. The wind picked up a little more, and then more again. A small nip on the radar reflector snapped on the foremast where Jackson was sitting and flung into the air. We looked at each other in confusion for a second, then a HUGE gust of wind knocked into the sails. "Hold on tight!" Jackson yelled as the boat began to heel. The masts creaked and moaned as gust after gust of wind barreled into the sails, pushing us forward in quick bursts (I later found out we were going 10.5 knots, a trip record). I glanced aft to see our deep wake, then down where bodies scrambled out of the hatches, half-dressed, to help. A piece of clothing flew into the churning sea. Everyone grabbed ahold of the fisherman's halyards and yanked it down. The boat was at a dangerous angle, and I could see the waves getting ready to crawl under the scuppers. On deck they struggled with the fisherman until they got it on deck and the boat tipped back to a normal angle. Someone on deck yelled for Jackson and I to come down and quickly I squeezed through the cross trees and clambered down the ratlines. It was a sunset to remember.

Chapin, Yarmouth, ME