Chapter 1

Nine ... nearly 10 and tall for 10. (Almost 14 in New Zealand.) A Freshman (year 9 for those of you from ‘the old country’) in high school and two weeks of vacation left.

Still a couple of 3.7 races to go and then the Princessapality Great Lakes Championship race. I have my own boat ... I built it ... I’ze so proud. Ludington breakwater this year ... if you won or were on the podium after a weekly Sunday Race you were eligible for the Championship. There were few multiple Sunday race winners. The Farr 3.7 is an equal opportunity boat. I won one.

Five months of weekend races ... two months had 5 races ... three months had only 4.

Podium finishes are first, second and third and an alternate ... fourth. Three finishers are eligible with the fourth place able to step up if a podium finisher can’t attend. 66 entries. Sixty six boats are a bunch. Saturday would have elimination races to close the field at 15 boats.

Ten and a Freshman ... Surprise had a ‘time’ with the school board over that. Skipping a single grade was hard to do. Skipping four? Hoo boy howdy! It took the combined weight of all her teachers, her spectacular IQ scores and Mom at the ‘open’ board meetings and four years worth of meetings with a new teacher added once a year to finally convince the school board to ‘get her out of my class’ for them to ‘make an exception.’

Even then it was Mom and her threatening to run for board member that did the trick. School Board is an elected position so it is political and often the first step in politics. Junior was livid.

“NO! Surprise ... No! No! No! No politics!”

“I’m not going to run ... I just told the board I was. Scared ‘em, I did.”

“Well ... Oh Kay ... I don’t have many friends and I’d hate to lose one.”

JW and Zoe mom were out swanning around in the western Pacific with the Flint and the Flintkote triplets and the triplet McWilliamses ... I think I’m glad I’m living in Pentwater. Six four year old geniuses ... how do they stand it?

During the season, Surprise and I sail the Basilisk when we get bored. There’s only so much time one can spend at the beach before it gets old.

Although ... the day the ice went off ... we went down to the beach and cavorted... 55 degrees ... wonderful. Quite the change from 30 below and lake effect show. We didn’t cavort in the water ... we did go out on the pier ... as far as we could ... there was still four feet of decorative ice ... storm ice ... all the way to the junction of pier and Lake Michigan.

Storm ice is different than ice. Storm ice has lots of air in it. That’s because the wind storm accompanying the snow storm blew the crashing splashing waves to smithereens and made white fog out of it. The white fog piled up on the pier and ... ice with air holes. You should see the light house at St. Joseph or the one at Grand Haven. Fantastic Ice Castles ... scary even.

Who says there’s nothing to do in Pentwater in the winter?

I practice my Farr every afternoon, but so does Surprise ... and she’s won three times.

Okay, Okay, Okay ... so I’m nervous ... Geese ... what do you expect? ... Freshman at 10 and still flat as a pine board. And I may be tall for 10 but I’m short for high school.

Tyche Selene Flintkote ... high schooler.