My grandparents had a beach house on Mobile Bay that everyone called the Bay House. There was plenty for a kid to do there, but sailboating was a favorite. Sailboating was special, because us kids couldn’t just go anytime we wanted, an adult had to be with us. Me and my cousins always fought for a chance to take a sailboat ride with our grandparents or uncles. The only bad thing was that we had to wear a lifejacket. I hated lifejackets! They were fat, and an ugly orange color, and I always felt like they were going to choke me instead of save me from drowning. But I could forget about this once I was on the sailboat.

Sailboating on a windy day was most exciting. Then, the boat moved so fast that it would tilt to one side, and you had to sit on the edge so you didn’t fall out. It was one of these windy days that me and my cousin Marian got to go sailing with Marian’s dad. Snapping our life jackets on, we jumped off the pier and doggie-paddled to the Sunfish. Hauling ourselves onto the boat, we could hardly believe when Marian’s dad said,

“Girls, do y’all want to sail the boat today?”

“Yeah!” We answered enthusiastically. Sailing by ourselves on the Bay! What power! What independence! Even if we did have to wear life jackets.

I was steering first, so I sat at the back with my right hand on the boat’s rudder. Marian’s dad helped her pull in enough rope so the wind blew the sail taught, and we were off! It was a great feeling, skimming along like a dolphin across the waves.

We were sailing, all by ourselves! We clipped along for about five minutes, the healthy wind keeping the Sunfish tilted to one side.

“My hand’s getting tired,” Marian said then.

“Why don’t you and Cheryl trade places?” Her dad suggested.

“Okay,” We both agreed, and Marian let go of the rope. It happened quickly. The wind whipped the suddenly limp sail around, and this sudden change was too much for the little Sunfish. It spun upside down, sending us into the water like Cheerios. Panicking, I thrashed my way to the surface, grabbing for the side of the over-turned boat, which was flopped belly up like a dead fish. For once I was glad I had a life jacket.

Marian was floundering close by. “Are you girls okay?” Her dad asked, and we nodded shakily. “Let’s flip the boat then,” Marian’s dad sailed us back to the pier, where our other cousins waited with wide eyes.

“Wow, y’all tumped over!” was followed by, “Were you scared?”

“Nah,” I lied.

“Yes,” Marian said at the same time.

“Well, maybe a little,” I amended, “but only right at first. After that, it was pretty cool!” Marian didn’t look like she agreed with me, but my words were enough to make us brave heroes in the eyes of our cousins that day.